Movie DVDWhat a combo! Tobe Hooper, the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, teamed up with family-oriented producer Steven Spielberg to make Poltergeist. The film is about a haunted suburban tract home in a development very much like the Arizona one in which Spielberg was raised. (Because it came out the same summer as Spielberg’s E.T., it was tempting to see both movies as representing Spielberg’s ambivalent feelings about childhood in suburbia. One was a fantasy, the other a nightmare.) Spielberg also cowrote the screenplay, which taps into primal, childlike fears of monsters under the bed, monsters in the closet, sinister clown faces, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. At first, some of the odd happenings in the house are kind of funny and amusing, but they grow gradually creepier until the film climaxes in a terrifying special-effects extravaganza when 5-year-old Carole Anne (Heather O’Rourke) is kidnapped by the spooks and held hostage in another dimension. Though not nearly as frightening as Hooper’s magnum opus, or the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, which came along two years later, Poltergeist is one of the smartest and most entertaining horror pictures of its time. –Jim Emerson
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July 1, 2010
#1
Review by Edward Aycock
Rating:
This is one of my favorite movies, and I’ve reviewed the earlier DVD issue elsewhere. My review this time is purely for the new DVD reissue which is one of the biggest disappointments I’ve come across. Let’s start with this “25th Anniversary.” The only mention of the anniversary is a haphazardly placed sticker on the outer sleeve. The fact that it was just slapped onto the box gives the buyer an idea of how much thought went into this new DVD.
Then there are the extras. A documentary about true-life hauntings. Okay, that’s not bad. But wait – where’s the original trailer for the film that was on the earlier DVD? It’s been removed. Did the trailer get sucked into Carol Anne’s closet and is being held captive by the Beast? What purpose did removing the trailer serve?
This is a pointless release. My advice is to hang onto the earlier release which is anamorphic AND has the trailer and skip this one; there will be another, hopefully better, release someday. Warner Brothers should be ashamed.
July 1, 2010
#2
Review by K. Harris
Rating:
Now that DVDs are way down in price, I’ve ended up with literally thousands–I think. I have a tendency to resist the earlier releases, the ones that are obviously “cheapies” with no special features–I know that better editions are just around the bend for most films! But I recently had to make an exception for “Poltergeist”. Now I had originally seen this film in a theater on its release. I have always considered it one of the best in its genre. I’ve seen it a couple of times since, but probably not at all in the last ten years (and for the record–all the sequels were terrible).
What amazed me was that I still thought it was a terrific movie! Now, some people will think a couple of the effects are cheesy–and for today’s standards, maybe they are. But they are so well integrated into the film that I don’t think the modern viewer will mind. And I believe films are historical documents–I hate that George Lucas, for example, has corrupted his films with constant CGI updates. It’s as sacrilegious as colorization was!
“Poltergeist” succeeds as a great film due, in large part, to it’s unrelenting suspense–but, in equal measure, it relies on us to care about the family involved. I think the movie endures because it has heart and characters to actually root for. Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams are great (and believable) as the parents affected. Their love for each other and their family, and their willingness to sacrifice anything for the safety of their kids is well presented and acted. Williams, in particular, has never been better. At first, she is your typical suburban Mom–but as strange things start happening, you see her confusion, her delight, her fear, her horror, her desperation and her heroic side. It’s a very nice underrated performance. And Beatrice Strait and Zelda Rubenstein both give richer, more fully realized performances than I remembered.
Who’d have thought–all these years later–that it’s the characters of “Poltergeist” that have distinguished it in my mind?
It’s time now! We need a Deluxe Version DVD. It’s hard to believe 2007 will mark 25 years–that seems a fitting opportunity to honor a film that has stood the test of time. I’ll be first in line to upgrade. KGHarris, 9/06.
July 1, 2010
#3
Review by Mark J. Fowler
Rating:
Every since “Poltergeist” was released there has been debate about who influenced the final result more, Director Tobe Hooper or Producer Steven Spielberg. I personally think the answer can be discovered by comparing Poltergeist to their previous works: I ask you, is it closer in style to “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” or “Raiders of the Lost Ark”?
All that aside, “Poltergeist” is a rippin’ good ghost story. Craig T. Nelson and Jobeth Williams play the parents of a family that unfortunately lives in one wicked suburbia haunted house. The movie develops slowly, giving us time to care about this family. Mr. Nelson and Ms. Williams are dream parents – cool, funny, smart and devoted to the family and each other.
The kids are pretty typical movie kids and their performances don’t detract.
Initially, there are just a few unusual and creepy goings-on. Chairs move by themselves. The youngest daughter, played by young Heather O’Rourke, makes out voices that come through the television late at night after everyone else has gone to sleep.
At about the midway point of the film the owners of the “voices” start some serious shenanigans in the house and in the confusion, take little Carol Anne hostage. You’re on the edge of your seat the rest of the movie.
Some academic ghost-buster types move in and set up cameras and recorders. Next thing you know, weird things are happening to them as well.
Made before the CGI age, “Poltergeist” nonetheless has some impressive special effects. The story tries to get under your skin. It doesn’t just pick one thing to be scared of. There is no 25 foot shark or machete-wielding madman. Instead it succeeds over and over again at creeping you out at everyday objects. The old oak tree in the back yard becomes a menace. Toys in the kid’s room turn sinister. The kitchen becomes a fright-hall.
When everyday objects are suddenly turning against you, what can you do? These are the things the family and the ghostbusters have to deal with while they try to figure out if they can get Carol Anne back.
My first experience with “Poltergeist” wasn’t watching the movie. I was in a multiplex, next door watching something else, but through the walls WE were listening to the audience watching “Poltergeist” next door shrieking and screaming. I know I wasn’t the only person thinking “What in the WORLD are they WATCHING next door?” We stepped out of our movie at the end to see the overhead sign. We knew this was something we HAD to go see.
We weren’t disappointed.
July 1, 2010
#4
Review by :::DIGITAL BABE:::
Rating:
I’ve been a fan of this film for over 20 years. My parents had the VHS and before that it was taped from TV. I own the 25th Anniversary edition, which I had not yet watched. I know Blu-Rays often are criticized for the lack of extras, but I must specifically comment here on the PQ and AQ.
I absolutely love this film, for its storyline, characters and visual accomplishments achieved for its time period. I did not expect a quality transfer such as this one, when I popped the disc in. I purchased this at Target yesterday which had it at a price comparable to Amazon’s, after tax, and with a temporary price reduction.
I use a 42″ Panasonic Plasma, Onkyo 605 receiver, Panasonic BD30K Blu player and Paradigm Speakers, on this particular set up.
The picture is amazing! There are some areas where there is a bit of noise in the sky shots over “Cuesta Verde”, the housing development. However, other than that, for a film that is 26 years old, the picture and sound are stunning. The colors really pop in this edition, and the sound during the paranormal phenomena is spectacular. Blacks and detail are very rich and the sound is thunderous when it should be, but even throughout the film, as it needs to be.
The Digi-Book packaging is a neat little perk, as it adds some history, production notes and intewresting little tidbits. Although these can be found on the net, as well, for the same price and even cheaper than some other Blu-Rays, the packaging adds an extra incremental value.
If you love this movie, the transfer is absolutely worth picking this up! If you just like it, give it a rent. I have 100′s of HD DVD’s and Blu-Rays, and this is one of the best transfers I’ve seen, of those films I have viewed. PQ: 4/5 AQ: 4/5. I am taking 1 point off, for the few instances of grain (sky, and one scene where there was a black line going up and down the picture in the film, not my tv), and the fact that the sound was not quite as powerful, as it could have been. Highly recommend!
July 1, 2010
#5
Review by E. OMalley
Rating:
“Poltergeist” is one of my favorite horror pictures and I just introduced my 18-yr-old niece to the film with this blu-ray edition. She found it very scary and was stunned it was only rated PG (considering the year it was released). The picture and audio quality of this edition are both wonderful but, as noted by other reviewers, there are no real extras. Because of all the behind-the-scenes drama I have a feeling it will be a very long time before we see an edition which includes some really meaty extras. The book was nice, and had a few facts I wasn’t aware of (the change from an “R” rating and the use of real skeletons on set…eww!)
Be aware, however, that like all previous versions the really severe edit between the family kitchen and the neighbor’s house is still there – I don’t think there can be a clean copy anywhere in Hollywood if this is still going on. I know it supposedly has something to do with Pizza Hut being dissed in the scene, but since it was one line I really think they could’ve muffled it and kept the complete scene instead of cutting a big chunk.
This is a classic, highly entertaining horror movie and well worth watching again. If you have an older version of the dvd (or even the vhs tape), now is a good time to upgrade it to blu-ray.