Customer Reviews

Poltergeist

5 star:		(198)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

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 And I believe films are historical documents--I hate that George Lucas, for example, has corrupted his films with constant CGI updates.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.

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.

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.

"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.

Wow, what a classic! Amazing buildup, great scares, great acting. This is a really well written horror movie, and while it does show at times, it is hard to believe it's over 25 years old. Especially when you watch it on Blu Ray!

No matter how many times you've seen the movie before, it'll be like the first once you've seen this amazing 1080p transfer. The image is crisp and sharp without looking digitized. There's fantastic background clarity that gives you that feeling of 3D depth that make Blu Ray fanatics giddy with delight. And the best part is the audio! Throbbing bass and delicious thunder, groans from the closet that sound like they are literally lurking behind you. Sometimes you run across a poor transfer with low budget horror movies, but you can tell Spielburg and Hooper made sure this was filmed right. Thankfully, this fantastic blu ray release is a proper representation of how the movie was meant to be seen.


Overall, if this is a favorite of yours or even if you own the DVD, I can safely recommend the upgrade. If you've never seen the 25 year old classic, there's no better time to than with this amazing release. You'll be able to experience this movie at home like no generation has gotten to do before, isn't blu ray great!

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!

Most Blu-Rays are either great (The Road Warrior) or terrible (The Ninth Gate), so it's rare when I find one that underperforms juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust a little bit; even a Blu-Ray with virtually NO special features has a magnificent picture (The Dark Knight) or some other compensation.

POLTERGEIST is one of these.

The transfer is great. I was 2 when it came out so I never got to see it as a big-screen experience and it is a revelation to see it as such: I liked this movie before and I LOVE it now. However, the transfer's not the problem...it's the master. I don't think they cleaned the film sufficiently when they struck the master because there's noticeable dirt and pinprick abrasions throughout the film: it's not terrible, or even plain bad...but if you are a videophile like me, it can be a bit unnerving. The worst part is the living room scene where they first speak to Carol Anne: there's a series of faded vertical scratches through the middle of the screen throughout the entire scene...I would have hoped they'd notice that and paint it out, but they didn't. Thankfully the scratches are thin and faint (and they don't show up again) so they're not unbearable, but they are irritating. The film is grainy, but in the good way (1980s film stock wasn't as sharp as it is today) although some grains seem a little larger than others at times...but I can't prove it.

As for special features, well, I think POLTERGEIST is never gonna have the special features it deserves due to the whole Spielberg/Hooper controversy, so I won't get my hopes up. Basically the picture reminds me of first generation DVDs of classic movies (the first Road Warrior DVD comes to mind)...much better than VHS, but it could be improved/cleaned up.

Colors, tones, blacks and all that other stuff seem to be fine. Aside from the maintenance issue, I don't see any other problems with this transfer and at $20 right now is a great find.

Documentaries of real Poltergeists and Hauntings, don't want it. Yeah, we get a full featured "Real World of Poltergeists" included with this special edition, but who is Warner Brothers kidding here? This is not Unsolved Mysteries, this is a classic movie. Where is the making? Where is the story of the poltergiest curse which includes death of cast members and some poeple in involed with the movie? Where is the story of Heather O Rourke's sudden death? Where is the controverisal heated story between the director Tobe Hooper and producer Spielberg? You're not going to get anything about it. No cast interviews, no storylines about the movie's infancy, nothing about the making of the movie, just another decent documentary about hauntings and poltergesits and contacting the dead which has nothing to do with the movie itself. In all seriousness, there is nothing wrong with the documentary included with the film, but it just doesn't belong here.

As for the movie itself, we know how awesome it is, and yes, it does look like it's been cleaned up quite a bit. Boasting it being digitally restored and remastered it probably true. It's defintely the best looking poltergeist I've ever seen on my TV. The audio even seemed to get an upgrade too. As fans know, this came out 25 years ago in 1982, wow, has it been that long, but amazingly, it has still withstood the test of time as is still considered to be one of the best movies ever made. I personally believe the movie is Spielberg's best, more than E.T., Close Encounters, you name it, Poltergeist is probalby his best work. While Tobe Hooper takes credit for being the director, that's where the controversy starts between Hooper and Spielberg. And I can honestly that's why WB has ignored a full fledged making of the movie knowing the controversy it may spawn between Hooper and Spielberg. But even without the interviews or making of the movie, if you haven't bought this movie yet, now is probably a good time, just don't expect any good extras that have anything to do with the movie.

Poltergeist is one heck of a fun movie ride. Steven Speilberg and Tobe Hooper undoubtedly created the best ghost movie, and made it extremely hard to beat. Although recent ones have almost succeeded (e.g. The Others, The Sixth Sense), Poltergeist still remains number one.

Speilberg, co-writer, tells the story of a normal, suburban family who begins to notice their house is becoming a little haunted. When their youngest daughter disappears into the house, they call upon a group of psychologists to help them with finding their daughter and relieving their house of the evil inside. This story is amazing on film as we watch the Freelings see the ghosts do tricks with chairs to becoming more sinister with clown attacks (Personally, one of the creepiest scenes in the film).

What made Poltergeist even better is the chemistry that was found in the entire cast. The family of the Freelings seemed so real. It's not hard to believe that they are an actual family. Jo Beth Williams and Craig T. Nelson are actually lovely (Weird choice of word, but it fits) as the loving parents, and their show of emotional range was right on. Heather Rourke, who played Carole Anne, is an amazing actress for her age, and handles everything with quaint little charm. The remaining of the cast were all wonderful, fairly developed, and you cared about their outcome in the movie. I must mention Zelda Rubinstein. She played the little, creepy psychic and her part added some nice humour while adding creepiness to the film.

Sadly, WB has given us a bare DVD. Only the trailer is present within the dvd. There were rumours that a special edition was coming, but they were scratched as WB denied them or either scratched their idea. But I'm happy with the movie on DVD as it is one of the best.

The best, indeed. Poltergeist is my #1 pick for ghost / haunted house movie. If there is ever one that succeeds it, then it's going to be mighty darn good.

This is probably the best horror movie ever made in history that I can tolerate. The whole story makes sense and its real the acting is classic and it deals with real life whats good about it is that it deals with a average suburban family living in a newly developed neighborhood and all this crazy stuff happens to them. This was a good year for Stephen Spielberg movies two all time classics were released that year E.T about a childhood fantasy and Poltergiest about a childhood nightmare. What also makes Poltergiest funny is the human interaction in it with your everyday arguements your annoying next door neighbor and the film shows all of that lightheartedness but also that deep horror. Now there something about this movie usually I look at movies like Freddy Kruger movies and think that they are just the stupitest thing but Poltergiest literally gives me chills the whole movie is eary. It may also have something to do with the teenage girl in this movie who was strangled to death by her boyfriend shortly after this movie was released. The music also has a eary touch to it. The scariest part maybe the ghosts spirits coming down the stairs with the music and everything the whole movie is a classic.