HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Poltergeist

Cameron Yee · 10-08-2008, 12:54 AM

Poltergeist

Release Date: October 14, 2008
Studio: Warner Home Video
Packaging/Materials: Digipack case with attached collectible booklet
Year: 1982
Rating: PG
Running Time: 1h54m
MSRP: $34.99

	MAIN FEATURE	SPECIAL FEATURES
Video	1080p high definition 16x9 2.40:1	May be in standard definition
Audio	Dolby TrueHD: English 5.1, Dolby Digital: English 5.1, English 2.0, French 2.0, Spanish 2.0 (both Castillian and Latin), German 2.0, Italian 1.0	Audio standards may vary
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, and Swedish (movie and select bonus material)

The Feature: 4/5
Owning a home - it's the American dream. Unless that dream is built on top of a bunch of dead people. Unfortunately that's the nightmare Steve and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams) are faced with when they move into the Cuesta Verde housing development. Before long the most vulnerable member of their family is making connections with what lies beneath and what starts out mischievous soon turns malevolent when she gets paranormally abducted. Getting her back won't be easy, but a mother's love and a father's determination are powerful forces too.

Looking over the packaging I was a little surprised to see "Poltergeist" rated PG. I distinctly recall it being R-rated in its fright factor, but then I did the math and realized I was only nine at the time it came out. For my impressionable mind back then, a PG basically amounted to an R. Being less impressionable now as an adult I see the ingenuity of the whole thing. Why should only teenagers and adults experience horror films? Why not make one the whole family can enjoy? And who better to put together this family frightfest than Steven "Close Encounters" Spielberg (who wrote and produced) and Tobe "Texas Chainsaw" Hooper (who directed)? That the peanut-butter-and-chocolate style combination didn't generate more family-horror films is a surprise, but maybe that's because "Poltergeist" was actually scary and suspenseful, making the PG rating a bit of an underestimation in hindsight. Still, it goes to show that something doesn't have to be all gore and violence to be frightening, something the current slate of modern horror films could do with understanding.

Video Quality: 4/5
Accurately framed at 2.40:1 the picture is generally free of physical blemishes and signs of edge enhancement. Black levels are deep and stable, though shadow detail and delineation can be a little lacking. The transfer keeps grain structure intact with no indications of noise reduction, though there are a handful of moments where minor noise is evident. The color palette is pretty unremarkable, but color rendition and flesh tones appear accurate.

Audio Quality: 3/5
Though the release includes a lossless Dolby TrueHD track, I actually prefer the stereo option, the surround treatment being too disjointed for my taste. Most of the activity in the surround mix is in the front soundstage, with some support in the surrounds for the film score, but the whole thing doesn't sound sufficiently balanced or seamless. While the stereo track is lossy and only 192 kbps, it's surprisingly expansive. I also found the dialogue - particularly in the scene where there's a lot of whispering - more intelligible in the stereo track. If only the lossless track had been in stereo!

Special Features: 1/5

Just as with the 25th anniversary edition DVD, the sole feature on disc is a meager documentary about the paranormal. Though this release doesn't raise expectations the same way an anniversary release does, it still amounts to a lame show of support. The booklet, while nicely printed and containing some decent information, doesn't really make up for it.

"They Are Here: The Real World of Poltergeists Revealed" Documentary (31m05s): Ghost hunters and other paranormal experts talk about their area of expertise and its correlation to the film.

Collectible Booklet: Forty-six-page booklet attached to the packaging profiles cast and crew and includes a brief history of the production.

Recap

The Feature: 4/5
Video Quality: 4/5
Audio Quality: 3/5
Special Features: 1/5
Overall Score (not an average): 2.5/5

A spirited "family horror" film gets very good video, less than ideal audio options and a poor set of special features. The film really deserves better and fans will be wise to hold off until it gets a proper release.

Joseph J.D · 10-08-2008, 09:26 AM

It's a shame that the special features are so lacking for this film.....it deserves so much more. Still plan on getting this one sometime as I haven't seen this since the 80's (I grew weary of watching it over and over on Pay TV during that time.....it seemed to be on constantly). I think I'm ready to watch this one once again.

Jeff Swindoll · 10-08-2008, 03:48 PM

Sounds like the same folks in charge of this edition handled the middling Beetlejuice edition. Sigh.

Matt Butler · 10-08-2008, 03:58 PM

In all fairness to WB for the lack of extras. We all know Speilberg and Hooper wont speak of the production controversies or allow anyone else to.

WillG · 10-08-2008, 04:12 PM

Quote:

In all fairness to WB for the lack of extras. We all know Speilberg and Hooper wont speak of the production controversies or allow anyone else to.

That didn't stop an E! THS on Poltegeist from coming out and having actors and behind the scenes people talk about the production. The subject of the doc. may have been "The Curse of Poltergeist" but there were several discussions of what was going on behind the scenes of the films themselves. It did also discuss, although I forget in how much detail, the "who directed" controversy.

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Matt Butler · 10-08-2008, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillG

That didn't stop an E! THS on Poltegeist from coming out and having actors and behind the scenes people talk about the production. The subject of the doc. may have been "The Curse of Poltergeist" but there were several discussions of what was going on behind the scenes of the films themselves. It did also discuss, although I forget in how much detail, the "who directed" controversy.

Oh crap; I forgot about that. I never saw it but I heard about it. Anyone got a copy?

Regardless I did read that Speilberg didnt want WB to release or do a doc on the current Poltergeist release.

Scott D S · 10-08-2008, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillG

That didn't stop an E! THS on Poltegeist from coming out and having actors and behind the scenes people talk about the production. The subject of the doc. may have been "The Curse of Poltergeist" but there were several discussions of what was going on behind the scenes of the films themselves. It did also discuss, although I forget in how much detail, the "who directed" controversy.

I saw this documentary one night after I got home from the movies. I had just seen The Ring and I swear this piece was scarier!

Matt Butler - There's a chance E! might re-air it around Halloween so check your listings.

Matt Butler · 10-08-2008, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott D S

I saw this documentary one night after I got home from the movies. I had just seen The Ring and I swear this piece was scarier!

Matt Butler - There's a chance E! might re-air it around Halloween so check your listings.

Thanks Scott! Will do. I want to see this

Travis Brashear · 10-08-2008, 06:48 PM

If they had to drop the documentary featurette from the LaserDisc, I guess I can live with that but, dammit, what's with dropping the trailers??? Hell, one of them was even on the original bare-bones DVD!

Toddwrtr · 10-08-2008, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cameron Yee

Looking over the packaging I was a little surprised to see "Poltergeist" rated PG. I distinctly recall it being R-rated in its fright factor, but then I did the math and realized I was only nine at the time it came out.

Poltergeist was one of the films that contributed to the creation of the PG-13 rating, along with Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

WillG · 10-08-2008, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Regardless I did read that Speilberg didnt want WB to release or do a doc on the current Poltergeist release.

A couple of years back in an HTF chat with WB, the said they had some "Great" special featues planned for this. So probably at one time they had bigger plans. If Spielberg did indeed kill those plans, that's pretty lame. There was plenty that could have been discussed about the film without touching on the controversy.

It would have been nice if they could have thrown some other stuff on there. For example, and I keep mentioning it, I know that there was an alternate version of the "face ripping" scene that showed up on early television broadcasts. Does anyone else here remember this?