Poltergeist Special Edition? (1 Viewer)

[Anthony R]

Any word on the Poltergeist 20th Anniversary Edition that has been reported (DVD File Studio Day report)? I see it listed at several sites but no info on a release date or what extras there will be. Thanks

Anthony

 

[DannyS]

Hear Hear!!! I love this movie and am dying to see it get the proper treatment it deserves! It still scares the willies out of me!

 

[Randy_M]

I'd re-buy this in a heartbeat - a great fright film without resorting to spurting blood and flying organs...

 

[John Berggren]

I don't own Poltergeist yet. I would buy it if an SE were released. I'd like to see it come out in the near future. Perhaps JoBeth and Craig T. could run a commentary...

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I'd re-buy this in a heartbeat - a great fright film without resorting to spurting blood and flying organs...

Sure, but rapidly spoiling meat and flesh-peeling will do in a pinch.
Regards,

 

[Will K]

I want this one too, but I hope they can come up with a restored print. I have yet to see a home video version of this film that looks all that good. For such a slick production, it's always look dated and "orangey" on video.

 

[Dave F]

Anyone know if the SE will have that weird jump cut?
-Dave

 

[Scott Weinberg]

I'd buy this in a heartbeat, especially if Steven Spielberg recorded a director's commentary.

 

[Dave Dahl]

Steven Spielberg didn't direct the movie.

-Dave

 

[Roby Adams]

Steven Spielberg didn't direct the movie.

I think that he knows that and that was what the laughing smiley was for.

There was a lot of talk that director Tobe Hooper wasn't really cutting it on set and that Spielberg stepped in and directed parts of the film. How much of it is Spielberg is not really known. It definately has his touch though.

 

[Anthony R]

The "jump cut" has been in all versions of the movie and all formats. I guess it must be part of the movie itself.

I think it would be really cool if Tobe Hooper gave a candid commentary about how much Spielberg was really involved.

 

[David Lambert]

There was a lot of talk that director Tobe Hooper wasn't really cutting it on set

I've heard this before and wondered how true it could be. After all, Tobe Hooper's not exactly a piece of shit, not now and not back then.

After writing/producing/directing Texas Chainsaw Massacre and getting huge nods for it, even though it was a gore-fest, he worked on a forgotten film called Eaten Alive (which as I recall had about two dozen alternate names it went by). Then he did the wonderful miniseries of Stephen King's Salem's Lot, which got him approval from King himself and was successful enough to be re-edited into a theater film overseas, as I recall. He followed that up with another book translation: Dean Koontz's Funhouse.

Then Speilberg tapped him to do Poltergeist. If there were problems on the set between the two, then I'm not sure why Hooper showed up to discuss the work in the "Making of Poltergeist" TV special that aired while the film was hot in theaters, nor why he returned to work under Speilberg's umbrella in "Amazing Stories".

There WAS a film Hooper was kicked off of back between "Eaten Alive" and "Salem's Lot"...I don't recall the film but it sure wasn't a Speilberg item. Maybe that's the source of this rumor...people forgot which film it was and put it down to Speilbergs ego or something.

 

[Dave F]

The rumors aren't so much based on the quality of Hooper's direction abilities as they are based upon how the directorial style of Poltergeist is much more like Spielberg's style than Hooper's own style.

Anthony, do you remember that cut being in the theatrical version? On page that I linked to, they only had access as far back as the laserdisc version, and could not even verify its presence on the early VHS releases.

-Dave

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Spielberg has only taken three "screenplay" credits for theatrical films and Poltergeist was one of them. That could have something to do with it as well. I'm sure he was an active producer, but that doesn't mean that Hooper was run roughshod over. It's sort of like how Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas was directed by Henry Selick. When the producer is the writer, directors tend to collaborate.

Regards,

 

[Roby Adams]

Here is some more info about the question of who did what on Poltergeist.
Note: When they reference "The Others" they are talking about the TV show and not the recent Nicole Kidman film.

POLTERGEIST, having been written and produced by Spielberg, certainly has all the ear-markings of a film he had a large hand in. At the time of it's release, the press grabbed on to a story that Spielberg had indeed directed the film (spurred on by comments producer Frank Marshall had made). After the press broke the story and the Director's Guild of America launched an investigation in defense of Tobe Hooper's directing credit, Spielberg paid for a full-page ad (addressed to Tobe Hooper) that ran in the Hollywood Reporter 4 days after the film's premiere:
Regrettably, some of the press has misunderstood the rather unique, creative relationship which you and I shared throughout the making of "Poltergeist."
I enjoyed your openness in allowing me, as a producer and a writer, a wide berth for creative involvement, just as I know you were happy with the freedom you had to direct "Poltergeist" so wonderfully.
Through the screenplay, you accepted a vision of this very intense movie from the start, and as the director, you delivered the goods. You performed responsibly and professionally throughout, and I want to wish you great success on your next project.
Let's hope that "Poltergeist" brings as much pleasure to the general public as we experienced in our mutual effort.
Sincerely,
Steven Spielberg
Producer Frank Marshall claimed that Spielberg would step in during shooting when Hooper was indecisive, and that Spielberg was on the set constantly. The actors, however, attribute their direction solely to Hooper. Whether the film was largely directed by Spielberg or Hooper may never be clear. A positive point is that Hooper did go on to direct an episode of Spielberg's AMAZING STORIES and more recently Dreamwork's THE OTHERS, so any ill-will (if there was any) is behind both men.

This text was taken from http://www.spielbergfilms.com/poltergeisthome.htm

 

[jason celaya]

Wasnt there a annoucement about Poltergiest 2 as well on that studio day? I havent seen anything on that either.

 

[Kai Zas]

It's a real shame about that weird cut. When I bought the DVD it had been at least 8 years since I had seen the movie.

I actually stopped the movie and wiped the disk, sorting through the chapters, wiping it again, popped it in my computer... tried all sorts of things. Thins kinda ruined the magic. I considerd returning the dvd, but it was too late for that.

If there's ever a more complete version of the movie, I'd be the first in line.

 

[Peter Avellino]

This whole thing about the weird cut is approaching Al Capone's Vault-level frenzy. And like Capone's vault, there's nothing there. The cut's in the movie. I saw a 35mm print a few years ago and that's the way it is. So if you think you have a faulty version of the movie because of the cut, well, you don't.

As for a special edition, that would be great, but do you really think they'd fess up and reveal how much of this movie is not the work of Tobe Hooper?

 

[Kai Zas]

Do you realy think they ment for it to be that way? I don't think Speilberg would blemish a project he was so close to. Oh well, if there's ever a commentary, perhaps we'll get an explanation for that as well.

 

[Peter Avellino]

I have no way of knowing whether or not they meant for it to be that way. Maybe it was intentional. Maybe it was a stylistic choice, a means to get from one scene to the next as fast as possible. Sure that's just a crazy guess, but my point is this: The cut is in the original film, so it's de facto not a mistake. All video versions are correct.