Poltergeist Special Edition? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Adkins]

Anyone go to the special screening of Poltergeist on Friday night at Vista Theater in Hollywood? I heard that some cast members were going to be present for a Q&A. I wonder if there was any discussion of a new DVD?
Jeff

 

[John Kwong]

It's too bad the SE has been shelved.
With all the behind the scenes stories, politics, and technical "how did they do that?", this film should be treated in a more definitive fashion, not to mention a clean-up of the film itself.
One thing I noticed after viewing my MGM disc is that in a lot of the scenes there is a sort of a "fish-eye lens" distortion, most noticeably on the edges of the frame. Did anyone else notice this? Is this effect part of the film or do I need to replace my system?

 

[Darren Gross]

Jeff,

The screening was running a little late, so there was no Q & A. Some who attended asked questions in the lobby, though. No comments were made about any future DVD release, but when the guests were asked about who directed the film, they emphatically denied that Spielberg directed the movie and said the Tobe Hooper set up and directed every shot.'

The famous 'odd edit' was exactly the same in this theatrical print.

I did not notice any fish-eye lens distortion, though.

 

[Dave F]

Maybe Spielberg wants to digitally edit out the scary parts.
-Dave

 

[Robert Ringwald]

He's going to make a deal with another studio and replace the "ghosts" with a CGI Casper going "boo!"
the dead bodies are going to be replaced with old clothes, and the house crumbling up at the end will be replaced with the house simply zapping away into space (because the cracking is far too disturbing for children)
*** end sarcasm
I really would have loved this movie to be cleaned up if nothing else. The DVD looks great, but it can definitely be better. :frowning:

 

[PeterB]

Hey guys

I was at that Vista screening here in LA...JoBeth Williams, Zelda Rubinstein and James Karen were all in attendance. Alas, there was no Q&A afterward, but it was fun to see the movie on the big screen again, and all three stars put their handprints in cement outside the theater. Zelda was also very popular with the crowd!