Poltergeist [Blu-ray]

Overview

With Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hopper, Steven Spielberg had his first great success as a producer. Released around the same time as Spielberg's E.T., the film presents the dark side of Spielberg's California suburban track homes. The film centers on the Freeling family, a typical middle class family living in the peaceful Cuesta Verde Estates. The father, Steve (Craig T. Nelson), has fallen asleep in front of the television, and the dog saunters around the house revealing the other family members -- Steve's wife Diane (JoBeth Williams), sixteen-year-old daughter Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old son Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke). Soon strange things begin to happen around the house; the pet canary dies, mysterious storms occur, and Carol Ann is summoned to the TV set, where a strange shaft of green light hits her and causes the room to shake ("They're he-e-ere!"). As curious events continue, Carol Ann is repeatedly drawn to the television, where she begins to talk to "the TV people." Soon Carol Ann is sucked into a closet, disappearing from this reality plane. Unable to find his daughter, Steve consults Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight), a para-psychologist from a nearby college. Lesh finds that paranormal phenomena is so strong in the Freelong household she is unable to deal with it and sends for clairvoyant and professional exorcist Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) to examine the house in hopes of finding Carol Ann. Tangina makes a horrifying discovery: Carol Ann is alive and in the house, but is being held on another spectral plane.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/07/2010
UPC:	0883929148332
Original Release:	1982
Rating:	PG
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:54:00
Sales rank:	20,279

Special Features

They Are Here: The Real World of Poltergeists Revealed; Documentary in 2 Parts: Science of the Spirits and Communing with the Dead

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

JoBeth Williams	Diane Freeling
Craig T. Nelson	Steve Freeling
Beatrice Straight	Dr. Lesh
Dominique Dunne	Dana Freeling
Oliver Robins	Robbie Freeling
Heather O'Rourke	Carol Anne Freeling
Zelda Rubinstein	Tangina Barrons
Marty Casella	Marty,Marty
Richard Lawson	Ryan
Michael McManus	Tuthill
Virginia Kiser	Mrs. Tuthill
James Karen	Teague
Lou Perry	Actor
Clair E. Leucart	Actor
Dirk Blocker	Jeff Shaw
Allan Graf	Actor
Joseph R. Walsh	Actor,Joey
Helen Baron	Actor
Noel Conlon	Husband
Robert Broyles	Pool Worker #1
Sonny Landham	Pool Worker #2
Jeff Bannister	Actor,Implosion Man
William Vail	Implosion Man
Craig Simmons	Actor
Kyle Catlett	Actor
Will Sampson	Taylor
Lou Perryman	Pugsley
Dana Gendian	Special Child,Special Child
Danny Nero	Panicked Neighbor
Phil Stone	Football Announcer,Football Announcer
Craig T. Kelly	Actor
Jane Feinberg	Actor
Jerry Goldsmith	Composer

Technical Credits

Steven Spielberg

Mark Victor

Michael Grais

Tobe Hooper	Director
Steven Spielberg	Producer,Screenwriter
Frank Marshall	Producer
Mark Victor	Screenwriter
Michael Grais	Screenwriter
Dana Gendian	Stunts,Stunts
José Abel	Special Effects
Richard L. Anderson	Sound Effects
John Dunn	Sound Effects
Stephen Hunter Flick	Sound Effects
Warren Hamilton Jr.	Sound Effects
Alan Howarth	Sound Effects
Jeff Jarvis	Special Effects
Jeannie Epper	Stunts
Kathleen Kennedy	Producer
Jane Feinberg	Casting
Marci Liroff	Casting
Cindy Folkerson	Stunts
Bob Herron	Stunts
Felix Silla	Stunts
George Wilbur	Stunts
Bob Yerkes	Stunts
Donna Garrett	Stunts
Chuck Waters	Stunts
Arthur Rochester	Sound/Sound Designer
Steve Maslow	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

At a time when horror films focused on a rogues' gallery of masked slashers, Steven Spielberg took the road less traveled with Poltergeist, a classic haunted house tale set amid cookie-cutter homes and under picturesque suburban skies. The film follows the Freeling family's inevitable crumbling as an unearthly force transforms their home into a house of horrors, culminating with the disappearance of five-year-old Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke, who passed away upon completion of Poltergeist III). Spielberg's original script blends terror with comic relief, and the mind-blowing special effects of George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic help make the film more than a mere two hours of things going bump in the night. Spielberg even recruited The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Tobe Hooper to direct a cast of actors then unknown, including Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams. Upon opening in theaters, Poltergeist quickly became a cultural phenomenon, as the sight and sound of television static took on a whole new meaning and little Carol Anne's cry, "They're here!" became the catchphrase for 1982 and beyond.

Barnes & Noble - Jason Bergenfeld

Though directed by Tobe Hooper, Poltergeist is most often thought of as a Steven Spielberg movie, with all of the hallmarks of a Spielberg film: impressive effects, snappy pacing, and a child-like sense of wonder and horror. At the time, the director was juggling the haunted-house project with the more personal E.T., and cult horror director Hooper was called in to helm. Legend has it that Spielberg had his fingers in just about every decision, and even directed some of the scenes himself, leaving the job's technical aspects to Hooper. Spielberg would eventually be credited as co-producer and co-screenwriter. Poltergeist is clearly more akin to Spielberg's E.T. or Close Encounters of the Third Kind than to Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Eaten Alive. It's a very engaging film, thanks to Jo Beth Williams's solid performance and the slick, chilling effects by Industrial Light and Magic.

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