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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
What a combo! Tobe Hooper, the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, teamed up with family-oriented producer Steven Spielberg to make Poltergeist. The film is about a haunted suburban tract home in a development very much like the Arizona one in which Spielberg was raised. (Because it came out the same summer as Spielberg's E.T., it was tempting to see both movies as representing Spielberg's ambivalent feelings about childhood in suburbia. One was a fantasy, the other a nightmare.) Spielberg also cowrote the screenplay, which taps into primal, childlike fears of monsters under the bed, monsters in the closet, sinister clown faces, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. At first, some of the odd happenings in the house are kind of funny and amusing, but they grow gradually creepier until the film climaxes in a terrifying special-effects extravaganza when 5-year-old Carole Anne (Heather O'Rourke) is kidnapped by the spooks and held hostage in another dimension. Though not nearly as frightening as Hooper's magnum opus, or the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, which came along two years later, Poltergeist is one of the smartest and most entertaining horror pictures of its time. --Jim Emerson
Product Description
This awesome supernatural thriller stars Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams as a California couple swept up in a wave of horror after sinister spirits invade their home and kidnap their child. Year: 1982 Director: Tobe Hooper Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Jo Beth Williams, Beatrice Straight
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
88 of 100 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Buyer Beware,
By
This review is from: Poltergeist (25th Anniversary Edition) (DVD)
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.
36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Time To Scare Up A Deluxe Special Edition DVD!,
By
This review is from: Poltergeist (DVD)
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.
48 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Horror Movie - Spielberg Style!,
By Mark J. Fowler "Let's Play Two!" (Okinawa, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)
This review is from: Poltergeist (DVD)
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.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Still gives me chills...
Wow, it's been YEARS since I saw Poltergeist and watching it again took me back to the first time! I know it's not as flashy as some of the movies that have come out recently,...
Published 2 months ago by V. Marshall
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poltergeist(1982)
My siblings and I saw Poltergeist(1982) on TV in the late 1980's. We found all two hours of the film riveting and scary!
Published 2 months ago by Jorge A. Zarco
5.0 out of 5 stars
No complaints.
This is a great movie and has always been one of my favorites. The acting is a bit corny, but the special effects and story line are great.
Published 3 months ago by Stan C
5.0 out of 5 stars
An incredibly well-made movie
Everybody everywhere knows of a ghost story; some place nearby where something goes on, or has gone on.
Published 4 months ago by A Hermit
4.0 out of 5 stars
poltergiest movie 25th anniversary
I purchased this because I finally wore out the VHS. Great delivery time from Amazon, fair price. received in time for Halloween. Good Movie. Thanks
Published 6 months ago by William F. Kreager
5.0 out of 5 stars
A true classic!!! TWO THUMBS AND A BIG TOE UP!!
My sister lied to my parents when she took me to see this movie. I was three and thought we were going to see E.T. Since then this has been one of my favorite movies EVER!!!
Published 7 months ago by Wacovia
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ohhhh creeepy.
This movie used to creep me out a lot when I was a kid. Bought it for my wife to see it. She was impressed.
Published 8 months ago by David A. Sumner
4.0 out of 5 stars
A classic family-oriented haunted house/ghost story
When I saw Poltergeist (1982) in the theater back in '82, I really liked it. It really was unlike anything I had ever seen before in the horror genre.
Published 8 months ago by Joker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scarier On 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...
Published 9 months ago by Tate
2.0 out of 5 stars
They're Here
Not even Speilberg and Tobe Hooper (of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame) can bring this above the level of mediority.
Published 12 months ago by Joseph Adams
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