| | | "They're here."
Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Trailers
Director Tobe Hooper joins forces with Oscar winner Steven Spielberg and special effects master George Lucas to create an extraordinary, ultra-fantastic excursion into the supernatural. A high-voltage spectacle boasting "dazzling special effects" (Leonard Maltin) and "impeccable technology" (Roger Ebert), Poltergiest is a must-see horror classic and "a superior, spectacular ghost story" (Newsweek). Life is very pleasant for the close-knit Freeling family until a host of otherworldly forces invades their peaceful suburban home. It starts with just an odd occrence or two, but soon their house is transformed into a swirling supernatural sideshow. The forces at work are anything but friendly, and if the luckless Freeling's don't clear out soon, they'll all be swept off into nightmarish chaos! Starring Craig T. Nelson ("Coach") and JoBeth Williams (The Big Chill), Poltergiest is astounding and absorbing, yet laced with humor and warmth. It is "a work of art... full of spine-snapping chills!" (Time)
"Sensationally scary! A roller-coaster ride!" Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
Editor's Note
Ghosts invade suburbia in this 1982 horror film from director Tobe Hooper (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) and producer Steven Spielberg. Life in the Freeling family's tract home is comfortably bland, but frisky poltergeists soon put a little excitement into their daily routine--moving furniture and communicating with their youngest daughter, Carol Anne, through the television set. Unfortunately, harmless pranks quickly turn nasty and the previously friendly ghosts kidnap Carol Anne, trapping her in the spirit world. To win the child back, the family calls in a team of parapsychologists and a psychic who conducts an elaborate exorcism. The apocalyptic finale is deliciously macabre, and pushed the limits of the PG rating. A number of sequels followed, and speculation still remains on whether Spielberg--who wrote the story and storyboarded the action--essentially ghost directed the film.
| Features | Subtitles: English, Spanish, French | | Chapter Search | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital; Spanish, French Dolby Digital Surround |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner Music |
| Release Date: 9/26/2006 |
| Running Time: 115 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1982 | | Catalog ID: 65064 | | UPC: 00012569506428 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1983) | | | Richard Edlund, Bruce Nicholson, Michael Wood, Nominee, Best Effects, Visual Effects | | | Jerry Goldsmith, Nominee, Best Music, Original Score |
| Memorable Quotes| "They're here!" ---- Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rourke) about the poltergeists |
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety
"...[The film is] strong on technique....Well-acted....Williams is terrific..." 05/26/1982New York Times
"...POLTERGEIST is like a thoroughly enjoyable nightmare, one that you know that you can always wake up from....Witty in a fashion that Alfred Hitchcock might have appreciated..." 06/04/1982 p.C16 New York Times
Included in The New York Times "10 BEST FILMS OF 1982" 12/26/1982 p.II:17 Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "POLTERGEIST balances genuine scares with light relief and a top performance from Heather O'Rourke....Classic stuff." 11/01/2007 p.202 Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "The performances are solid, the themes intriguing and the whispery build-up effective..." 12/01/2007 p.150 |
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