Poltergeist, 1982.
Directed by Tobe Hooper.
Starring JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight, Dominique Dunn, Oliver Robins, and Heather O’Rourke.
SYNOPSIS:
Gen Xers like me will be happy to have Poltergeist on 4K disc. It looks and sounds amazing, although Warner Bros. didn’t commission any new extras, which is a bummer since it’s celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Maybe for the 50th?
The reissue of classics from my Gen X childhood on 4K Ultra HD disc continues with Poltergeist, which was directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg. From the start, which features the end of an American TV station’s broadcast day followed by static, the film demonstrates that it is clearly of that era. That might seem like it was created for the film, but it was actually part of daily TV viewing back then.
Craig T. Nelson’s character, Steve Freeling, has fallen asleep in front of the TV, and his youngest child Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) awakens and comes downstairs to sit in front of the static-filled screen. She seems to converse with someone or something talking in the static, and the next night she repeats her chat, which includes a ghostly hand emanating from the TV and an earthquake that rattles the house and wakes up the rest of the family.
From there, strange events start happening in rapid succession, including the tree outside Robbie’s window breaking in and attacking him, and the Freeling family realizes that they need help. A parapsychologist named Dr. Martha Lesh (Beatrice Straight) shows up with her team, and they explain that the family is dealing with a poltergeist intrusion. It turns out that a portal to another dimension has been opened in the house, and the family must deal with it to end the threat.
Warner Bros. commissioned a new 4K master of the film, which I believe was also used for the included Blu-ray, where you’ll find the bonus features. Poltergeist looks great in this new edition, which (I know, I’ve said this before) is likely the pinnacle of the film on home video. Unless people start putting screens in their homes that are close to movie theater size, I can’t imagine a future 8K disc offering any improvement over 4K on a standard-size TV. (Depending on which source you use, that size is anywhere from 47 to 55 inches, which is more than adequate for 4K.)
Unfortunately, a very clumsy edit early in the film, which supposedly was made because a character denigrated Pizza Hut and the chain didn’t like that, still exists. I’ve never owned Poltergeist on home video, but my understanding is that the edit has been in every edition since the VHS days. It would be nice if someone figured out a way to fix it, but I imagine the studio isn’t terribly interested in dealing with such things.
Nothing new was created in the bonus features department, which is a bummer since this is Poltergeist’s 40th anniversary. It would have been nice to get some new interviews and/or a commentary track, even if they featured thoughts from film historians and other commentators.
Here’s what you’ll find on the Blu-ray. (The 4K disc only features the movie, which gives the image quality maximum bit rate for quality.)
• They Are Here: The Real World of the Poltergeists (31 minutes): This is a featurette ported over from the 2008 Blu-ray that offers up interviews with a bunch of real life paranormal investigators and the like. Depending on your belief in such things, you’ll either love this one or spend half an hour rolling your eyes. (Personally, I think there’s a fair amount of fraud in that business, but my family and I have had some experiences that we can’t explain away, so I tend to be agnostic on the subject.)
• The Making of Poltergeist (7 minutes): This is an old school featurette that was created way back when to hype the movie to theater chains. It’s a nice time capsule look at the making of the film, but it’s a bummer that there isn’t a more in-depth making-of documentary found here.
The trailer rounds out the platter. You also get a paper insert with a code for a digital copy.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
Originally published September 26, 2022. Updated December 10, 2022.
