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The summer of '82 my best friend, Steve, said, "Jim, we are gonna see Poltergeist.
You of all people HAVE to see this movie!" I had no clue about what this movie was about.Of course, at 12 during it's theatrical release, this movie scared the hell out of me, but it was extremely exciting. If you haven't seen this movie, and can only rent it, I sincerely hope that you get to see the glorious widescreen edition...somehow. Pan and scan vs widescreen. Comparing the exact frame from the movie |
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| Below: "Widescreen." | Below: "Pan & Scan."
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(Above) The director's vision of how the ALL of movie should be seen, and how it was shot
| (Above) And that is what you see when you rent the VHS (or PAL) video tape. Butchered sides and blown up for TV |
| image impact...Widescreen....
* First, there's more emotional impact with Diane's reaction. * Second, look how Carol Anne is sitting, almost in a "mouth" of cuppords & counter top....more image behind her, too! * Third, notice what the director is doing; he is beginning to separate Carol Anne from her family. A prelude, indeed. The intended layout in widescreen tells a story in itself. This is the version that was fully created and brought to you in the theater; the vision of what the director wanted to share. |
Below: "Widescreen." 
| Below: "Pan & Scan."
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| Granted, I thought Richard Lawson (left as "Ryan") had good screen presence... | ...but his coworkers are sacrificed; almost 1/2 of the visual story is gone |
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Likewise, when the coffee pot slides
on the table, Lawson is cut out in pan and scan.
Let's see everybody. This DVD drop kicked the laserdisc version and damned the VHS and cable versions. Poltergeist on DVD has a new, sparkeling, film transfer to DVD in anamorphic 16x9. 16x9 is a big deal. I watched Poltergeist on a 4:3 tube, but still the picture was a sight to behold for me. Reds very rarely bled, blacks were deep midnight black. Definition of depth and space were more open and inviting with the details of backgrounds in sharper focus. Even during the opening credits and the obvious film scratches of the original negative (THX would probably fix that), I could see more definition of the trees miles away on the hillside, and even noticed two black crows flying in the background; that I'd never noticed before. I remember when JoBeth Williams who terrifically played the mother, Diane, was near the beginning making a bed. I looked at the back of her blue shirt and could see its cotton fiber of the material; the picture was so clear! Director Tobe Hooper (or Speilberg…a mystery in itself) truly allowed for some good action sequences too, and frequently used gentle panning motions to allow the viewer the most eyeful in terrific detail. You are welcomed in. However, zoomed close-ups of faces in dimly lit scenes weren't as defining. Not necessarily grainy as they were fuzzy. I think this had to do more with the craftsmanship (crafts'person'ship?) of the filmmaking rather than the limitations of DVD. Zoomed close-ups of faces are regularly a more flattering picture of our faces. Yet acheiving results of sharpness and sensitivity to light are more fragile with this technique. 
One of my favorite shots of the movie shows Carol Anne (played by
Heather O' Rourke, who sadly left us in 1988 from medical conditions)
reaching out her hand to the TV in the middle of the
night, and a ghostly hand charges back out to touch her hand.
Then there is a look on her face.... a zoomed close up, of wistful bewilderment as she slowly pans her own eyes to follow the supernatural stream of ghostly fog. She's at her most photogenic and intriguing in this very odd moment. But pausing this image is unfortunately not as sharp as one would hope, while other moments paused were clear as liquid crystal (however, my picture captured here looks a bit cleaner). sound....  The sound on this DVD was above average for a 1982 movie, I'm sure. Basses were smooth, yet not too punchy. Highs screeched a little, but overall provided appropriate detail that would envelop and define action or touch you with the terrific Goldsmith score. The dialogue was improved over the laserdisc by a long shot. Voices were more distinct with better panning of dialogue across the speakers depending on where people were. Still, I found the dialogue lacking warmth. `Hate to say it. The surrounds sounded full, and I especially liked the rumbling thunder, yet they never sounded split (?). But the score made the most of them.... Jerry Goldsmith's score…. The orchestrated score was full and warm. A very pleasing, natural, perhaps gushy, movie score. The score is very cathartic though continuing with Poltergeist's main theme. The laserdisc presented the score well, too, I thought. Jerry Goldsmith is a very gifted, fluid artist in the realm of music and emotions. 
Lastly I wanted to mention that it sure is a loss that we don't have
Dominique Dunn anymore. She played Dana, the spirited and attractive,
older daughter. Her boyfriend killed her in real life. I thought she
had a pleasing presence and looked forward to seeing her in other
performance works. I always wish her character had been more developed
in this movie. Though many characters were.
Widescreen: 2.35:1, one side, pan and scan on the other. 16X9 enhanced. Picture remastered. Dolby Digital 5.1 English, 2.0 French & Spanish Extras: 1 movie trailer (For it's skimpy extras, this movie sorely lacks an audio commentary) |
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