Poltergeist (1982) (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

[Steve Freeling]

Originally Posted by Matt89

Oh yeah, Poltergeist is one of Goldsmith's best scores IMO.

~Matt

And that honestly says a lot given the scores he did for First Blood, several Star Trek projects, Total Recall, Air Force One, Alien... We could actually sit here for days trying to name all the great scores Goldsmith did.

[SpazeBlue]

Here's a great website dedicated to collecting information about Poltergeist: http://www.poltergeist.poltergeistiii.com/

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by ptsherm

It’s the disproportionate amount of dismissal Hooper gets in relation to Richard Donner and The Goonies, a film Spielberg seemed equally involved in and likely shot even more 2nd Unit for.

My understanding is that the most Spielberg is ever spoken of having personally shot on Goonies is some footage for one scene, involving toy cars or something (I haven't seen the film since I was a kid). Although it will be argued until the end of time, multiple people maintain that Spielberg directed large chunks of the first unit on Poltergeist. We've established that you disagree, but I've never seen similar stories regarding Goonies.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by ptsherm

Yeah, that part often falls under the function of a producer. Think of the output of directors back in the old studio contract days making films at a breakneck pace and I doubting of them micromanaged their scores in the same way Spielberg is known for. (Plus, for the question of directing, I don’t deny Spielberg scored the film.) Poltergeist wasn’t the last film of Hooper’s that got taken away from him and rescored. It happened with Invaders from Mars and his last film Djinn. Those films don’t suddenly become not his. And Hooper apparently has said that he thinks highly of Goldsmith’s score, and that it’s even his favorite of the scores to his films.

It's true, part of the confusion comes from film fans who think of a director as being only an auteur like a David Fincher or (even more so) a Wes Anderson - someone who develops or writes a project, shaping it (often) from scratch, then shoots it, then oversees every element of post-production. Not all directors control every stage of their films on such a granular level.

Many directors in classic Hollywood did, indeed, come in and shoot a script and then turn their footage over to producers or a studio which shaped it. It didn't make them any less of the director, I agree completely. I love Douglas Sirk and worked my way through all his films last year. He makes clear in interviews that multiple projects he directed were much like this.

However, it gets confusing on Poltergeist, when you have an auteur director, famous for such granular control, who developed and co-wrote the script, officially produced the film, was on set for much, if not all, of filming, and then personally oversaw post-production. It gets even more confusing when people involved with the film start whispering that he actually staged the shots and directed the actors, while others swear on a stack of bibles that he didn't.

I wasn't there, I don't know, but I can only go by what a couple of people I've met, who were on set, and seem trustworthy, have said directly to me, and on my own sense of the film itself, which is all entirely subjective.

[VikingHead2000]

I can put this to rest once and for all. Believe it or not, I met Bob Roe who worked on the film. Hooper was there everyday on the set, and Spielberg wasn’t. He told me many years ago that Hopper shot over 95% of the film and Spielberg directed very little. Key scenes were mostly done by Hooper.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by VikingHead2000

I can put this to rest once and for all. Believe it or not, I met Bob Roe who worked on the film. Hooper was there everyday on the set, and Spielberg wasn’t. He told me many years ago that Hopper shot over 95% of the film and Spielberg directed very little. Key scenes were mostly done by Hooper.

The issue is that I think multiple people in the thread have met multiple people who were on set and have conflicting stories. I definitely fall in that category.

[ptsherm]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

My understanding is that the most Spielberg is ever spoken of having personally shot on Goonies is some footage for one scene, involving toy cars or something (I haven't seen the film since I was a kid). Although it will be argued until the end of time, multiple people maintain that Spielberg directed large chunks of the first unit on Poltergeist. We've established that you disagree, but I've never seen similar stories regarding Goonies.

I don’t know, I think with Goonies, it was a much more organized production, so what was 2nd Unit was always planned far in advance as 2nd Unit, and Spielberg was going to shoot that. An entire subplot involving escaped gorillas was shot (and removed from the film), and Spielberg shot that. But it has been said Spielberg also shot the pipe-bursting scene and the mistaken identity kiss scene - the former by apocrypha, the latter admitted by Astin. The toy cars is the scene Spielberg picked up on for Poltergeist on a day they were falling behind. This factor is probably part of what allows people to rag on Hooper - the production was far less “disciplined,” and more spontaneous. I’ve never heard stories of Spielberg directing 1st Unit alone. He was always working with Hooper. Goonies, as said, was more designated, as there’s even a call sheet online saying “1st Unit - Donner / 2nd Unit - Spielberg.” But there’s tons of fodder for conspiracy, as the only existing photos of the opening jailbreak scene show only Spielberg behind the cameras. If this were Poltergeist, people would be jumping up and saying, “No way is that jailbreak scene 2nd Unit!” But only with Poltergeist is everything 1st Unit and Hooper has to share credit. 😒

Originally Posted by James Luckard

It's true, part of the confusion comes from film fans who think of a director as being only an auteur like a David Fincher or (even more so) a Wes Anderson - someone who develops or writes a project, shaping it (often) from scratch, then shoots it, then oversees every element of post-production. Not all directors control every stage of their films on such a granular level.

Many directors in classic Hollywood did, indeed, come in and shoot a script and then turn their footage over to producers or a studio which shaped it. It didn't make them any less of the director, I agree completely. I love Douglas Sirk and worked my way through all his films last year. He makes clear in interviews that multiple projects he directed were much like this.

That’s fascinating!

However, it gets confusing on Poltergeist, when you have an auteur director, famous for such granular control, who developed and co-wrote the script, officially produced the film, was on set for much, if not all, of filming, and then personally oversaw post-production. It gets even more confusing when people involved with the film start whispering that he actually staged the shots and directed the actors, while others swear on a stack of bibles that he didn't.

I wasn't there, I don't know, but I can only go by what a couple of people I've met, who were on set, and seem trustworthy, have said directly to me, and on my own sense of the film itself, which is all entirely subjective.

But Hooper also developed the story, oversaw the script-writing, and is known for granular control of directorial elements like mise en scene, story shaping, etc. Hooper did full pre-production, did at least half the storyboarding, and even modeled the evil tree.

But I have never heard any Spielberg account say in so many words that Spielberg “staged the shots” and “directed the actors.” And what good are those whisperings when those very actors say Hooper only directed them?

Originally Posted by VikingHead2000

I can put this to rest once and for all. Believe it or not, I met Bob Roe who worked on the film. Hooper was there everyday on the set, and Spielberg wasn’t. He told me many years ago that Hopper shot over 95% of the film and Spielberg directed very little. Key scenes were mostly done by Hooper.

Wow, that’s awesome. Thanks for that.

[Jay H.]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

The issue is that I think multiple people in the thread have met multiple people who were on set and have conflicting stories.

Reminds me of the Richard Gere rumors. It's amazing how many people I've met over the years who are related to a nurse who was working at the hospital he supposedly went to. Cousins, aunts, uncles... all of them are nurses in Los Angeles and all of them where there when it happened.

Unlike the Gere rumor, which you have to be an idiot to believe, I seriously doubt we will ever know the truth about Poltergeist. Maybe we shouldn't.

[DR Herbert West]

I've never really cared. It might matter more to me if I thought this was his crowning achievement.

Good film, but it doesn't even rank in my Hooper top 5.

[ptsherm]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

Reminds me of the Richard Gere rumors. It's amazing how many people I've met over the years who are related to a nurse who was working at the hospital he supposedly went to. Cousins, aunts, uncles... all of them are nurses in Los Angeles and all of them where there when it happened.

Unlike the Gere rumor, which you have to be an idiot to believe, I seriously doubt we will ever know the truth about Poltergeist. Maybe we shouldn't.

Well, maybe you should use that anecdote to conclude how easy it is for people to make something up in their head. This idea that Spielberg was doing more than he was actually doing should be right up there in things easier perceived than proven, and more often than not disproven.

[Matt89]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

I've never really cared. It might matter more to me if I thought this was his crowning achievement.

Good film, but it doesn't even rank in my Hooper top 5.

Curious, what's your Hooper top 5?

This would certainly land in mine. Probably #2 after TCM tbh, I adored this film when I was a kid and it's one of the earliest horror films I remember seeing and was certainly one of the films that got me into the genre at a young age. I even have an original 14x36" insert poster framed in my kitchen.

My ranking would be:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Poltergeist
Lifeforce
TCM 2
The Funhouse

Honorable Mention:
Invaders From Mars

~Matt

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by Matt89

Curious, what's your Hooper top 5?

1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
2. The Funhouse
3. Lifeforce
4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2
5. Eaten Alive

Poltergeist would be number 6.

[Markgway]

I think the reason why people find it so easy to believe Spielberg co-directed (or ghost directed whichever you prefer) POLTERGEIST is because Hooper never did anything before or after that came close to its professionalism and quality. For whatever reasons the finished film reeks of Spielberg. That may be unfair but it's how many see it.

[Akuash]

My top five would be:

1. TCM
2. Poltergeist
3. Salems Lot
4. TCM2
5. Funhouse

[Matt89]

Originally Posted by DR Herbert West

1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
2. The Funhouse
3. Lifeforce
4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2
5. Eaten Alive

Poltergeist would be number 6.

Nice list. Pretty similar to mine.

But ugh, I really wanted to like Eaten Alive but I just couldn't get into it. I bought the Arrow blu-ray when it came out (total blind buy) and found it to be a slog to get through and sold it off. Just wasn't for me. Then last October (2020) during lockdown I decided to give it another watch and couldn't even finish it. I love Marilyn Burns and really wanted to like it but it just didn't work for me.

~Matt

[Matt89]

Originally Posted by Markgway

I think the reason why people find it so easy to believe Spielberg co-directed (or ghost directed whichever you prefer) POLTERGEIST is because Hooper never did anything before or after that came close to its professionalism and quality. For whatever reasons the finished film reeks of Spielberg. That may be unfair but it's how many see it.

Yeah, I pretty much agree with this. There's a polished nature to Poltergeist that Hooper's other films don't really have (although at the same time that ruggedness is half the charm of Hooper's films and it really works most of the time). Hooper was definitely a competent filmmaker, but Poltergeist mostly feels like a Spielberg production because, well, it simply was. Industrial Light and Magic even did the effects and I realize that's a George Lucas-founded FX company, but that all the more makes it a Spielberg production IMO.

~Matt

[Filmmaker]

Originally Posted by Markgway

I think the reason why people find it so easy to believe Spielberg co-directed (or ghost directed whichever you prefer) POLTERGEIST is because Hooper never did anything before or after that came close to its professionalism and quality. For whatever reasons the finished film reeks of Spielberg. That may be unfair but it's how many see it.

The essence of the whole argument distilled down to this perfect paragraph, yes. And yet somehow ptsherm will argue that LIFEFORCE, ‘SALEM’S LOT, INVADERS FROM MARS and the downright atavistic THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE are every bit as professionally and artfully wrought as POLTERGEIST. Frankly, I’m over it. The more I argue with someone so completely untethered from reality, the more I have to question my own sanity.

[klauswhereareyou]

The fact that this film has had pretty much zero extras seems a little suspect. The only other Spielberg produced genre film that falls into that category is Twilight Zone: the Movie. Even Gremlins a film that seems way lighter on extras than it should has a few deleted scenes and an audio commentary on it.

[Croweyes1121]

I also find it interesting how closely related the themes of Poltergeist and ET are (the latter, of course, being a film Spielberg directed that same year). The former is about a family being torn apart due to losing a child. The latter is about a family being torn apart by divorce. This seemed to be something Spielberg was exploring around that time. I think that also fuels some of the controversy around who really did the film.

[JGradus]

I attended a 25th anniversary screening of "Poltergeist" at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica. After the screening, there was a 30-minute panel discussion with co-writer Mark Victor, actor James Karen, and actress Zelda Rubinstein. The panelists did discuss the issue of authorship of the film.

A video of the panel discussion is on YouTube (I did not shoot and do not own this video). The discussion of who directed "Poltergeist" begins at 22:55. I find Zelda's take to be of particular interest.

"Poltergeist" 25th Anniversary Panel Discussion - YouTube