They're baaaack - in theaters!
Here's an idea I really like….
To publicize the October 9 DVD release of Poltergeist: The 25th Anniversary Edition, Fathom Events will be showing the movie in 242 theaters around the country for one night only, October 4. You can order tickets from their website, which also has a list of participating theaters.
Fathom generally does concert broadcasts in digitally-equipped theaters, along with screenings of anime features. But I would love to see them do more screenings of films like this. It’s a rare week when there aren’t a few movies that have previously been available on DVD being re-released in “special” editions (a practice I’m not crazy about as it’s largely a matter of milking fans by getting them to buy their favorite movies another time). So it seems to me studios would be eager to embrace this method of making their film stand out from the crowd.
And what’s better than getting a chance to see your favorite movie on the big screen? If you’ve never been to a modern digital screening, you may well be amazed at the quality. If this is the future of classic movies, I'm all for it.
On the topic of Poltergeist, by the way, fans are pretty upset that the new DVD has no special features, other than a documentary about the “real” world of poltergeists. Could it be that producer Steven Spielberg, who is widely thought of as the creator of the film even though the director was actually Tobe Hooper, doesn’t much like the movie and wasn’t willing to cooperate with providing material for an expanded edition? Click here to see a panel discussion of the film featuring James Karen, Zelda Rubenstein and co-writer Mark Victor that took place in Santa Monica, CA on June 16 (not much to look at, but the audio is good).
I noticed one of our theaters here is showing it (Little Rock, AR) and I'm pretty excited. Not so much for me, I've seen it a bajillion times (or maybe 10), but my girlfriend and her daughter haven't. So at least I can watch those 2 jump at everything in the movie. They frighten easily and it's cool they'll get to experience it the same way I first did.
Beats the hell out of watching it my house, plus it's more fun to see popcorn flying when you don't have to clean it up afterwards.
Cracker, you cracked me up! I love the image of a theater full of people losing their grip on their popcorn. And the great thing about a screening like this is that pretty much everyone who comes to be see it will already be into the flick, unlike your average Friday night at the movies.
Steven Spielberg, Tobe Hooper, and Craig T. Nelson all declined to be involved with this release. WB had originally planned a 2 disc set, but once the "big names" backed out, they pretty much did too. A real shame. After all these years, everyone already knows Spielberg was the "real" director of the movie. Still, they could have put a better version than this together, even if nobody involved even mentioned the "controversy." I did find this fan site dedicated to the film though-it's got a lot of great info on all three movies: www.poltergeist.poltergeistIII.com
Thanks for the link to the website, some good stuff there. The Alexandra Holzer documentary sounds pretty cool.
I doubt I pick up the DVD as I hate all the double-dipping. I'd be broke if I picked up every newer and better version the companies release now. It's all I can do to buy 1 copy.