Poltergeist (1982 film)

A clause in his contract with Universal Studios prevented Steven Spielberg from directing any other film while preparing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[9] According to Tobe Hooper, the very core concept of the film was his, which he pitched to Spielberg after turning down the offer to direct Night Skies.[10] Time and Newsweek tagged the summer of 1982 "The Spielberg Summer" because E.T. and Poltergeist were released a week apart in June. There were suggestions that Spielberg, in addition to being Poltergeist's co-producer and co-writer, had also served as its de facto co-director. This view was bolstered by various statements Spielberg had made about his involvement in the film, including a quote gave in a Los Angeles Times article on May 24, 1982: "Tobe isn't ... a take-charge sort of guy. If a question was asked and an answer wasn't immediately forthcoming, I'd jump in and say what we could do. Tobe would nod agreement, and that became the process of collaboration."[11]

That same Los Angeles Times article noted that the Directors Guild of America had "opened an investigation into the question of whether or not Hooper's official credit was being denigrated by statements Spielberg has made, apparently claiming authorship."[12] The investigation ended in an arbitrator's ruling that "MGM/UA Entertainment Co. must pay $15,000 to director Tobe Hooper because the studio gave producer Steven Spielberg a bigger credit than Hooper got in its trailers," although also noting that "broader issues of dispute exist between producer-writer (Spielberg) and the director" (original damages of $200,000 were originally sought by the DGA).[13] Co-producer Frank Marshall told the Los Angeles Times that "the creative force of the movie was Steven. Tobe was the director and was on the set every day. But Steven did the design for every storyboard and he was on the set every day except for three days when he was in Hawaii with Lucas." However, Hooper stated that he "did fully half of the storyboards."[9]

The Hollywood Reporter printed an open letter from Spielberg to Hooper in the week of the film's release.

Regrettably, some of the press has misunderstood the rather unique, creative relationship which you and I shared throughout the making of Poltergeist.

I enjoyed your openness in allowing me, as a writer and a producer, a wide berth for creative involvement, just as I know you were happy with the freedom you had to direct Poltergeist so wonderfully.

Through the screenplay you accepted a vision of this very intense movie from the start, and as the director, you delivered the goods. You performed responsibly and professionally throughout, and I wish you great success on your next project.[14]

In a 2007 interview with Ain't It Cool News, Zelda Rubinstein discussed her recollections of the shooting process. She said that "Steven directed all six days" that she was on set: "Tobe set up the shots and Steven made the adjustments." She also alleged that Hooper "allowed some unacceptable chemical agents into his work," and, when she went in to audition for Hooper and Spielberg, at that moment, that "Tobe was only partially there."[15] Comments from actor James Karen, in regard to a 25th-anniversary Q&A event both had attended, subsequently have alleged these remarks to be unfair to Hooper. "She laid into Tobe and I don't know why ... Tobe was kind to her."[16]

In a 2012 Rue Morgue article prepared for the 30th anniversary, interviews on the film were compiled from several cast and crew members. In response to the magazine's query about the authorship issue, cast members came unanimously on the side of Hooper. James Karen said, "Tobe had a hard time on that film. It's tough when a producer is on set every day and there's always been a lot of talk about that. I considered Tobe my director. That's my stand on all those rumours." Martin Casella stated: "So much of Poltergeist looks and feels like a Spielberg movie but my recollection is that Tobe was mostly directing." Oliver Robins: "The guy who sets up the shots, blocks the actors and works with the crew to create a vision is the director. In those terms, Tobe was the director. He's the one who directed me, anyway." Make-up and effects man Craig Reardon stated Spielberg often had the final say, such as when his original version of the cancerous steak that he made in compliance with Hooper's specifications was ultimately vetoed by Spielberg: "Although the first steak did not represent a killing amount of work, it had consumed enough time and effort—none of which I could afford to waste—that I determined in the future to make certain whatever I prepped would be approved in advance by Spielberg as well as Hooper."[16]

Following the completion of principal photography in the first week of August 1981, Hooper went on to spend ten weeks in the editing room putting together the first cut of the film.[17] Spielberg spent much of this time supervising the SFX photography being held at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).

In a 2015 interview with the online journal Film Talk, Hooper was asked about the controversy. He claimed that the rumors were started by an article in the Los Angeles Times after their reporters saw Spielberg helping Hooper get footage of "little race cars" in front of the house while Hooper was busy shooting another scene elsewhere. "From there it became its own legend. That is how I remember it; I was making the movie and later on, I heard this stuff after it was finished. I really can’t set the record much straighter than that."[18]

According to the Blumhouse Productions website, Poltergeist 1st assistant camera John R. Leonetti reported that Spielberg directed the film more so than Hooper, stating, "Hooper was so nice and just happy to be there. He creatively had input. Steven developed the movie, and it was his to direct, except there was anticipation of a director's strike, so he was 'the producer' but really he directed it in case there was going to be a strike and Tobe was cool with that. It wasn't anything against Tobe. Every once in a while, he would actually leave the set and let Tobe do a few things just because. But really, Steven directed it."[19]

Following Hooper's passing on August 27, 2017, director Mick Garris, who was a publicist on the film and visited the set on several occasions, came to Hooper's defense on the Post Mortem podcast:

Tobe was always calling action and cut. Tobe had been deeply involved in all of the pre-production and everything. But Steven is a guy who will come in and call the shots. And so, you're on your first studio film, hired by Steven Spielberg, who is enthusiastically involved in this movie. Are you gonna say, 'Stop that... let me do this'? Which [Tobe] did.

[...] Tobe was a terrific filmmaker. I don't think it's that Steven was controlling. I think it was Steven was enthusiastic. And nobody was there to protect Tobe. But all of the pre-production was done by Tobe. Tobe was there throughout. Tobe's vision is very much realized there. And Tobe got credit because he deserved credit. Including... Steven Spielberg said that.

[...] Yes, Steven Spielberg was very much involved. It's a Tobe Hooper film.[20]

Poltergeist was awarded the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, losing that award to Spielberg's other summer hit, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

The music for Poltergeist was written by veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith. He wrote several themes for the score including the lullaby "Carol Anne's Theme" to represent blissful suburban life and the young female protagonist, an elegant semi-religious melody for dealings of the souls caught between worlds, and several dissonant, atonal blasts during moments of terror.[21][22] The score went on to garner Goldsmith an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score, though he lost to fellow composer John Williams for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Goldsmith's score was first released in 1982 on LP through MGM Records in a 38-minute version. Rhino Movie Music later released a 68-minute cut on CD in 1997. A two-disc soundtrack album later followed on December 9, 2010 by Film Score Monthly featuring additional source and alternate material. The 2010 release also included previously unreleased tracks from Goldsmith's score to The Prize (1963).[21][23] The following track list is based on the 2010 album release.

There is an alternate version of "Carol Anne's theme" which has lyrics. That version is unofficially titled "Bless this House" (which is a line from the chorus). It was not featured in the film, but was part of the original album.

Poltergeist was released theatrically by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on June 4, 1982. The film was a commercial success and grossed $76,606,280 in the United States, making it the highest-grossing horror film of 1982 and eighth overall for the year.[25]

The film was well received by critics and is considered by many as a classic of the horror genre[26][27] as well as one of the best films of 1982.[28][29][30] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 85% based on reviews from 61 critics. The site's consensus reads: "Smartly filmed, tightly scripted, and—most importantly—consistently frightening, Poltergeist is a modern horror classic."[31] On Metacritic it has a score of 79% based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[32] Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and called it "an effective thriller, not so much because of the special effects, as because Hooper and Spielberg have tried to see the movie's strange events through the eyes of the family members, instead of just standing back and letting the special effects overwhelm the cast along with the audience."[33] Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a marvelously spooky ghost story" with "extraordinary technical effects" that were "often eerie and beautiful but also occasionally vividly gruesome."[34] Andrew Sarris, in The Village Voice, wrote that when Carol Anne is lost, the parents and the two older children "come together in blood-kin empathy to form a larger-than-life family that will reach down to the gates of hell to save its loved ones."[35] In the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Peter Rainer wrote:

Buried within the plot of Poltergeist is a basic, splendid fairy tale scheme: the story of a little girl who puts her parents through the most outrageous tribulation to prove their love for her. Underlying most fairy tales is a common theme: the comforts of family. Virtually all fairy tales begin with a disrupting of the family order, and their conclusion is usually a return to order.[35]

Not all reviews were as positive. Gene Siskel gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, writing that the film "is very good at getting the details of suburban life right—in other words, it sets its stage beautifully—but when it comes time for the terror to begin, the whole thing is very, very silly."[36] Gary Arnold of The Washington Post observed that the film "looks and feels decidedly patchy, as if it had been assembled by different hands frequently working at cross purposes."[37] Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "In terms of simple, flat-out, roof-rattling fright, 'Poltergeist' gives full value. In terms of story, however, simple is indeed the word, and dumb might be a better one. And when so many effects are lavished on a story this frail, you have a lopsided film."[38]

The film has continued to receive recognition over 35 years after its release. Poltergeist was selected by The New York Times as one of The Best 1000 Movies Ever Made.[39] The film also received recognition from the American Film Institute. The film ranked number 84 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills list,[40] and the line "They're here" was named the 69th-greatest movie quote on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.[41]

The film received three Oscar nominations: Best Original Score, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects, all of them losing to Spielberg's other film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[42]