Description: A typical family in a quiet suburb of a normal California faces a frightening ordeal when its home is invaded by a Poltergeist. Late one night, 10-year-old Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rourke) hears a voice coming from inside the television set ... At first, the spirits that invade the Freeling's home seem like playful children. But then they turn angry. And when Carol Anne is pulled from this world into another, Steve and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams--In the Land of Women) turn to an exorcist (Zelda Rubinstein) in this horror classic from director Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre films) and producer and screenwriter Steven Spielberg.​. First things first today: The Criterion Collection has just announced their April Blu-ray and 4K release slate and—as always—it’s another great list of titles. adds another level of power to the bright whites present during a handful of hauntings. These moments are so dialed-in for contrast accuracy that is ripe with imagery, the scary tree, the pit of dead bodies, spectral occurrences, face peeling, the loss of a child, “they’re here”; all practical and all convincing. Clever casting, particularly with Heather O'Rourke as Carol Anne, meant that the audience has a grounding in reality: the family unit is succinct and believable, and as such, once the horror begins, we care about them and their plight. Simple building of tension from the first occurrence to the outright destruction never feels out of place, while the actions of the protagonists are never in question. living by insisting the film's core mythology is plausible. There's a reason everyone failed the late, great James Randi's Million Dollar

Antosca has reportedly been obsessed with both Cape Fear movies since childhood and approached Universal about adapting the property through UCP where he has been based for the past seven years.” They Are Here: The Real World of the Poltergeists (2 parts, 31:00 total) - Carried over from the 2008 Blu-ray (and whatWe’re taking it a little easy here at The Bits this week, especially in this stretch between the holidays, so that our whole team can relax, unwind, and focus on family and whatnot. But we do have a good post today with release news, a new disc review, and a bit of a look ahead at a few new 4K UHD catalog titles that we expect to arrive sometime in the new year. As always, let’s start with the review first...

Unfortunately, that’s it. For the 40th anniversary release of a film as significant as Poltergeist, it’s a shame that Warner Bros. hasn’t offered a single new extra. If anything deserves a comprehensive making-of documentary, it’s Poltergeist. On the other hand, this is an absolutely stellar 4K presentation that’s a significant upgrade over all previous versions. It’s near reference-quality, so that’s a 40th anniversary celebration of its own. Even if it didn’t include any extras whatsoever, this disc is still a must-own for fans of the film. It’s never looked this good.When viewing the studio's promotional trailer for the upcoming 4K Blu-ray release, please make sure to set resolution to 2160p/4K. from the recent remaster and has been encoded with the more efficient AVC codec. As such, it displays similar strengths including more refined The second option may be a more interesting "upgrade", as Poltergeist's original 2.0 mix (listed as "Original Theatrical English" on the menu)