Poltergeist Ii

POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE Diane Freling’s mother, Grandma Jess (played material from the first film, but mostly compos - “THEY’RE BACK …” by the wonderful Geraldine Fitzgerald). All is ing new material. In 1982, Steven Spielberg gave the movie peaceful and calm – but obviously not for long. world a one-two punch – Poltergeist , which he There is a shaman (Will Sampson) who knows Goldsmith uses his usual orchestral forces co-wrote and produced, and a little movie bad things are coming, and a dead, rather in - with some electronics and choir mixed in to called E.T. , which he directed. Both films had sane preacher named Kane (Julian Beck), good effect. The “Carol Anne” theme occurs approximately the same budget, about $10.5 who is determined to get Carol Anne and every now and then and is, of course, one of million, which was low compared to the then- wreak havoc. The rest, as they say, is the tale the most memorable and beautiful themes he average film budget. Just sticking with Spiel - and in case there are those who haven’t seen ever wrote. The music for Poltergeist II: The berg, his recent films of that era had cost $19 it, the tale shall not be told here. Other Side is ethereal, majestic, suspenseful, million (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) , heart pounding, and tender. It is also its own $32 million (1941) and $18 million (Raiders of But the film was beset with a major problem distinct thing – it’s not Poltergeist because the the Lost Ark) . But the smaller budgets made during the filming – the actor playing the key film is not just a rehash of the first film. no impact at all on the quality of either Polter - role of Kane, Julian Beck, passed away before geist or E.T. – both were beautifully produced filming was completed. He’d already shot a There have been three previous releases of films that looked great and didn’t feel like the considerable amount of footage and it proba - Jerry Goldsmith’s score on CD. The first from product of a lower budget in any way. The films bly wasn’t in any way feasible to recast and Varese Sarabande was quite short, as was the came out a week apart and both were huge reshoot all that footage. So H R Giger, the man fashion back when it was released. The sec - hits, with E.T. , of course, becoming one of the who created the alien in Alien was brought on ond issue came from Intrada, and that added biggest money makers of all-time. Poltergeist board to create a “beast” version of the Kane several new cues. The third, once again from grossed approximately $76 million and was character that Beck was playing – scenes Varese Sarabande, added even more mate - the eighth highest-grossing film of 1982. were rewritten, everything was adjusted and rial, but still was not complete. Missing in ac - filming continued. A few of Julian Beck’s lines tion were a handful of short but excellent cues. Poltergeist delighted audiences and critics – had to be looped by another actor during post- Also, as was the style, several cues were put it was the best kind of horror film: a carnival production. The running time of the film, which together using crossfades, which is a choice. fun ride, a rollercoaster that could have you is about eighty-three minutes without the end What a crossfade does however is kind of laughing out loud one minute and screaming credits, shows that a lot of what was probably mask the outgoing cue’s final notes as the in - in terror the next, all with a shiver-inducing Twi - meant to be on the screen before Beck passed coming cue makes its presence known. light Zone kind of creepiness. It was the kind away had to be scuttled and rethought quickly. of film where patrons immediately called all For this first time ever complete release of Pol - their friends and dragged them to see it so While the film wasn’t the success of its pred - tergeist II: The Other Side , we have gone back they could watch their friends squirming with ecessor, it did make money and was nomi - to the original three-track mixdowns. All cues suspense and having the living daylights nated for an Academy Award for Best Visual are present and accounted for. We’ve left scared out of them. While Tobe Hooper has the Effects. Its success insured another sequel some of the combined cues the way they were directing credit, Spielberg’s handprints are on would come along, which it did two years later. but have eliminated the cross fades so that every frame of the film. The reviews were middling at the time be - each cue is note complete. Furthermore, we cause there was disappointment (as there have some bonus tracks – two cues that were Since sequels were becoming the norm and usually is with sequels of any kind) that it didn’t on the previous CDs with choir, as they were were big business, it was not much of a sur - live up to the first film. But viewed years later recorded, were played in the film without the prise when Poltergeist II: The Other Side went without that baggage, the film does have its choir and we’ve included those film versions. before the cameras – the only surprise was pleasures, with wonderful performances by Also, the cue “Late Call” had a toy phone that it took four years to do so. The intentions the leads, and a truly one-off and incredibly sound effect on the first release, that wasn’t were perfect: Bring back the lovable and en - creepy performance by Julian Beck, the kind included on the second, but was on the third dearing Freling family and the actors who of performance that induces nightmares. The – we include it in our bonus section, just for played them (Craig T. Nelson, Jobeth Williams, film looks terrific and the effects are fun and completeness sake. Finally, we’ve also in - Oliver Robins and Heather O’Rourke – the ac - well done. But what takes the film to a whole cluded just the choir track for one selection so tress who played daughter Dana, Dominique other level is the same thing that took Polter - you can clearly hear what they’re singing. Dunne, had been tragically murdered after geist to a whole other level – the magnificent filming Polter-geist and rather than recast, the score by Jerry Goldsmith. It is a pleasure to release this wonderful Gold - character was left out of the sequel), bring smith score from one of his most fertile peri - back Zelda Rubinstein as the psychic, and Goldsmith, by this point in his career, was al - ods, complete and in beautiful sound. There come up with a story that would have the ready firmly established as a film composer was no one like Jerry Goldsmith – he was a same qualities as the first film without feeling legend, having written one brilliant score after film music force like no other. He could do like it was just hitting the same beats. In the di - another for the past two decades. He’d been anything – romance, comedy, drama, horror, rector’s chair this time was Brian Gibson, and nominated for Oscars any number of times, sci-fi, thriller, mystery – his music has made the writers were Michael Grais and Mark Victor won for The Omen , and was just about the great films greater and mediocre films tolera - who, with Spielberg, had written the original most sought after composer in Hollywood. His ble. He understood film music and its purpose Poltergeist . score for Poltergeist had been nominated for as well as any film composer who ever lived. an Academy Award (losing to the other Spiel - Poltergeist II: The Other Side begins a year berg film, E.T. ). But rather than rehash that — Bruce Kimmel after the first film, the Frelings having relocated score, he chose to just use the “Carol Anne” to Phoenix, Arizona, where they’re living with theme along with a handful of other thematic.

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