On this day in movie history - Jurassic Park (1993)

 

Jurassic Park

directed by Steven Spielberg,

written by Michael Crichton and David Koepp,

based on the novel by Michael Crichton,

was released in the United States on June 9, 1993.

Music by John Williams.

 
“… so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
– Jeff Goldblum, as Dr. Ian Malcolm.

 
Cast:

Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, B. D. Wong, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight, Gerald R. Molen, Miguel Sandoval, Cameron Thor, Christopher John Fields, Whit Hertford, Dean Cundey, Jophery C. Brown, Tom Mishler, Greg Burson, Adrian Escober, Richard Kiley, James Berlau, Brad M. Bucklin, Laura Burnett, Michael Lantieri, Gary Rodriguez, Lata Ryan, Brian Smrz, Rip Lee Walker, Robert 'Bobby Z' Zajonc.

On this day in movie history - Jaws: The Inside Story (2010)

Jaws: The Inside Story

documentary directed and written by Rob Goldberg,

released in the United States on June 6, 2010.

Music by Richard Fiocca.

Cast:

Richard Dreyfuss, Steven Spielberg, David Fear, Sid Sheinberg, Alison Bailes, John Milius, Calvin Joe Acord/Cal Acord, James-Michael Roddy, Robert Shaw, Murray Hamilton, Richard D. Zanuck, Wendy Benchley, David Brown, Helen Gurley Brown, William S. Gilmore, Joe Alves, Edith Blake, Carl Gottlieb, Jeffrey Kramer, Lorraine Gary, Susan Backlinie, Roy Arbogast, Kevin Pike, Richard O. Helmer/Richie Helmer, Michael Chapman, Bill Butler, Jonathan Filley, Jeffrey Voorhees, Lee Fierro, Roy Scheider, Harlan Twible, Mike Kuryla, John Williams, Mike New. 

Poltergeist (1982) vs. (2015) - no contest!

Review by Jack Kost

My wife and I are both “arty” souls.
We love to watch movies, and when they’re over we discuss them in depth, probably more in depth than most people.
We also enjoy discussing books, music, art, et al … also in depth.
My wife loves to paint, I love to write and sketch.
Our recent viewings of the 1982 and 2015 versions of Poltergeist turned from a fond, nostalgic chat about the former, to a “why did they bother” rant about the latter.

I’ll start with the original 1982 version, released in the United States on June 4, 1982:

It was produced by Steven Spielberg, based on his own story, and directed by Tobe Hooper.
For us, the 1982 original is a cinematic treat.
Hooper may have helmed the direction, but this has all the heart, feeling, emotion, humor, and suspense of a Spielberg movie.
We – the audience – see the family dynamics, their neighbors, and the history of the ever-expanding housing development.
The movie may be thirty-four-years-old, as of this writing, but it’s still the thrill-ride Spielberg has entertained fans with for decades.
The original is one of the best of the haunted house genre; an eerie and memorable light-show with a perfect end scene.

The high entertainment value reminds us of why we watch movies in the first place.
Spielberg knows how to engage and hold his audience.

Then we experienced the miserable let-down of the 2015 remake:

This was our post-Thanksgiving movie.
As usual, we discussed it after the end credits rolled, our discussion fueled by disdain!
We compared both versions, and shook our heads at how dreary and painful the remake is.
It felt like a by-the-numbers run-through for the actors in it, who seemed content to show up, recite the dismal script, and pick up their pay checks.
Not many movies have actually pissed me off, but this one made the list.
Absent is the charm and quality scripting of the original.
It simply goes through the motions without any of the character development, tension, or suspense of the original.
I watched it feeling bored after the first fifteen minutes, hoping it would pick up, get better, curious as to how it would unfold in a new retelling, being more disappointed as each scene unfolded.
I’m a fan of Sam Rockwell, but this was another example of how even a fine actor can’t save a lousy script.
We see some flashy effects, as we expect to see in this modern CGI-heavy age, but there’s nothing behind it, no depth or reason to care about what we’re being presented with.
The scene with Sam Rockwell regurgitating black goo into the sink, then seeing his reflection in the faucet, sores opening on his face, is a reworking of the scene in the original: Marty (Martin Casella) seeing maggots swarming on a chicken drumstick he’s just taken a bite out of, then his own face coming apart in the mirror.
It’s a great scene, even with the dated animatronics, with far more impact than the insipid 2015 version:

Zelda Rubinstein’s portrayal of Tangina, the psychic brought in to rescue their daughter and “clean” the house, is one of the high points of the story.

Her monologue to the family and investigators about what is really going on is chilling.
The character is also reworked for the 2015 version, changed for the contemporary audience, but giving nothing new or remarkable.
Running at roughly thirty minutes shorter, the remake has omitted the best elements of the original – to its own detriment.
Gone is the steady build-up of the original, as the 2015 version cuts directly to the shock-free plot markers.
Gone also are the comedic elements with the death of the pet canary, and the neighbor’s battle with the TV remote controls, parts of the story that developed the set-up and made us care more about the family and their predicament.

The key scene of the malevolent force entering the home, via the static of the TV set, is also changed, but as animated as the original was - it still had significant shock value to a first-time viewer:

It felt like the 2015 version had been made quickly and rushed out the studio door, nothing more than another vacuous money-making product.

The 1982 original has rightfully earned its place in cinema history – a classic of its genre; the 2015 rehash deserves nothing more than to be ignored and forgotten.

Thanksgiving: a time to give thanks.
Along with everything else we have been blessed with, we gave thanks for the fact that we hadn’t wasted money at the cinema box office for yet-another pointless, lazy, half-assed, cash-grab.

On this day in movie and book history - Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist

directed by Tobe Hooper,

written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais and Mark Victor,

based on a story by Steven Spielberg,

was released in the United States on June 4, 1982.

Music by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast:

JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins, Heather O’Rourke, Zelda Rubinstein, Beatrice Straight, Richard Lawson, Martin Casella, James Karen, Michael McManus, Virginia Kiser, Lou Perryman, Clair E. Leucart, Dirk Blocker, Allan Graf, Joseph Walsh, Helen Baron, Noel Conlon, Robert Broyles, Sonny Landham, Jeffrey Bannister, William Vail, Craig Simmons, Phil Stone, Dana Gendian, Jaimi Gendian, Danny Nero, Paula Paulson.

Recommended reading:

Poltergeist

by James Kahn.

Filmed as Poltergeist (1982), directed by Tobe Hooper.

Mass Market Paperback.

Published by Granada Publishing Ltd.
Published 1982.

ISBN-10: 0583136419
ISBN-13: 978-0583136419
 
Description:

Based on a Story by Steven Spielberg with a Screenplay by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor. From the imageless eye of the tv set, from the flickering snowy light, it calls to Carol Anne, six years old and innocent. From beyond the world of the living, it reaches out in unholy anger, ripping her from the arms of her family into the thrall of the Poltergeist.

On this day in movie history - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

directed by Steven Spielberg,

written by Jeffrey Boam,

based on a story and characters by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes,

was released in the United States on May 24, 1989.

Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover, River Phoenix, Michael Byrne, Kevork Malikyan, Robert Eddison, Richard Young, Alexei Sayle, Alex Hyde-White, Paul Maxwell, Isla Blair, Vernon Dobtcheff, J.J. Hardy, Bradley Gregg, Jeff O’Haco, Vince Deadrick Sr., Marc Miles, Ted Grossman, Tim Hiser, Larry Sanders, Will Miles, David Murray, Frederick Jaeger, Jerry Harte, Billy J. Mitchell, Martin Gordon, Paul Humpoletz, Tom Branch, Graeme Crowther, Luke Hanson, Chris Jenkinson, Nicola Scott, Louis Sheldon, Stefan Kalipha, Peter Pacey, Pat Roach, Suzanne Roquette, Eugene Lipinski, George Malpas, Julie Eccles, Nina Armstrong, Vic Armstrong, Roy Beck, Dickey Beer, Peter Diamond, Hugh Elton, Albert Evansky, Nick Gillard, Martin Grace, Paul Heasman, Ronald Lacey, Derek Lyons, Paul Markham, Wayne Michaels, Lee Richards, Michael Sheard, Tip Tipping, Chris Webb.