Months after Poltergeist II: The Other Side made an appearance on a features-packed Blu-ray from Shout! Factory--and days after its composer, Jerry Goldsmith, got a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame--Intrada has announced a specially-priced triple-disc set of the film's score.
Released four years after the original horror classic (directed by Tobe Hooper and produced and co-written by Steven Spielberg), Poltergeist II finds the Freeling family (Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Oliver Robins and Heather O'Rourke; Dominique Dunn, who portrayed the family's eldest daughter, had died less than a year after the original film's release) returning to their home in Cuesta Verde (which was built upon a cemetery and torn up by evil spirits) to do battle with the villainous Rev. Henry Kane, the spirit of a murderous preacher which caused the chaos in the previous film. Actress Zelda Rubenstein also reprised her memorable role as the psychic Tangina Barrons.
While the film was a critical and commercial disappointment compared to its predecessor, Goldsmith ably followed up his Oscar-nominated work for the original film with a new score that combined the familiar "Carol Anne's Theme" with a selection of new orchestral and electronic music and bold themes for new story ideas, including the Native American shaman Taylor (Will Sampson), who helps the Freelings and Tangina fight the evil Kane.
This unique expansion of the Poltergeist II soundtrack is the fifth release of this material: Intrada released a five-track album upon original release, which they expanded in 1993. Varese reissued that program a decade later, and Kritzerland expanded the score to two discs in 2013. Intrada brings even more material to the forefront in this 3CD set: two discs feature the complete original score in two different presentations--either the digital two-track mixes made for the album by master mixer Bruce Botnick, or three-track analog mixes made for the final film, to balance with the dialogue. A third disc includes even more alternate versions than the Kritzerland release, including eight tracks without choir (some of which were dialed out in the film altogether) and an alternate of the film's climactic "Reaching Out/The Astral" cue. New liner notes and cover designs (including the original album art and new key art from the recent Blu-ray) complete this definitive take on a Goldsmith classic.
This specially-priced expansion (the cost of a 2CD set from Intrada) is on sale now, and is available as long as quantities and interest remain. Check out the full track list below!
Poltergeist II: The Other Side - Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack (Limited Edition) (Intrada Special Collection ISC-370, 2017 - original film released 1986)
Discs 1-2: Complete soundtrack (digital and analog mixes - track lists to each disc identical)
- The Power
- Things
- The Mall
- The Past
- Late Call (with Ringtone)
- The Dream
- Clouds
- It's No Use
- Take Care
- Butterflies
- The Visitor
- Wild Braces
- Leave Us Alone
- The Smoke
- The Drink
- The Worm
- Out of the Ceiling
- Back to Cuesta Verde
- Reaching Out/The Astral
- Carol Anne's Theme (End Title)
Disc 3: Extras
- The Power (Without Choir)
- Late Call (Without Ringtone)
- The Dream (Revised)
- It's No Use (Without Choir)
- The Visitor (Without Choir)
- Wild Braces (Without Choir)
- The Smoke (Without Choir)
- The Worm (Without Choir)
- Reaching Out/The Astral (Alternate)
- Reaching Out/The Astral (Alternate Without Choir)
- Reaching Out/The Astral (Without Choir)
- The Star-Spangled Banner
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