[.ca] Invasion of the Body Snatchers

From Amazon.com:
Jack Finney's classic science fiction novel has been the basis of three big-screen adaptations, beginning with the 1956 chiller Invasion of the Body Snatchers and most recently as 1994's underrated Body Snatchers. This acclaimed 1978 version from director Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff) is every bit as creepy as the '56 original, and it fits perfectly into the cycle of paranoid thrillers that thrived in American movies of the 1970s. Kaufman stylishly directs from an intelligent screenplay by W.D. Richter, while Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams lead a distinguished cast (including Jeff Goldblum, Leonard Nimoy, and Veronica Cartwright) and must fight for survival as the population of San Francisco is systematically cloned by alien "pods" from a distant, dying planet. The atmosphere of dread and paranoia grows increasingly intense as the complexity of the alien invasion is gradually revealed, until nobody can be trusted to be who they appear. Finely tuned performances enhance the film's eerie atmosphere, highlighted by moments that will lurk in your memory long after the movie's over. MGM's DVD release includes a full-length audio commentary by Kaufman, a "pod culture" retrospective, Body Snatchers trivia, production notes, and the original theatrical trailer. --Jeff Shannon

Creepy, paraonoic remake of the 1956 original !:
In San Francisco, mysterious seeds are dropping and planting themselves on Earth. They sprout and bloom, looking deceptively like pink flowers. Once these flowers bloom, they take on the shape of a human shell and if you happen to fall asleep beside one, watch out! Once their tentacles get a hold on you, the cloning process begins! Your only defence against attack: stay awake! The invasion's already begun when Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) comes home one night to find out her husband, Dr. Geoffrey Howell (Art Hindle) has to go to an important meeting -- one which falls on the same night as the hockey playoffs he was so excited about attending the night before. Suspicious, she tracks his movements and discovers he's meeting with people she doesn't know and exchanging strange packages with them. The next day, she tells a colleague, Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) and he convinces her to talk to Dr. David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy). When she does, he tries to convince her it's all in her head! Matthew then becomes convinced, due to a series of strange events, that the only people he can trust his closest friends: Elizabeth, Jack (Jeff Goldblum), and his wife Nancy (Veronica Cartwright). The picture and audio quality on this DVD are excellent. There's no grain to be found and the Dolby Digital soundtrack sounds rich and full. Closed captioning is offered for the hearing impaired, but you need a TV that offers it. Both Widescreen and Fullscreen versions are offered on a double-sided disc (for those not fully converted to Widescreen). The menus are easy to navigate, allowing access to scene selection and two special features: the original theatrical trailer and the audio commentary by director Phillip Kaufman. A great remake of the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Kevin McCarthy (from the original) has a cameo as a frantic man who warns Matthew and Elizabeth of the coming invasion. This movie has excellent SFX, especially the clone transformation scenes, which are horrifying!. There are also some terrific performances by the leads of the cast, including Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams. The film itself has a truly creepy atmosphere, along with a prevailing sense of paranoia that never lets up! The movie "grabs" you by the hand and keeps you glued to your seat until the unforgettable ending!

Horror/Sci-Fi Classic:
I first saw INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) in a movie theater back in mid-'79. I was not quite 12 years old then and this film freaked me out. I had nightmares for days. This gives you an idea of how effective this chilling update of the 1956 story was! Now that I have owned it on VHS for several years and have seen it a few more times, I can still appreciate this movie for the masterful way it was constructed by director Philip Kaufman, and for its intelligently written screenplay by W.D. Richter. (I know, W.D. Who?) You know, I have still never seen the 1956 original (or the 1995 re-update), but this version is so good (and, indeed, considered by many to be the best of the three) that I don't feel like I've missed out on much. Of course, I have read about the first version and its allegories to McCarthyism, which was such a big part of American life in the 1950's. If this version can be considered allegorical to anything, it would have to be to the national decline of individualism in the post-Vietnam era. In fact, on that level it can also be considered to be a prophetical foreshadowing of the Yuppie Era of the 1980's! Think about that chilling final scene: Hundreds of men and women, who all act alike and dress alike (in suits & ties, no less), going about their daily office jobs like the mindless drones they are. Pretty much what we've all seen in our big cities in the past 20 years or so, isn't it? Now, that's REALLY scary! INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS has it all: Wonderful actors--Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum (in the first really significant role of his career), Veronica Cartwright and Leonard Nimoy, suspenseful directing, taut editing, realistically scary makeup effects, spooky score and one of the five greatest endings in Horror movie history. A bit hit when it was released over 25 years ago, this film had become practically forgotten over the years. Now that it's been finally released on DVD, many fans have been revisiting it. I will be purchasing the DVD soon--and so should you, especially if you love great, scary Horror/Sci-Fi films. One final note: Although relatively tame by today's standards, I was surprised at the PG-rating when I first saw INVASION back in 1979. It still has the PG-rating; however, if it had been released today, it would have definitely been PG-13 all the way. This film has a fairly significant quotient of blood and gore, as well as copious nudity (both male and female), so if you're wondering about showing it to your kids, I'd say that 11 & up would be appropriate. Just be forewarned: as I mentioned earlier, I saw INVASION when I was 11 1/2 and it gave me nightmares for several days afterwards! Not bad for an old Horror film from the '70's. :) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MOST RECOMMENDED FOR HORROR/SCI-FI FANS

Excellent remake of creepy classic!:
Philip Kaufman shows off his directorial skill in this effective, stylish remake of the suspense classic set in contemporary (albeit 1978) San Francisco. Sutherland, Goldblum and Cartwright deliver excellent performances as the last hold-outs against an alien invasion. Just enough action and special effects to compliment the well paced mounting suspense. DVD offers commentary track which also proves interesting. The only glitch for me is how non-aliens can get away with blending in with the aliens, if they don't/can't speak the special alien "language."

Don't go to sleep:
One of the creepiest movies I've ever seen. Instead of the humanoid-appearing aliens so typical in most sci-fi films THIS movie goes in the other direction by portraying the aliens as seemingly harmless plants, which adds a rather terrifying irony to the proceedings. What these plants do once near a sleeping person (or animal) has to be seen to be appreciated because the special effects here are unsettlingly real. All of the actors do a splendid job in portraying their characters, from the quirky and nuerotic Jeff Goldblum to the intuitive and resilient Veronica Cartwright. The stolid but slightly off-beat Donald Sutherland, to the emotionally suspicious Brooke Adams. All are terrific here! Another thing that makes this movie so suspenseful is the masterful use of paranoia, which starts on a low simmer, building gradually, till by the movie's end everything is turned up to a heart-pounding, raging boil. All along the way you're virtually on the edge of your seat. So the next time you're out walking and find a rather strange looking plant growing amongst the shrubbery, think twice before bringing it in your home. But why worry, it's only a plant - right???

4 1/2:
Most remakes are a joke but this one was pretty good! I gave it minus half because it's not the original but captures the eerieness of the story very well. The cast here is good and the creepy atmosphere is updated and good. If a completist as I am get this along with the original.