Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Philip Kaufman

Writers:

Jack Finney (novel)
W.D. Richter (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 December 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Get some sleep

Plot:

In San Francisco, a group of people discover the human race is being replaced one by one, with clones devoid of emotion.

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Escape | Sleep | Planet | Amazing Grace Hymn

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Donald Sutherland	...	Matthew Bennell
Brooke Adams	...	Elizabeth Driscoll
Jeff Goldblum	...	Jack Bellicec
Veronica Cartwright	...	Nancy Bellicec
Leonard Nimoy	...	Dr. David Kibner
Art Hindle	...	Dr. Geoffrey Howell, DDS
Lelia Goldoni	...	Katherine Hendley
Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. Miles J. Bennell
Don Siegel	...	Taxi Driver
Tom Luddy	...	Ted Hendley
Stan Ritchie	...	Stan
David Fisher	...	Mr. Gianni
Tom Dahlgren	...	Detective
Garry Goodrow	...	Dr. Boccardo
Jerry Walter	...	Restaurant Owner

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Netherlands:16 (orginal rating) | Finland:K-16 (1987) (cut) (video) | Finland:K-16 (2000) (uncut) (DVD) | Finland:K-18 (1979) (uncut) | West Germany:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | France:-12 | Australia:M | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG (certificate #25153) | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

1227 Montgomery Street, Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Solofilm

Trivia:

Elizabeth's nude scene in the factory was also filmed with clothes. That was seen when the film debuted on ABC in 1980.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Early in the film when Geoffrey and Elizabeth are talking and we only see their reflections. Geoffrey's mouth isn't moving

Quotes:

Matthew Bennell: [dials his phone] I'll get the police.
Telephone Operator: Police.
Matthew Bennell: Officer, I'd like to report four bodies in my backyard.
Telephone Operator: Wait right there Mr. Bennel.
Matthew Bennell: How do you know my name?
Jack Bellicec: [Jack's eyes widen with fear] Hang up, Matthew.
Matthew Bennell: [into the phone] I didn't tell you my name.
Jack Bellicec: Hang up!
Matthew Bennell: [hangs up the phone] I didn't tell them my name!
Nancy Bellicec: That's because they're all part of it. They're all pods, all of them!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "My Gym Partner's a Monkey: I Fear Pretties/The Magic Fish (#2.6)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Amazing Grace

It has one of the better endings that I've seen in horror / science-fiction films.

Second film version of Jack Finney's enduring novel is set in San Francisco. Health department inspector Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) is tearfully informed by co-worker Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) that her boyfriend now seems like a different, thoroughly unemotional person. Soon the two of them notice that this is turning into an epidemic, and eventually the truth is revealed. "Space flowers" that have drifted to Earth ultimately turn into pods that duplicate human beings, creating these new, but emotionless entities that exist only to continue reproducing the species.

Almost forty minutes longer than the classic original 1950's version, this effective genre entry can actually stand on its own. It works as a social comment on the fear of becoming just one face in a long line of drones, and provides good acting showcases for a cast also including Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright (gearing up for her equally affecting performance in "Alien" as another terrorized, and terrified, individual), Art Hindle (of the original "Black Christmas"), and Leonard Nimoy, in a probably-not-coincidental Spock-like role as a coldly pragmatic psychiatrist.

Special effects (by Tom Burman and Edouard Henriques) are enjoyably yucky, the music very offbeat at times but generally helpful in establishing the mood, and direction very assured. Working from a script by W.D. Richter, director Philip Kaufman ("The Right Stuff") knows how to deliver some good shocks and keeps the feeling of paranoia rampant throughout the balance of the picture.

Also reminiscent of a similar idea espoused in John W. Campbell, Jr.'s short story "Who Goes There?", itself filmed in two separate, memorable film adaptations from 1951 and 1982, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" successfully maintains interest and involvement for what is a pretty long picture at almost two hours in length.

The cameo roles are noteworthy: Kevin McCarthy virtually picks up where he left off in the first film adaptation, and original "Body Snatchers" director Don Siegel is a cab driver. Robert Duvall, who'd acted in Kaufman's debut picture, "The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid", is noticeable in a small, non-speaking bit part early in the picture.

Both intelligent and spooky, this movie has the ability to appeal to a broader audience than other genre fare.

8/10