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Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
20 December 1978 (USA) moreTagline:
Get some sleep morePlot:
In San Francisco, a group of people discover the human race is being replaced one by one, with clones devoid of emotion. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
3 wins & 8 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(15 articles)
Tom Hanks, Tokio Hotel And More Reveal Horror Films They Would Remake (From MTV Movie News. 29 October 2009, 3:52 AM, PDT)
50 Influential Scream Queens: Part 2
(From Fangoria. 27 October 2009, 10:57 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
It has one of the better endings that I've seen in horror / science-fiction films. more (119 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
115 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColour:
Colour (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreSound Mix:
DolbyCertification:
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-16Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Elizabeth's nude scene in the factory was also filmed with clothes. That was seen when the film debuted on ABC in 1980. moreGoofs:
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 moreQuotes:
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!
more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in "My Gym Partner's a Monkey: I Fear Pretties/The Magic Fish (#2.6)" (2006) moreSoundtrack:
Amazing Grace moreFAQ
Was Kibner already podded at the book signing?Isn't the guy who pounds on Matthew's windshield shouting "They're here," the same guy from the 1956 movie?
Was Harry played by Jerry Garcia?
more
more (119 total)
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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