MGM and 20th Century Fox have released a deluxe,
2 DVD collector’s edition of the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It probably isn’t fair to call this
a remake, but rather a complimentary piece to director Don Siegel’s classic
1956 film. In fact, director Philip Kaufman makes it clear in an interview
included on the DVD that he doesn’t view this as a remake. You would have to
have been living in a cave for the last fifty years if you don’t know the
central premise of the story: that tiny organisms from a doomed planet have
come to earth and have unobtrusively imbedded themselves throughout the
population of a small town. When townspeople fall asleep, they are ultimately
replicated by the organisms that metamorphasize from a large pod into human
form. The result is that the new being retains the physical characteristics of
the person but in fact, they are a totally different being, devoid of most
human emotions. There has been much debate over the hidden implications of the
original storyline but director Don Siegel always denied that the script was a
metaphor for Sen. McCarthy’s tactics of stamping our individuality and dissent.
Siegel always maintained that the Cold War meanings attributed to the movie
were coincidental and that he only wanted to fashion an expertly-made chiller.
That he succeeded in doing so was largely born out by the fact that director
Philip Kaufman and screenwriter W.D. Richter felt the original film was as
timely in 1978 as it was upon its initial release.
Rather than simply make a carbon copy of Siegel’s virtually
flawless original, Kaufman and Richter wisely decided to move the setting out
of the small town environment to the streets of
San Francisco. The choice was a wise one. We
all tend to feel safety and comfort in being surrounded by others, so if the
pods could wreak havoc in the midst of a densely populated area, the sense of
hopelessness would become even more profound. One key element remained the same
in both films: they center on a group of four friends who manage to realize
what is happening and desperately attempt to thwart the aliens. The greatest
threat to their efforts is being able to discern who they can trust and who has
already been transformed from a pod. They must also fight their natural
instinct to seek sleep for fear they will be transformed themselves.
The film is chilling from the very beginning with ingenious
and unexplained touches that add to the sense of foreboding. Shortly after the
credits role, the heroine (Brook Adams) walks down the street on a busy work
day and a woman overseeing some toddlers in a playground inexplicably looks at
her with an air of either menace or suspicion. We then glimpse a priest seeming
to have some idle fun on a playground swing – but he looks vacant and morose.
In another scene, a man in a business suit is seen running frantically through
the streets – again without explanation. But Kaufman explains in the
accompanying documentary that the very sight of a man in a suit running through
an urban area would be particularly unsettling for anyone to witness. These are
the kinds of little touches that Kaufman ingeniously uses to build suspense. Despite
a plot detailing the potential destruction of the human race, the film has a
wry and often cynical sense of humor, accurately labeling San Francisco as Ground Zero for the
touchy-feely, pseudo-intellectual crowd who feel they can explain everything
with psychobabble. Leonard Nimoy gives a terrific performance as a noted
psychologist who has become a national celebrity by convincing everyone all
problems can be solved with a simple group hug. If you think the premise that
such kooky theories could be embraced by the public is absurd, I have only two
words for you: Dr. Phil. Naturally, Nimoy’s character has misdiagnosed the horror
that is unfolding around him, much to the consternation of the film’s nominal
hero, an everyday health inspector played with characteristic low-key skill by
Donald Sutherland.
The movie has some clever cameo appearances including Robert
Duvall in a wordless role as the aforementioned priest, Don Siegel in a rare
acting stint a cab driver and, most memorably, the ingenious touch of having
Kevin McCarthy, star of the original film in startling cameo that gives more
evidence to the idea that this version of the story is not a remake but a
continuation. The film also benefits from some clever and very creepy special
effects as the beleaguered group of heroes try valiantly to resist falling
asleep with varying degrees of success. Several attempted takeovers of their
bodies are aborted only at the last moment. The most frightening movies use the
power of suggestion to terrify as opposed to special effects, and Kaufman
follows this philosophy very well indeed. The scariest aspects of the movie are
those in which terror is suggested rather than depicted. The film comes to a
conclusion that is quite startling – to the extent that even Veronica
Cartwright, who figures prominently in the scene, did not suspect how it would
play out. In all, Philip Kaufman’s Invasion
of the Bodysnatchers is in many ways that rarest of animals – a sequel (or
continuation) that in many ways equals or exceeds the quality of the original.
Extras: MGM has
generously given the deluxe treatment to this release. Key bonus features
include an interesting and informative commentary track by Philip Kaufman and a
wealth of mini featurettes each concentrating on a specific aspect of the
movie. Most center on the state-of-the-art special effects that were
accomplished in the pre-CGI era and still hold up very well today. Sadly,
neither Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum or Leonard Nimoy are onboard for the
documentaries, but Donald Sutherland and Veronica Cartwright are and they each
provide some very amusing anecdotes The package also includes the original
theatrical trailer. - Lee Pfeiffer
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CLICK HERE FOR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH VERONICA CARTWRIGHT ABOUT THE MAKING OF THE FILM