Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

When seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade a small town, replicating the residents one body at a time.

Director:

Philip Kaufman

Writers:

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

Stars:

Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum

3 wins & 9 nominations.

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
Lelia Goldoni	...	Katherine Hendley
Kevin McCarthy	...	Running Man
Don Siegel	...	Taxi Driver
Tom Luddy	...	Ted Hendley
Stan Ritchie	...	Stan
David Fisher	...	Mr. Gianni
Tom Dahlgren	...	Detective
Garry Goodrow	...	Dr. Boccardo (as Gary Goodrow)
Jerry Walter	...	Restaurant Owner

Storyline

The first remake of the paranoid infiltration classic moves the setting for the invasion from a small town to the city of San Fransisco and starts as Matthew Bennell notices that several of his friends are complaining that their close relatives are in some way different. When questioned later they themselves seem changed as they deny everything or make lame excuses. As the invaders increase in number they become more open and Bennell, who has by now witnessed an attempted "replacement" realises that he and his friends must escape or suffer the same fate. But who can he trust to help him and who has already been snatched?

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | sleep | psychiatrist | health inspector | capgras delusion | 

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Taglines:

Get some sleep

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

22 December 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,298,129, 25 December 1978, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$24,946,533

Company Credits

Production Co:

Solofilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Veronica Cartwright's hysterical fear in the final scene of the movie is similar to her flip-out in the car near the end of The Birds (1963), and in the ductwork scene of Alien (1979).

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Goofs

The ship being loaded with pods was in dry dock, the entire propeller is clearly visible. Ships are not loaded in dry dock.

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Quotes

Elizabeth Driscoll: Matthew, we'll never be able to stop them!
Matthew Bennell: Yes, we will.
Elizabeth Driscoll: We can't! Look it, they control the whole city.
Matthew Bennell: We'll find a way somehow.
Elizabeth Driscoll: Oh, Matthew, I can't go on! I wanna go to sleep. I can't stay awake any more.
Matthew Bennell: You have to. You have to stay awake.

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Alternate Versions

In the version that ABC-TV ran in 1980, Brooke Adams' nude scene, where she was walking through the greenhouse where the pods were being grown, was replaced with an alternate shot of her wearing the red dress.

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Connections

Referenced in Total Security: Evasion of the Body Snatchers

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Soundtracks

Amazing Grace
Traditional
Performed by The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (as the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards)
Courtesy of RCA Limited

User Reviews

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a rare example of how remakes equal their originals.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a rare example of how remakes equal their originals. Now, having never seen the 50s original and only seeing the modern remake 'The Invasion', I was sceptical about the acclaim this received. How many times can the same novel be adapted and still be enthralling as the source material? Turns out several times. This was incredibly eerie and edgy for its time. A health inspector and his colleague are in the midst of a gradual alien invasion where the rest of society start to act differently than before. The epitome of portraying totalitarianism (I've always wanted to use that word in a review!) and how easily manipulated society can be at conforming to new regimes. It's a timeless and always relevant story that seamlessly blends sci-fi with politics. Creating true order from falsified order. The inability of the freedom to act, the relinquishment of feeling...just the loyal obedience to the "bigger picture". That being a flourishing gelatinous alien race taking over planets by duplicating their hosts once they fall to sleep. It plays out like a classic sci-fi, but the horror elements crop up occasionally. The first five minutes were surreal and entrancing, it reeled me in immediately. The slow revelatory build up during the first two acts were extremely well paced. The survival instincts in the third act kicked in and then executed one of the best twist endings in the history of cinema. Sutherland performed very naturally, his character was very lifelike in terms of the actions he took. Adams was slightly over the top and sporadically annoyed me as she stated the obvious consistently. Nice small roles from Nimoy and Goldblum also. Kaufman's gritty and experimental camerawork really was the stand out. His technique has resulted in a film that has aged impeccably well. Oh, and the evocative sound effects that range from screams to synthesised sci-fi noises were deliciously haunting. The screenplay feels derivative in certain aspects, as it tries too hard to detail character development. All I know is, I now need to watch the original!