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:

Sleep . . . Sleep . . . and be born again into a world without fear and hate!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

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

Gross USA:

$24,946,533

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,946,533

Company Credits

Production Co:

Solofilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the commentary on the DVD, Director Philip Kaufman said they paid Robert Duvall by giving him an Eddie Bauer jacket.

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Goofs

At Kibner's book release party, as Jack and Matthew are walking while Jack is putting down Kibner's work, he turns abruptly to engage the woman before she begins to verbally disagree with his comments about Kibner's work.

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Quotes

Dr. David Kibner: Face it, Bellicec, you got some friends who enjoy playing practical jokes.
Jack Bellicec: I don't have any friends, Dr. Kibner.
Dr. David Kibner: Then, some enemies.

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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 WordGirl: Invasion of the Bunny Lovers, Part 1/Invasion of the Bunny Lovers, Part 2 (2014)

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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

Eerie, Suspenseful & 'Classy' Horror/Sci-Fi Effort

This is a solid horror/sci-fi story with good production values. Those values include outstanding direction by Philip Kaufman, camera-work by Michael Chapman and acting. The cast of main characters was comprised of Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright. Of the group, Sutherland had the most lines and was the most impressive. All of it added up to a pretty classy film, a lot more than you'd except reading the movie title.

There was some profanity and nudity so maybe it wasn't totally classy, but the profanity was light and the nudity was a few shots of Adams' breasts.

The movie clicked because it built up the suspense beautifully, and proved you don't need a lot of violence and gore to scare the viewer. Too bad modern filmmakers of horror films can't seem to understand that. In fact the scariest thing of the movie - and it WAS scary - might have been the eerie noises emanating from the "re-born" humans.

The photography is good and I loved the facial closeups and interesting camera angles. The film is a visual treat. The original film in 1956 is a good one but it's generally conceded this re-make is superior. The star of that first film, by the way - Kevin McCarthy, makes a cameo appearance in here. That was a nice touch.