In association with

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers [1978]
from MGM Entertainment
starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy
directed by Philip Kaufman

Features:

• Dubbed
• Full Screen
• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

In San Francisco everyone can hear Veronica (Alien) Cartwright scream. In the ultimate urban nightmare, to sleep is to die, to be replaced by a soulless alien duplicate. Less a remake of the 1956 classic of the same name, more a fresh vision of Jack Finney's source novel, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is the archetypal story of humans supplanted by unemotional "vegetable pods". A masterstroke is the introduction of SF icon Leonard Nimoy as a very West Coast relationships guru determined to explain everything in terms of urban psychological alienation, and the story does prove more unsettling on the big city's forbidding streets. This is very much an ensemble movie, with outstanding performances from Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams, and what proved to be the first of several key genre roles for Jeff (The Fly, Jurassic Park, Independence Day) Goldblum. With minimal effects and very little gore, but filled with unnerving camera angles and a underpinned by a chillingly effective score, the film is relentlessly suspenseful, culminating in a sequence of terrifying set-pieces and a truly spine-tingling finale. More resonant with each passing year, the story was reworked in 1993 as Body Snatchers.

On the DVD: While the print is more than acceptable there is a loss of detail and some shimmering artefacts in the very dark scenes. The disc is not anamorphically enhanced, which really should be a standard DVD feature. Still, the picture is considerably ahead of VHS and the stereo sound is highly unsettling. An eight-page booklet gives an intelligent overview of all three Body Snatchers movies, and director Phil Kaufman's commentary is packed with information. --Gary S. Dalkin

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• LARGE HAIRY PODS !!!!!
  Im sure everyones stoned in this, or maybe im just paranoid?. Have another look, not just because its still a solid nervy and edgy 70's paranoia film, but look at Donald Sutherlands face as he smirks alot and tries not to laugh in the first half. Marvel in awe as Leornard Nimoy hams it up with a turtleneck and large powerful demmanding sideburns. Geoff Goldblum's just plain eyeball weird anyway. Watch out for people carrying hairy pods around. You have been warned. Ssshhh....i feel a bit tired and flakey

• One of the most frightening films ever made
  I recently saw the re-make of this film starring Nicole Kidman, which was not as bad as reviewers would have you believe, but in comparison to this masterpeice of horror, starring Donald Sutherland, really is trash.
  The paranoia and suspension in the film are captured particularly well. The horror is created, not by gore and sharp shocks, but by the constant atmosphere of things going wrong and the sense of impending doom. Donald Sutherland acts particularly well and you feel his struggle to escape to... more info

• THROW OUT YOUR POT PLANTS TODAY
  This is a great film. Very clever storyline and quite creepy as you don't know who is real and who is Veg. Donald Sutherland does himself proud as our hero, until that famous closing scene when he points at a real human survivor and does that weird screaming noise.

• Big City Paranoia
  Adapted from Jack Finney's novel, 'The Body Snatchers', Philip Kaufman's 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' takes the story out of small town Santa Mira (the location for Finney's novel and Don Siegel's 1956 film adaptation)and into San Francisco. With little use of special effects, Kaufman's movie evokes the paranoia using techniques like shaky hand-held shots and shots through frosted glass, immediately evoking a feeling that there is something wrong in the city.

  Other techniques include the use of ultra... more info

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