Director
Philip Kaufman
Cast
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
DVD Release Date: August 7, 2007
Rating: PG
Running Time: 117 Minutes on 2 discs
The Movie
The story is quite simple. Unique and strange-looking specimens have left their home planet, traveled the universe, and landed right on Earth. Looking like weird blobs as they sail through space; they quickly turn into pods as they smack down on Earth and soon grow into a beautiful looking flower. Very enticing for the passerby to stop, lean over to pluck it, and have a quick whiff of the strong aroma. Bad move.
Matthew Bennell is an employee of the Health Department and he soon starts getting reports that people are acting very strange lately and that he should look into it. He doesn’t really pay the reports much mind until more and more of them start coming in. Upon further investigation, Bennell soon notices the strange occurrences himself and is determined to figure out what is going on.
With the help of his assistant Elizabeth, Dr. David Kibner, and friends Jack and Nancy Bellicec; Bennell seeks out what may be happening to the people of California. Dr. Kibner has the same approach that Bennell first did and thinks that what is going on is nothing more then a mass hallucination. But the group soon finds out there is much more then they ever could have expected. It seems the new plants are alien life forms that suck the life out of whoever gets close to them. The plants then create an exact clone of the person except that it now has no soul. All of the clones work together and are taking over the city with the next step, the world.
Many people don’t realize that this is actually a remake and the Nicole Kidman-starrer Invasion, is a third take on the film. The original was made in 1956 and was quite good to be honest with you, but this version would have to be my favorite. (Edit: Lounge Lizard Joe Corey has informed me there was also another version in 1993 simply entitle Body Snatchers. Rather obscure considering I had never even HEARD of it until he told me.) First of all you’ve got a film that has Donald Sutherland in it who is one of the greatest actors ever. Body Snatchers isn’t meant to frighten the hell out of you by making your heart stop or have you shriek in fear. It is meant to make you freak out by not knowing who to trust and when the world may come to an end. Sutherland displays all of that perfectly and delivers it in his flawless performance.
Body Snatchers ends up being what “shock horror” should be without having all the blood, gore, and cannibalism or necrophilia. Seeing your closest friends and neighbors walk towards you and be completely devoid of all feeling or sensitivity is quite freakish when you stop and think about it. When the film begins, it may actually seem quite humorous. Not to mention that you can’t help but look at Dr. Kibner (Leonard Nimoy) and constantly wonder when he’ll do the Vulcan hand signal even if you aren’t a fan of Star Trek. But soon the terror of knowing your husband or wife may not even care who you are anymore thanks to a plant will soon set in and you’ll be squirming in your seats.
The Video
The film is shown in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and it looks good for a film that is shot almost entirely at night or in the dark. The good thing is that scenes are never too dark and everything can be seen just fine.
The Audio
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and sounds good. Mostly dialogue driven, Invasion sounds great in surround with little creeps and moans being heard from all around every now and then. All dialogue can be heard nicely though without ever being over-powered.
Special Features
Audio Commentary – Director Philip Kaufman is flying solo on this track and it just doesn’t quite do it for me. He sounds disinterested for a lot throughout the film and doesn’t have much to say making it quite boring. There are times when he goes all out and explains certain scenes and how they were filmed, but then he quickly leaps back to the silent treatment making it very blah.
Re-Visitors From Outer Space or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Pod – A sixteen minute feature with interviews from some of the cast and crew including Sutherland and Kaufman. They give a little bit of information about the film itself and how it compares to the original and also the novel. It’s a fun and candid featurette with their true feelings about all of it including Sutherland thinking the invasion is everywhere.
Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod – This is a short featurette at right around five minutes that goes into the main effect of the film and that’s the pods. It is explained how they were created and the influence on the whole story they bring about by appearing merely in the beginning.
The Man Behind The Scream: The Sound Effects Pod – Coming in at just under thirteen minutes, Ben Burtt goes into great detail about the different sound effects heard throughout the film. Burtt really felt strong about how the effects were heard and explains their importance to Body Snatchers.
The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod – Michael Chapman goes through how he shot the film and most of all how he wanted it to come across. The featurette is about five and a half minutes in length and really should have been a lot longer because it’s really informative and fun to watch.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Trailers – The Great Escape: Collector’s Edition and The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
The Inside Pulse
As I’ve said before, there are now three versions of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and this is by far the best one. Now with all the added special features, the DVD is made that much more important to own. The film holds up beautifully over time and will surely bring about the fear. I recommend watching it in your living room or a big room with all the lights off. After the first fifteen minutes, I guarantee that you’re going to keep looking over your shoulder or looking at your friends with a little bit of doubt in your mind. The special features don’t add up to all that much and the commentary is unnecessary, but if you’re going to get the DVD then this is the one to pick up. I’d get it for the film alone and all the rest would just be extra. But then again, that’s the idea behind “extras” isn’t it? Whatever! Pod people!
