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TITLE: Invasion of the Body Snatchers
RATING: ****½
CAST: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, Larry Gates, Jean Willes, Ralph Dumke, Virginia Christine, Tom Fadden.
DIRECTOR: Don Siegel
STUDIO: ... Read review
Science Fiction - Director: Hiroyuki Yamaga - Original Language: Japanese - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Ayako Kawasumi, Fujiko Takimoto
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Advantages: Scary and entertaining, full of nostalgia and a frightening score Disadvantages: Might be too old for some...or ridiculous in terms of plot
"Look! You fools your in danger! Can't you see? They after you, they are after all of us: our wives, our children, everyone. They are here already! Your Next!!!!!"
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"Look! You fools your in danger! Can't you see? They after you, they are after all of us: our wives, our children, everyone. They are here already! Your Next!!!!!"
************************************************************* 50 YEARS OLD AND STILL AS SCARY AS EVER *************************************************************
Today, I will be reviewing a genuine classic, which has been amazingly influential to many films today; like ALIEN, this is a masterful combination of science fiction and horror. Although some of its themes such as McCarthyism and paranoia are ingrained into the 1950s, the original INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is still a legendary film, which stills hold up today and remains quite frightening. In celebration of the 50th anniversary, I'm ready to write a review for all of you to read and hopefully be interested in seeking out this gem; I wish you luck, though, because apparently it is very hard to find in the UK on dvd or vhs; your best bet is to catch it on television sometime.
The film opens up with a psychiatrist arriving at a clinic at the request of a doctor to interview someone potentially insane. This young man is hysterical and sweating profusely, but insists he is not insane and proceeds to tell the psychiatrist and the doctors a haunting tale that he claims actually happened. The man, whose name is Dr. Miles Bennell, states that it started for him last Thursday: "I had just come home from a medical convention I've been attending. At first glance, everything looked the same; but it wasn't---something evil had taken possession of the town.
In flashback, we see Dr. Bennell arriving at town and told by his nurse that many people have been waiting forever for his return; yet, when he finally arrives at his audience, many of the residents turned away from seeing him and seemed to have forgotten why. Soon, someone from his past pays him an unexpected visit: Becky Driscoll, his high school sweetheart, who has just come back from Europe. At the same time, he discovers that many of the residents have changed though he cannot figure out why; on top of all that, some of the residents claim that their loved ones are not the same people that they knew. Even though they look and sound the same, the feelings are not there.
As Becky and Miles begin to rekindle their relationship, an old friend named Jack requests for Miles to come to his house. What Miles discovers is truly disturbing: a human body, which looks strikingly similar to Jack, has mysteriously appeared in Jack's house. When Miles attempts to identify the body, he makes a shocking discovery: no fingerprints. Later that night, the body's eyes open up for no rhyme or reason, Jack and his wife are horrified and return to Miles, who later discovers a body similar to Becky when he goes to her house to check on her. What the hell is going here? Apparently, seeds drifting through space have fallen to Santa Mira and have grown pods, which open and create reproductions of the residents with no feeling or emotion; when Miles and his friends discover this, they are determined to escape from Santa Mira before their bodies are taken over as well…though that is more difficult than they ever imagined.
************************************************************* THE PODS HAVE ARRIVED ************************************************************* The 1950's was the decade in which the science-fiction film came into prominence; it wasn't easy to go to a theatre that did not show a film that wasn't about an alien invasion, monsters, or creatures coming to Earth to wreak havoc. The 1953 films WAR OF THE WORLDS and INVADERS FROM MARS were really the ones that started the sci-fi boom, though when INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS came out it was something different. In an era of communist witch hunts and paranoia of nuclear weapons, BODY SNATCHERS really hit close to home in terms of its themes, despite its place in the genre.
The movie is based on a magazine serial written by Jack Finney, and turned into a chilling screenplay by Daniel Mainwaring; unlike other big sci-fi movies of the period, the film was made on a very low-budget and released by an independent, unknown studio owned by producer Walter Wanger. Don Siegel (who would later direct many of Clint Eastwood's films) was hired to direct and had cast unknowns in virtually all the parts. Siegel and Mainwaring had worked together a year earlier on a picture called THE ANNAPOLIS STORY, and even asked on of the actors in that film to play Dr. Miles Binnell.
That actor was Kevin McCarthy, who never really became a star, but who is now known worldwide because of his excellent performance in INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. I would be hard pressed to meet anyone who has actually seen clips of his famous scene on the highway begging for people to stop and listen to him that the world is in danger; it has been featured in dozens of films since then, most notably GREMLINS. All of the actors do a fine job even if they are not remembered today and never really did much else other than roles on television. Quite possibly the only actor you might recognize is Carolyn Jones, who had supporting roles in Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder films; she even made an unbilled appearance in the original WAR OF THE WORLDS!
************************************************************* WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T FALL ASLEEP!!! *************************************************************
And I'm not talking about while you are watching the film also. After 50 years, I think that this film definitely holds up as being an all-time classic, if not one of the finest films ever made. Even if you don't care for older films, you should find the film riveting and intense from the word go; if anything it certainly holds your attention. One of its most famous elements is the genuinely frightening score by Carmen Dragon; while he did very little film work, and his score for this film was actually his last, I think it works on the same level as, say, Bernard Herrmann's score in PSYCHO, or Jerry Goldsmith's score in POLTERGEIST. If anything, it certainly enhances the horror element of the film, and there are some scenes that will no doubt jump out at you, even if you have seen the film before! It's a shame that Dragon never went on to other things, because he could have been remembered as one of the masters.
Since the release of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, there have been two remakes and dozens of clones, which have plot elements that owe a lot to this classic film. As for the remakes, they are both not bad, in particular the 1978 one starring Donald Sutherland, which also had gimmick cameos by Kevin McCarthy and Don Siegel. The 1993 remake (which is simply called BODY SNATCHERS) doesn't hold up as well, with the unwise idea of making the setting a military base. What I think is amazing is that the remakes are both available in the UK on various formats, but not the 1956 original!!! So seeking this film out will be a definite challenge for most of you; the best I can recommend is Ebay or waiting until it is on television. However, if your DVD player can play all region dvds, then I recommend you order the Region 1 copy; the ASIN number is 0782009980 and the price is about 7 pounds.
Good luck in your search for this film, though I must stipulate that it is more than worth it. I'm now back from my underway in the Mediterranean Ocean and looking forward to catching up with my alerts and writing more reviews. Also, I apologize for the typo mistake that Ciao did in listing the movie. Have a good night and I'm sure you will all wake up the same way in the morning…but who knows, lol. Cheers for Now! Chris
************************************************************* QUOTES AND TRIVIA *************************************************************
1) "Will you tell these fools I'm not crazy…make them listen to me before it's too late!!!" --- Kevin McCarthy
2) "School isn't wasn't upsetting him its my daughter-in-law; he's got the crazy idea that his mother isn't his mother!" --- Beatrice Maude "SHE ISN'T! SHE ISN'T! DON'T LET HER GET ME!!!" --- Bobby Clark
3) "What is the difference?" --- Kevin McCarthy "That's just it: there is no difference you can actually see. He looks, acts and sounds like my uncle." --- Virginia Christine
4) "There is something weird going on Santa Mira. Dr. Kaufman calls it an epidemic of mass hysteria…Becky's sister has got it for one: she thinks her uncle and aunt are not her uncle and aunt. Now, this isn't you yet…but there is a structural likeness…" --- Kevin McCarthy
5) "IT'S ALIVE…IT'S ALIVE!!! The hand was cut and bleeding and the position of the body had changed!" --- Carolyn Jones
6) "Jack!!! The whole town has been taken over by the pods!!!" --- Kevin McCarthy "Not yet…there is still you and Becky! Miles, it would have been so much easier if you just went to sleep last night." --- Larry Gates
7) "We are not the last humans left you know…they will destroy you!" --- Kevin McCarthy "Tomorrow you won't want them to…tomorrow you will become one of us!" --- Larry Gates
8) "I love Becky…tomorrow will I feel the same?" --- Kevin McCarthy "There is no need for love! Love, desire, ambition, faith…without them life is so much better believe me it is!" --- Larry Gates "I don't want any part of it!" --- Kevin McCarthy
9) "I want to love and be loved! I want your children…I don't want to live in a world without love, grief or beauty…I'd rather die!" --- Dana Wynter
TRIVIA NOTE #1: Famous director Sam Peckinpah (THE WILD BUNCH) had a small role in this film as a meter reader in Kevin McCarthy's basement.
TRIVIA NOTE #2: The British censors originally made several cuts to the film in which they deemed to strong; in 1998, a widescreen version was made available on video for the first time, on the budget label 4-front, though that version is now out of print.
TRIVIA NOTE #3: If you have seen a lot of Joe Dante movies (GREMLINS, INNERSPACE, SMALL SOLDIERS, LOONEY TUNES, PIRANHA), you will notice that he has not only cast Kevin McCarthy in many of them, but also throws in seed pods as well!!!
eve6kicksass 19.05.2006 (19.05.2006)
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