Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Director:

Philip Kaufman

Writers:

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

Release Date:

20 December 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Get some sleep

Plot:

In San Francisco, a group of people discover the human race is being replaced one by one, with clones devoid of emotion.

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Escape | Sleep | Planet | Amazing Grace Hymn

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

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, DDS
Lelia Goldoni	...	Katherine Hendley
Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. Miles J. Bennell
Don Siegel	...	Taxi Driver
Tom Luddy	...	Ted Hendley
Stan Ritchie	...	Stan
David Fisher	...	Mr. Gianni
Tom Dahlgren	...	Detective
Garry Goodrow	...	Dr. Boccardo
Jerry Walter	...	Restaurant Owner

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Netherlands:16 (orginal rating) | Finland:K-16 (1987) (cut) (video) | Finland:K-16 (2000) (uncut) (DVD) | Finland:K-18 (1979) (uncut) | West Germany:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | France:-12 | Australia:M | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG (certificate #25153) | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Solofilm

Trivia:

While rehearsing Kevin McCarthy's cameo, a naked homeless man recognized him and said "The first one was better".

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Early in the film when Geoffrey and Elizabeth are talking and we only see their reflections. Geoffrey's mouth isn't moving

Quotes:

Matthew Bennell: What is that suppose to be?
Chef: It is cervelles en matelote.
Matthew Bennell: In English, what would I be eating if I ate that?
Chef: Ah. Calves' brain in red wine.
Matthew Bennell: Red wine and what else?
Restaurant Owner: Mais, c'est impossible. It's impossible. It's a secret, Mr Bennell
Matthew Bennell: You don't have any secrets from the Department of Health, Henri.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Futurama: Fear of a Bot Planet (#1.5)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Amazing Grace

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.