One of more overlooked filmmakers in the latter half of the 20th Century, Philip Kaufman has delivered an accomplished body of work as a writer and director. Among his accomplishments include The Right Stuff (1983), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) and Henry & June (1990) as a director and also penned the script for The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) – which he was set to direct until disagreements with Clint Eastwood put the kibosh on that – and provided the story for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) with George Lucas. One of his best known and acclaimed efforts was a remake of the Cold War era science fiction classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers; released on home video over the years by MGM, Arrow Video and Shout Factory on DVD and Blu-ray, Kino has licensed the movie for its UHD Blu-ray debut.
The Production: 5/5
From the deepest reaches of space, gelatinous spores from a dying world arrive on Earth – specifically San Francisco – during a rainstorm and quickly take root as pods with beautiful flowers all over the city. First noticing her husband’s sudden change in behavior, Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) is convinced that something’s clearly amiss; however, those feelings turn into palpable dread as she, her co-worker at the Department of Health Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland), their friends Jack and Nancy Bellicec (Jeff Goldblum & Veronica Cartwright) and psychiatrist David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy) also notice the widespread change all over San Francisco, as people are more cold, emotionless and distant since the arrival of the pods. The group – each in their own way – try to make sense of it and try to stay alive to warn the world of the horrifying truth, but is it already too late?
One of the greatest remakes of all time, the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers finds a new and thrilling way to tell its story. Returning to and updating the Jack Finney novel, director Philip Kaufman and screenwriter W.D. Richter eschew the small town and Red Scare dynamics of Don Siegel’s original and find atmospheric terror and the fallout of post-Watergate cynicism in the “Me Decade” in the winding hills of San Francisco. Also, the film effectively utilizes the advances in makeup and special effects – although in a limited scale since this was a modestly budgeted affair – to show how the pods become the cold and soulless clones of the people they duplicate; cinematographer Michael Chapman’s noir inspired camerawork – in color, another change from the 1956 original – also add to the feelings of dread. Best of all, the film really flourishes with the performances of the cast, who seize upon every potential in Richter’s script and truly help to bring the film to life. In short, this version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is not only a textbook case in which a remake can not only hold its own with the original but surpass it, but it’s also come to be considered one of the best sci-fi movies of all time over the last several years since its release; it’s spot on in tone from the opening credits right up to the iconic final twist at the end.
In one of his best roles here, Donald Sutherland is a well-cast and strong Matthew Bennell; despite having never been nominated for a competitive Academy Award, he has been given an Honorary Oscar for his whole body of work. Brooke Adams also has one her best roles here – coming in the same year which she also caught notice for her work in Days of Heaven (1978) – as the nerve wracked Elizabeth; she would later return to the horror genre with David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dead Zone (1983). Veronica Cartwright would help to further cement her status as a genre favorite – see Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963) and Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) as further proof – with her performance as Nancy Bellicec while Jeff Goldblum would also make an impression as Jack here before achieving greater notoriety in the genre in David Cronenberg’s remake of The Fly (1986) and Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Jurassic Park (1993); in what is by far his best role outside of Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy perfectly captures David Kibner with a sense of warmth as well as mystery. Of the supporting players, Art Hindle and Leila Goldoni stand out as – respectively – Elizabeth’s husband who is one of the first victims of the pods and the woman who’s convinced her husband’s a pod too, only to become one himself; the film is also peppered with cameo appearances by Robert Duvall as a priest on a swing, Kevin McCarthy as a frantic running man (“They’re coming! You’re next!”), Don Siegel as a taxi driver and Philip and Rose Kaufman (the director and his wife) as a man pestering Matthew in a phone booth – he also provided the voice of one of the officials Matthew contacts – and a woman who’s arguing with Jack at the book party.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
The film is presented in its original 1:85:1 aspect ratio, taken from a brand new HD transfer of a 4K scan of the original camera negative. Film grain is organic, with fine details, flesh tones and color palette all represented faithfully, giving full justice to Michael Chapman’s noir styled cinematography; the transfer does open with the original United Artists/Transamerica logo like the 2016 Shout Factory Blu-ray, just in case anyone was wondering. There’s little to no instances of scratches, tears, dirt or vertical lines present here, which means that this release is likely the best the movie will ever look on home video and an improvement over previous Blu-ray editions.
Audio: 5/5
There are two audio options on this release: a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track and a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track on both discs. Dialogue on both tracks are strong and clear, with sound effects and Denny Zeitlin’s atonal score – his only movie score to date – are faithfully represented as well; there minimal cases of distortion, crackling, popping or hissing present here. Overall, this is likely the best the movie will ever sound on home video and an improvement over previous Blu-ray releases.
Special Features: 5/5
On both UHD Blu-ray & Blu-ray Discs
Commentary by director Philip Kaufman – Recorded in 1998 for the MGM DVD and carried over from all subsequent releases, Kaufman shares his memories in making the movie.
Commentary by film historian Steve Haberman – Recorded for the Shout/Scream Factory Blu-ray release in 2016, Haberman goes over the background on the cast, crew and production of the movie; informative despite the fact that he spends the first 17 minutes of the track talking about the 1956 version!
On Blu-ray disc only
Star-Crossed in the Invasion (9:07) – Carried over from the Scream Factory Blu-ray, Brooke Adams talks about her time working on the movie – including overcoming some apprehension about appearing naked in a key scene – in this interview.
Re-Creating the Invasion (15:45) – Screenwriter W.D. Richter shares the changes he made to update the story and finding new twists in this interview, also carried over from the Scream Factory Blu-ray.
Scoring the Invasion (15:35) – Denny Zeitlin talks about some of the challenges he had in scoring his only movie – even playing a selection of his score on the piano – in this legacy interview from the Scream Factory Blu-ray.
Leading the Invasion (25:04) – Also ported over from the Scream Factory Blu-ray, Art Hindle shares his fond memories of playing Geoffrey in the movie in this interview.
Writing the Pod (11:16) – Carried over from the Region B Blu-ray from Arrow Video, Jack Seabrook talks about the career of author Jack Finney in this featurette.
Re-Visitors from Outer Space, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod (16:15) – Carried over from the 2007 MGM Collector’s Edition release, an encapsulation of the making of the movie; featuring interviews with Kaufman, Richter, cinematographer Michael Chapman, actors Donald Sutherland and Veronica Cartwright and author Christopher Vogler.
Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod (4:39) – This legacy featurette looks at the special effects – especially the opening title sequence – from interviews with Kaufman and special effects artist Howard Preston.
The Man Behind the Scream: The Sound Effects Pod (12:48) – Legendary sound recordist Ben Burtt explains how he created many of the sound effects – including the chilling pod scream – for the movie in this legacy featurette; also featuring interviews with Kaufman and Bonnie Koehler.
The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod (5:24) – The final carryover featurette from the MGM Collector’s Edition release is focused on Michael Chapman’s work on the film; interviewees include Kaufman, Richter, Vogler and Chapman himself.
Theatrical Trailer (2:16)
TV Spots (2) (1:02)
Radio Spots (10) (4:56)
Bonus KLSC Trailers – The Puppet Masters & The Wanderers
Not carried over from Shout Factory’s Blu-ray release are a photo gallery and an episode of Science Fiction Theatre titled “Time is Just a Place”, directed by Jack Arnold and based off of a story by Jack Finney. Casualties from the Arrow Region B Blu-ray are a discussion between film historian Kim Newman and filmmakers Ben Wheatley and Norman J. Warren and an interview with Kaufman’s biographer Annette Insdorf.
Overall: 5/5
A success at the box office during its initial release – and reaping in critical praise during and since then – the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is gained a long life as not just a great remake, but also a prime example of the sci-fi genre as a whole alongside its 1956 predecessor. Kino has done an absolutely terrific job here, with a stellar UHD transfer while carrying over a healthy mix of legacy special features – though not everything was brought over – from previous home video editions. Very highly recommended and absolutely worth upgrading from all previous DVD and Blu-ray editions.
Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.
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