INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

'INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS' TRAILER

'Invasion' is as much a part of this movement as the more obvious, didactic films, its science fiction premise serving to actualise those fears of surveillance and the death of individualism into something palpable. By moving the story from a small town to a metropolitan area, the threat it placed much closer to seats of power, infiltrating law enforcement, government and economy, leaving those trying to escape little opportunity to. They are watched, followed and hunted. Kaufman doesn't leave the alien pod threat a mystery - he literally opens the film with these organisms leaving their dying planet, travelling across space and parasitically hiding themselves within the local San Francisco flora - and as a result, watching 'Invasion' has the feeling of a noose being slowly, meticulously tightened around your neck. We know what the threat is, one step ahead of the characters, and we sit in dread as they're taken, one by one. In that way, 'Invasion' functions similarly to a zombie film, where by the time the threat is realised by the characters, it's already too late.

As with the best of the 70s paranoid thrillers, the film anchors itself in its characters, particularly the relationship between Elizabeth and Matthew. It's so blatantly obvious that these characters should be together, and the film even suggests that a part of them hopes this strange behaviour of Geoffrey's might give them the opportunity to do so. The human drama becomes the access point for the supernatural. They're balanced beautifully by Matthew's combustible friend Jack Bellicec (Jeff Goldblum, 'Jurassic Park', 'The Fly') and his wife Nancy (Veronica Cartwright, 'The Witches of Eastwick', 'Alien'), a couple entirely comfortable in each others' quirks and quick to conclusions. Rounding out the group is celebrity psychologist Dr David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy, 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture'), who tried to remain rational in the face of the building threat by using his pop psychology techniques, a lampooning of the burgeoning self-help trend at the time. It's important that none of these characters are in positions of power - Matthew and Elizabeth work for the city, the Bellicecs run a bathhouse, Dr Kibner isn't taken that seriously - and so they have neither the tools nor the experience to make sense of what is happening any quicker than we would.

The pod invasion then happens in domestic or work spaces, and even worse, silently, while the victim is asleep. They will have no idea if they are being attacked, juiced of everything they have and ground to dust. And as with John Carpenter's masterpiece 'The Thing' (1982), they also have no idea whether the people around them really are who they appear to be. This does link back to the Cold War paranoia of the original, but here the threat feels even more insidious. We know, logically, that the danger is external, but something about Kaufman's approach to 'Invasion' makes it feel intimate and invasive. Suddenly, your partner or your friend mean you harm in the most unsettling, impassive way.

Kaufman emphasises this sense of building dread with his construction of the mise-en-scène. 'Invasion' isn't a particularly "pretty" movie (though this 4K release does demonstrate the subtle beauty of Michael Chapman's cinematography). It has an almost documentary feel to it, including the rhythms of the performances, but in the first act in particular, what draws our eye are the figures in the background. They simply stand and watch as our protagonists wander about, before they even realise something is going on. The streets of San Francisco are filled with passive faces and blank eyes, constantly watching. As the film progresses, they grow in number until they seem to be everywhere. Like Elizabeth and Matthew, we search for the light behind someone's eyes, our breath catching as we realise we're seeing that light less and less. And as we arrive at the final act, the film's legendary climax, we feel that fear erupt as full-blown blind panic.

Every time I revisit this film (and I've done so many, many times), I fall even more in love with it. For its apparent simplicity, it's a film of endless disturbing detail, another gentle note of horror or an unexpected burst of wit revealing itself every time. Like the many great 70s films it sits alongside, it's also a deeply humane, unexpectedly funny film, anchored by the wonderful performances of Brooke Adams and Donald Sutherland (who, along with 'Klute' and 'Don't Look Now', excelled in capturing that sense of 70s paranoia). Though Jack Finney's novel was adapted further (and likely will be again), I can't see any version bettering Philip Kaufman's 1978 sci-fi horror masterpiece. It's a visceral, palpable nightmare, where something as innocent as a flower can lull us into complete submission, stripping us of everything that makes us human, marching us inexorably towards eradication.

PICTURE & SOUND

'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' has always been a striking-looking film, but this new 4K restoration reveals a subtle beauty, particularly in the film's use of colour. The 2160p 1.85:1 transfer boasts a gentle amount of extra detail (certainly over the UK Arrow Films release from 2013 that I had in my collection), and the grain structure is intact and natural. The HDR and Dolby Vision really brings out the few vibrant colours in the film's palette, often associated with the pods. Where San Francisco and its inhabitants are dressed in warm, autumnal colours, the pods themselves lean towards sickly reds and greens, and even in sequences such as the Bellicec's bath house, those colours begun to seep into the environments themselves. This 4K UHD makes those colours pop just a little, demonstrating more so than any previous home video release how cleverly the film utilises colour in its storytelling. The set also includes the film on a 1080p Blu-ray disc, utilising the same restoration. Though not as robust as the 2160p transfer, it still brings new life to the film over previous releases.

In terms of sound, both discs include a DTS-HD 5.1 track (remixed from the original) and an LPCM 2. track, which preserves the original theatrical audio. While the 5.1 track is carefully done and preserves the detail of the original sound design, I found the original track a touch more robust if less refined. The sound design and music in the film are among its most impressive attributes, and it does work a little better to hear them closer to the original intention.

SPECIAL FEATURES

For this release, Imprint has taken from the 2021 Kino Lorber release from the U.S. rather than the 2024 Arrow Video release from the UK. This is probably a good move, as the KL release boasted a stronger collection of extras. Both the 4K and Blu-ray discs include...

• Audio commentary by director Philip Kaufman
• Audio commentary by author/film historian Steve Haberman

On the Blu-ray disc are all the video-based extras...

• 'Star-Crossed in the Invasion', interview with actress Brooke Adams (9:06)
• 'Re-Creating the Invasion', interview with screenwriter W.D. Richter (15:44)
• 'Scoring the Invasion' interview with composer Denny Zeitlin (15:34)
• 'Leading the Invasion', interview with actor Art Hindle (25:03)
• 'Writing the Pod, interview with Jack Finney Expert Jack Seabrook (11:15)
• 'Re-Visitors from Outer Space, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod' featurette (16:14)
• 'Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod' featurette (4:38)
• 'The Man Behind the Scream: The Sound Effects Pod' featurette (12:47)
• 'The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod' featurette (5:24)
• 'Trailers From Hell: Invasion of the Body Snatchers', featuring filmmaker Josh Olsen (2:30)
• TV Spots (1:02)
• Radio Spots (4:55)
• Theatrical Trailer (2:15)

The Steve Haberman commentary and the collection of interviews come from the 2016 U.S. Shout Factory Blu-ray release and are all of a high quality, with the interviewees offering candid, insightful observations on the film. Of particular note is the interview with composer Denny Ziertlin, who talks about his unconventional approach to the score, having come from outside of the film music world. As with most Shout Factory special features from that period, they're a little rough around the edges, but the content is worth it. The last included interview, with Jack Seabrook, comes from the 2013 Arrow Video release, and offers some valuable detail about how Jack Finney came to write the original novel.

The featurettes comes from the MGM DVD release, and despite their swiftness, compliment the interviews nicely. In particular, we get to hear more from Kaufman, from Donald Sutherland and from Ben Burtt, whose sound design has become part of science fiction cinema iconography. The only additional feature not included on previous releases is the video from the Trailers From Hell YouTube channel. The radio spots are also a charming addition.

As always, Imprint presents the film in a handsome hard case which includes the discs in a plastic case, a softcover booklet and a set of lobby cards from the film's release. The booklet includes an excellent essay from critic Brian Eggert and a recreation of the original press kit.

'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' has never been served well on home video in Australia, but this Imprint release makes up for it. While it doesn't collect all the special features generated for the film over previous releases, the turnout here is really strong, and the new 4K restoration presented in its native resolution is the real drawcard.