Rent Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
3.9 of 5 from 154 ratings
1h 20min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- When multiple residents of a small Californian town begin to suffer from identical frenzied delusions, Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) suspects the community is in the grip of a new kind of epidemic. But his investigations soon reveal the terrifying truth - uncovering not a medical emergency, but a hidden extraterrestrial invasion that threatens mankind's very existence.
- Actors:
- Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, Jean Willes, Ralph Dumke, Virginia Christine, Tom Fadden, Kenneth Patterson, Guy Way, Eileen Stevens, Beatrice Maude, Jean Andren, Bobby Clark, Everett Glass, Dabbs Greer, Pat O'Malley, Guy Rennie, Marie Selland
- Directors:
- Don Siegel
- Producers:
- Walter Wanger
- Writers:
- Daniel Mainwaring, Jack Finney, Richard Collins
- Aka:
- Walter Wanger's Invasion of the Body Snatchers
- Studio:
- Universal Pictures
- Genres:
- Classics, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers
- Collections:
- All You Need to Know About Dump Month Movies, Cinema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 1, Films That Go Bump in the Night: Mischief Night, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Nicole Kidman, Holidays Film Collection, Remembering Donald Sutherland, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide to Todd Haynes, Top 10 Screen Kisses (1896-1979), Top 100 AFI Thrills, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 25/10/2021
- Run Time:
- 80 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.00:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- A
- Bonus:
- Newly recorded audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Jim Hemphill (2021)
- 50th anniversary commentary with stars Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, and Gremlins director Joe Dante (2006)
- John Player Lecture: Don Siegel (1973, 75 mins, audio only): Don Siegel looks over his career with Barry Norman
- Sleep No More: Invasion of the Body Snatchers Revisited (2006, 27 mins): a look at Body Snatchers' production history
- The Fear and The Fiction: The Body Snatchers Phenomenon (2006, 8 mins): considering the film's themes and critical interpretations
- What's in a Name? (2006, 2 mins): how the Invasion got its title
- Return to Santa Mira (2006, 13 mins): key locations and the film's production design are explored A selection of complementary archive shorts, with British propaganda short Doorstep to Communism (1948, 11 mins) and groundbreaking botanical cinematography in Magic Myxies (1931, 11 mins) and Battle of the Plants (1926, 11 mins)
- Original theatrical trailer
- Trailers From Hell: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (2013, 3 mins): Body Snatchers fan Joe Dante celebrates the film
- Gallery
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Reviews (2) of Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Classic SciFi/Horror - Invasion of the Body Snatchers review by GI
This is a culturally significant American science fiction/horror film which tapped into the American paranoia of the 1950s threat of communism bought about by the Cold War and the McCarthy witch-hunts at home. There was a cycle of such films which dealt with the fear of atomic war or the Soviet threat to the world and this is one of the most famous and renowned of them. Don Siegel directs a fast paced and tense thriller where a small town doctor discovers that the townspeople are slowly being replaced by replicas of themselves which emerge from giant seed pods. A masterpiece of the scifi genre and a film that deserves rediscovery, check it out if you haven't seen it.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Dystopian Sci-Fi. - Invasion of the Body Snatchers review by Steve
Jack Finney's timeless science fiction concept is often assumed to be an allegory for Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch hunts in post-war USA. Others suggest a near opposite, that it was intended to be a warning of the spread of communism. Don Siegel testified that he intended his film to comment on the brainwashing effect of materialism in the contemporary economic boom.
It is a brilliant vehicle for critiquing any kind of conformity. There is an alien invasion from seeds blown in from space which grow into pods which mimic the exact appearance of the hosts. Once established, they take over their being and memories. Then the pod-people attack the freedom of others, claiming they will be happier without individuality or emotion.
This is the start of a wave of sci-fi films about conspiracies which tap into paranoia about a perceived hidden threat. By the end, Kevin McCarthy is running on the freeway shouting about the danger to us all: 'you're next, you're next'. But no one stops to listen. Is he insane? Or is it true? Sadly, the studio insisted on a couple of framing scenes which remove that ambiguity.
Seigel's only science fiction film is a legend, and part of our cultural language. It has a stylish film noir look and while the meagre budget may have left limited funds for special effects, they are still good. Kevin McCarthy has become exclusively famous just for this role, and with the beautiful Dana Wynter forms an unusually permissive relationship for the '50s.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.