INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

US, 1978, 115 minutes, Colour.
Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy, Art Hindle, Lilia Goldoni, Kevin McCarthy?, Don Siegel.
Directed by Philip Kaufman.

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a rather lavish remake of the original small-budgeted film of 1956. Star Kevin McCarthy? and director Don Siegel have cameos here as the running man and the taxi driver respectively.

The original film made quite an impact in the mid-50s and was seen as a parable for all kinds of taking over the human race and forming people to be robots – whether it be communism or McCarthyism?.

The 1970s did not have such an ideological background – and, therefore, the film can be seen as a parable for any kind of making of adults into robots, the robotising of society.

Donald Sutherland is the investigator with Brooke Adams as his assistant.

The film was directed by Philip Kaufman who made a range of interesting films including The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Henry and June, Rising Sun.


1. The quality of the film as a remake of a classic? The value of a re-make of a fifties science fiction film in the late seventies? Interest, themes, style, issues?

2. The appeal and impact of science fiction, science fantasy? Prophecy in the nature of the future, comparisons of a possible future with the present? Fear? Invasion from another world, malevolent evil unmerited by the world? Science fiction and fantasy warning?

3. The effect of the colour photography, the constant use of the city of San Francisco, the Transamerica building as a focus? the importance of the extraterrestrial prologue, the visualizing of the strange creatures, their changing and coming towards Earth, the sense of journey, the invasion? The presentation of the plants, the special effects, the pods during the film, the artificial bodies? The atmosphere of the special effects? Plausibility and authenticity?

4. Audience response to and involvement with the prologue? the vague shapes and yet their reality, power, the travelling, their later explanation that they had to survive, the use of plants and flowers? The creating of a tense mood of terror?

5. How plausible was the plot, how credible the situations, the characters and their coping with the invasion? How well could the audience identify with the principal characters, their situations, fears, coping with the invasion? The importance of the communication of fear?

6. The nature of the invasion, the snatching of the bodies, the transformation? death yet the person in new ways still alive? A variation on the theme of the living dead? (the background of vampire mythology, and the variation on this?) The emphasis on human personality, freedom from will, emotions? A personality alive without these essentials, living death? Audience response to living death and imagining it for themselves?

7. How well did the film work in terms of cumulative fear and tension? The shocks and the scares of the audience, a growing atmosphere of terror? The pace of the fear and chases at the end? The impact of Matthew's final scream?

8. The presentation of Matthew and his work? the contrast with the strange extraterrestrial experience, the Health Department of San Francisco, the unhealthy restaurant? The presentation of Elizabeth and Geoffrey and their liaison, his watching sport, his casual disregard of her? The presentation of San Francisco in its ordinary day-to-day life, the teacher with the children? the strangeness of the flowers? The priest on the swing with the children? The teacher inviting the children to pick the flowers and the way the invaders tricked the human beings? Audience response to the picking of the flowers?

8. The delineation of the characters of Elizabeth and Geoffrey, their relationship? The bedroom sequence and the ominous flower? The change in Geoffrey without explanation given? The changed behaviour? The effect on Elizabeth, the effect on the audience? Her being late for work after her promise not to be, her fears, talking with Matthew and his disregard of these, sharing the meal and being anxious? The prospect of David Kibner and the work of the psychiatrist?

9. The effect of the flashback technique in her explanation of what happened, following Geoffrey around the city, the group of people that he met, the exchange of parcels? The atmosphere of unexplained mystery, fear, suspicion? Apprehension about consequences?

10. The party, Catherine and her anxiety about her husband not being himself, the personality of David Kibner and the book launching? His exercising his psychiatric and counselling techniques? Wanting trust? The techniques and interest in psychiatry counselling in California? The film's use of the atmosphere of California and therapy? The suspicions of the audience about David, his suave manner and yet the shocks with his presence? Was it a shock when it was revealed that he' had been taken over? His use of counselling, sedatives? The ominous giving of sedatives to Elizabeth and Matthew and Matthew accusing him of killing them? David's sinister presence and its effect in the cumulative terror?

11. The contrast with Jack and Nancy? Jack and his continuous talking at the party, his jealousy of David? The contrast with Nancy at the baths, the men in the baths and the comic touches? The sudden eeriness with Jack's artificial body in the baths, the bleeding? Their inability to cope with this? Matthew and Elizabeth and their presence and trying to cope? David Kibner's presence? Geoffrey and Kibner plotting? The revelation of how the bodies grew, the similarities, the possibility of destruction especially if the human kept awake?
12. Audience's growing identification with Matthew, the puzzle in the city and more people being taken over, the man in the street shouting about the invasion and then his death and people watching, the police inactive, Matthew's phone calls from the party and later phone calls, the growing conspiracy in their answers to him, knowing who he was? The effect of this conspiracy and the sense of helplessness?

13. Elizabeth and her danger, the alternate body Matthew invading Geoffrey's house, Geoffrey's deceptive techniques, for example watching the television, Matthew's skill in the rescue? The police and Matthew's being able to take Elizabeth?

14. The growing danger, more people in the city being taken over, their taking the pods away to further the invasion? The mounting change and the sound of movement, the decision of Jack and Nancy to give themselves up to save Matthew and Elizabeth?

15. The response to the people lining to get their pods? Nancy's advice for them to fake being part of the situation? Their taking the taxi and the taxi driver's throat (and the irony of his being played by Don Siegel, the director of the original film?)

16. The growing pursuit, the difficulty of keeping awake? Their being alone? Jack and his pursuit?

17. The presentation of the headquarters, the need to destroy it? Matthew and his hopes with the music from the ship? The heroics and the destruction by fire of the pods? Audience relief at this?

18. Elizabeth and the alternate body, her going to sleep, her dying and being transformed? The emotional anguish for Matthew watching her die? The sudden transformation and her reassuring him?

19. Matthew and his continued escape? His being at work, audience relief? The sudden noting of Nancy and the audience being reassured? The irony of Matthew's having been taken over and his accusing scream? How sinister and chill? the suggestions of sight and sound and their meaning?

20. The prospects of such an invasion for the world and its losing its identity, being inhabited by aliens, alive yet dead?

21. The presentation of human way of life? the parody with Matthew cutting articles, people acting like robots? The irony of Nancy an being the last human survivor?

22. What was the audience left with after the experience of science fiction, horror? Human vulnerability, the nature of such transformations? The quality of human nature? Fantasy, fear? The significance of the title and the ironic use of Body Snatchers?