It may seem quaint by modern standards, but there is no denying the paranoia inducing hysteria in Kevin McCarthy’s eyes in the film’s iconic closing sequence. “They’re here!” To celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Don Siegel’s sci-fi thriller, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Paramount Home Entertainment has the film on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Copy. I just watched the digital screener so I can only discuss what I saw and cannot comment on any of the extra value content that may or may not be included on the physical media editions, which is always my preference, but believe it or not I have never seen the original before so I could not pass up the opportunity to screen and review this classic and I am very grateful to Paramount Home Entertainment for the chance.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers in many ways is far more effective in the original than it was in the Philip Kaufman 1978 remake. Sure I missed the inhuman scream that would have made the final sequence all the more chilling, but in some ways I like the nonchalant way the “pod people” behave. They are not supposed to have any emotions, but aside from a wide eyed looks on the face that is inconsistent at times, the menacing people are able to pretend they are human so much that it is almost impossible to tell the difference. The proximity of a pod to a victim does not have to be very close either.
Don Siegel had a cameo in the Philip Kaufman remake as a cab driver and much of what is talked about or suggested in the original is fully realized in the 1978 remake, but sometimes the imagination is just better and what we learn, but never see I find to be more frightening than what has been chronicled not only in the Philip Kaufman 1978 remake, which also is a classic in it’s own right, but in the 1990s directed by Abel Ferrara and Actress Nicole Kidman starred in a third remake in the 2000s as well. All owe their inspiration to this 1950s classic.
The digital copy looked spot on with a crisp and detailed widescreen black and white high definition presentation that is complimented by a sharp and clear English Digital Soundtrack.
You owe it to yourself to check out the 65th Anniversary Edition of Invasion of the Body Snatchers is now on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Copy, but each format is sold separately, courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment.
(C) Copyright 2021 By Mark A. Rivera
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