INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS
Directed by Philip Kaufman
Written by W.D. Richter
Based on novel by Jack Finney
Cinematography by Michael Chapman
Production design by Charles Rosen
Edited by Douglas Stewart
Music by Denny Zeitlin
USA, 1978, color, 35mm, rated PG, distributed by MGM/UA, 115 min.
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, and Leonard Nimoy
Strange
seeds from a distant planet drift on cosmic winds down to Earth, where
they take root and take over by duplicating humans through giant pods.
The resulting full-sized clones are soulless automatons who do as they
are told. All too quickly San Francisco is so overrun with these pod
people that it becomes increasingly dangerous to trust one's friends,
who may have already become clones who will turn you in for being
human. Although the original INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) came
out at a time that the lingering terror of McCarthyism was still making
Americans fear to be "different," Kaufman's 1978 version was far more
stylish and just as terrifying. "Amazing Grace" will never sound the
same nor will you feel safe eating okra. -- Chale Nafus, Director of
Programming, Austin Film Society