Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a 1978 science fiction film based on the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. It is a remake of the 1956 film of the same name. The original music score was composed by Denny Zeitlin.

This remake starred Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy and Art Hindle. It was adapted by W. D. Richter and directed by Philip Kaufman. Unlike many remakes, it met a generally favorable critical response and performed very well at the box office. Made for $3.5 million, the film earned nearly $25 million in the United States.

Trivia:

  • At the beginning of the film, as the alien spores rain down on earth, you see them presumably landing on the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco – the headquarters of what was then the parent company of United Artists, which produced the film.
  • Cameo: ['Don Siegel (I)'] taxi driver. Siegel directed the original film, of which this film is a remake.
  • Cameo: [Kevin McCarthy] man asking for help. McCarthy was the star of the original film, of which this film is a remake.
  • Cameo: ['Robert Duvall (I)'] the priest on the swing.
  • According to the commentary on the DVD, director Philip Kaufman said they paid ‘Robert Duvall (I)’ by giving him an Eddie Bauer jacket.
  • Director Cameo: [Philip Kaufman] playing an impatient man rapping on the window of a phone booth occupied by Donald Sutherland.
  • Silence is heard as the end credits roll as there was no end title music composed or recorded for the film.
  • Elizabeth’s nude scene in the factory was also filmed with clothes. That was seen when the film debuted on ABC in 1980.
  • Donald Sutherland insisted on performing his own stunts in the film’s climax. His scenes at the pod factory were filmed without harnesses or nets. In the shot of a fireball erupting from the factory, Sutherland barely missed it. However, an extra missed his cue and was seriously injured from the explosion.
  • Among the sounds Ben Burtt used for the pod growing scene, the heartbeat came from an ultrasound recorded on his pregnant wife. The pod screams were recorded pig squeals. Additionally, the natural diegetic sounds (crickets, birds chirping) fade as the film progresses, until only mechanical sounds (sirens, the garbage trucks) are heard.
  • Donald Sutherland was hit by a Volkswagen beetle while filming a shot of Matthew and Elizabeth running. He fell onto the windshield and was able to see the driver saying “Oh, my God! Not you!”
  • Matthew’s story/joke goes as follows. The British are trapped in the Sahara and are surrounded by the Germans. One day, an officer makes an announcement: “I have good news and bad news. The bad news is, we have no food but camel poop. The good news is, there is plenty of it.”
  • While rehearsing Kevin McCarthy’s cameo, a naked homeless man recognized him and said “The first one was better”.
  • Cameo: [Cinematographer Michael Chapman] janitor at the Health Department. Appears when Elizabeth cries in Matthew’s arms and later when they sneak into the building.
  • During the taxi ride, Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams’ nervousness is genuine. Don Siegel had lost much of his vision and was driving through the dark streets of San Francisco without his glasses.

 

Filed under: Horror • Mystery • Science Fiction

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