Cheap Invasion of the Body Snatchers (DVD) (Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter) (Don Siegel) Price

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Customer Reviews of Invasion of the Body Snatchers

This film was the first and, to my mind, best adaptation of the book of the same name, written by the wonderfully inventive Jack Finney. The book appears to have spawned a cottage industry all its own, as it has been adapted three times, thus far.

The film tells the tale of events that occurred in the small town of Santa Mira, California, as seen through the eyes of its young doctor, Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy). It seems the town is undergoing a drastic change that is as subtle as it is deadly. It seems that all the townspeople are not who they seem. They look the same. They sound the same. Their memories are intact. Still, they are just not the same.

Those who have noticed this, suddenly end up retracting their concerns days later. Something is not right in the town of Santa Mira, and Dr. Bennell knows it. Those large seed pods that are suddenly showing up every where are at the root of it. Their unearthly presence is connected to the profound changes that the people of Santa Mira are undergoing, and Dr. Bennell will stop at nothing to save his beloved town and the world from the invasion of the body snatchers.

Kevin McCarthy is sensational as the handsome young doctor, Miles Bennell. His all-American good looks underscore the perniciousness of what is going on in Santa Mira. The lovely Dana Wynter is excellent in the role of Becky Driscoll, Dr. Bennell's childhood sweetheart, infusing it with just the right amount of pathos. King Donovan and Carolyn Jones are perfect in the roles of Jack and Teddy Belicec, the couple who bring Dr. Bennell closer to discovering the truth about what is going on in the town of Santa Mira.

This is a great story beautifully directed by Don Siegel, who understood that less is more. Keeping special effects to a minimum and relying, instead, on a steady buildup of terror and paranoia through the wonderful performances by the entire cast, it succeeds brilliantly. The suspense is such that the viewer is kept riveted to the screen until the very end. It is no wonder that this film has developed a cult following, as it is a masterpiece for its genre. Bravo!

This DVD is well worth having as it provides a clear, clean transfer print and excellent audio. It offers full screen, as well as widescreen letterbox, format. The special features are limited but a nice bonus is the interview with the still handsome Kevin McCarthy, though it is quite brief.

Those who enjoy this film should read the book, if they have not already done so. They should also view the other two film adaptations, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and Body Snatchers (1994).

Original 1956 scifi cult classic (scarey film) now on DVD!
This Black & White Scifi/Horror Cult Classic is still a very scarey movie to watch. This DVD is digitally restored and presented in a non-Anamorphic WideScreen Letterbox format. (This is presented with letterbox vertical & horizontal black bars & not enhanced for 16x9 Tvs). The picture quality is still excellent and the movie still delivers its disturbing message.

In Summary: a California town is mysteriously invaded by seed-pod cloning aliens. Our lead characters (Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter and Carolyn Jones)discover these pods and how they are taking over their town, friends & family members. They try to seek assistance to stop this alien take over but are also being pursued by them. They discover that the pods are secretly placed near the victim. Slowly a clone of the victim matures within the pod & becomes fully mature when the victim falls asleep. The key is to escape and remain awake! As the days go by sleep seem inevitable. What happens to our characters? Does the world find out, before it is to late? This is a nail biting, nerve racking story and it is indeed a cult 1950's classic scifi film.

This is one of my favorite scifi/horror movies of the 1950's. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" has been remade twice but the 1956 movie is the original & the best both in acting & thrills!

The Extra Features include an original trailer and an interview with Kevin McCarhty. Again the picture quality & sound are excellent.

So if you want a good scarey taste of cult classic history get a bowl of popcorn pull up a seat in the dark and watch "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Enjoy.

It's alright but I probably missed the political point
Having been born well after the McCarthy era the political sub-text was lost on me. I just thought it was another one of those 50s sci-fi b movies made. Of course I had vague ideas of America at the time and how they were run but I didn't exactly join the dots together and link them up. What I saw was a sci-fi b-movie - nothing else. Still it wasn't bad

I got this really cheap in a store ( 5 euros ) and basically what I got looked like I bought a copy of some guy's video. I'm not complaining about it considering 5 euros for a DVD is alright and besides - it was nothing major. It was in colour and it started off bizarrely. Bizarre in the sense at how the music was so strange and how for the first 15 minutes of the film it was all just people falling down a hole somewhere out in the fields. Seems fairly stupid so far but I do admit that it was quite frightening when the dad lashed out at his son. The realism in that shot was something I hadn't seen before.

Basically you can get the story now about what's about to happen and I won't want to say anymore in case I might ruin the film for you ( nobody likes that do they ). But I will say that I found the Martians and their underground lair to be rather pathetic. OK just the lair then. When the men in green suits start undertaking their tasks it's pretty funny to see white balloons just sway a little as if a little gentle breeze had passed. And the amount of times you had to hear " Let me go let go let me go " it really begins to get on your nerves.

Historically you could say that this is a good film if you know your history. If you just want a bit of an enjoyable sci-fi movie then this can also be achieved. Either way you get enjoyment out of it.