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Invasion of the Body Snatchers | Year: 1956 Classification: Science Fiction Directed: - Don Siegel Actors/Actresses: - Jeff Goldblum - Kevin McCarthy - Dana Wynter Body Snatchers Invade Video Collection Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers proves to be a classic of the science-fiction genre. Usually bored to death of sci-fi films, I quite enjoyed this film of pods taking over and transforming themselves into the citizens of Santa Mira, while they sleep, in the hopes of soon engulfing the entire world. Brilliantly acted by Kevin McCarthy in the role Miles Bennel, and Dana Wynter as Becky Driscoll, with a wonderful supporting cast, the film is easily believable. With Milt Rice in charge of special effects, the entire collaberation is a marvel for its time. Upon returning home from a trip, Miles finds the Santa Mira townspeople to be acting a bit unusual, but little does he know that one by one the townspeople are being taken over by pods from another world. Miles and Becky, Miles' girlfriend, attempt to warn the town and save the others, but it soon proves to be no easy feat for them to save themselves. The two drive, and then literally run, for their lives through the California hills. If they can make it to the highway and then to the neighboring town, perhaps they and the world can be saved. With impressive cinematography by Ellsworth Fredericks, notably the highway scene late in the film, and a striking musical score by Carmen Dragon, this film has quickly become one of my favorites. To occupy a place on the shelves amidst my usual favorites is not an easy thing for a film to do, especially for one that is science-fiction, but this brilliant sci-fi film, which hints a bit at McCarthyism, is a can't miss for any film lover. Now I lay me down to sleep... A classic sci-fi thriller made on a small budget with a relatively unknown cast and no special effects. A small American town is invaded by strange pods from outer space and the residents are replaced by soulless duplicates of themselves which hatch from the pods. Kevin McCarthy in one of his few roles as a leading man, stars as a doctor who tries to stop the silent invasion. The film's direction by Don Siegel is simple but effective: the sense of suspense and doom is created not by visual effects or elaborate settings but by consistently placing McCarthy where he has to hide in smaller and smaller and darker and darker places. At the end when McCarthy finally does break away, he bursts forth onto the freeway to warn the rest of the world before it's too late - one of the most famous moments in cinematic history. Originally the film was to end there but studio heads demanded a less depressing conclusion and a more conventional finale was added. The film has frequently been called an allegory for McCarthyism, but it can be enjoyed at face value as an excellent example of 1950s science fiction. 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. Buy Invasion Of The Body Snatchers at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Search with the Priority Search Engine on Invasion Of The Body Snatchers This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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