Review of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) by Van R — 25 Aug 2010

â??The Great Northfield Minnesota Raidâ?? director Philip Kaufman fashioned a genuinely creepy, atmospheric remake of the Don Siegel classic chiller â??Invasion of the Body Snatchersâ?? (1956) that boasts everything that an inspired remake needs to emerge from the shadow of the original.

Kaufmanâ??s Technicolor rehash changes the setting from a rural California town in the middle 1950s to the sprawling metropolis of San Francisco during late 1970s. Scenarist W.D. Richter received an Oscar nomination for his adaptation of author Jack Finneyâ??s novel.

In other words, Kaufmanâ??s film is not a strict remake because he didn't replicate the Siegel film shot-for-shot any more than Richter duplicated the dialogue and action from the original. The Kevin McCarthy & Dana Wynter relationship in the Siegel protagonists differs from the adulterous relationship between Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams.

Nevertheless, this science fiction remake ties itself to the original because the hysterical character that McCarthy played shows up here during a traffic sequence. He is warning the world that all is not well and that â??they are coming for us.

â?? As if this homage to the original didnâ??t constitute something unusual for a remake produced twenty-two years later, the casting of the original directorâ??Don Siegelâ??in a bit part a blessing of sorts for Kaufmanâ??s film.

Indeed, Richter integrates the narrative from one film into another, despite the obvious fact that the McCarthy character couldnâ??t have been on the run that long. Since Kaufman and Richter refused to confinrf themselves to a remake in the strictest sense of the meaning, they fleshed out the narrative considerably and provided visual exposition about the alien space spores that migrate through space to the Earth.

Indeed, Kaufman and Richter developed the narrative in greater depth than the Allied Artists' original without sacrificing any subtlety. The first-rate cast, headed by the incomparable Donald Sutherland of â??M.

A.S.H.â?? fame, includes Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Brooke Adams, and Veronica Cartwright. Literally, Kaufman and Richter have take the Siegel classic and given it a new lease on life with their elaborate, often thrilling, art-house version that mines the subject matter for far more.

A metaphor for the changing world that appears early on during the action is the cracked windshield of the protagonist's car. Like everything else in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," this symbolism doesn't get in the way of the action.

Of course, the surprise ending is fantastic!