Invasion of the Body Snatchers [Blu-ray] [1956]

After watching so many big budget studio films in the past ten years which, with few exceptions, kinda left me with feelings of disappointment, I’ve decided to turn my attention to much more inspired films of the past. I picked up the Olive Films Signature edition chocked full of special features and Kevin McCarthy is a gem. This movie inspired not one, not two, but three remakes…count ‘em. Three. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Am I missing any? So get out your bug spray and look out for pod people, because “They're here already! You're next! You're next!” Ahhhhhh.

There were multiple remakes of this film but, for my dollar, this is still the best. Here's the scoop. Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) returns to to his practice in Santa Mira after being away at a conference. Something is afoot. People are saying that close friends and family they've known forever are not their friends and family. A backlog of patient appointments dries up and he's left scratching his head. He runs into an old flame (Dana Wynter) and, as the two try to rekindle their relationships, other odd things begin to happen that get them to realize something very serious is going on. This film sports a very efficient script by Daniel Mainwaring as well as direction from veteran Don Siegel. The questions are laid out very early on and the clues build to a startling conclusion which then segues into the pair trying to figure out how to both escape the problem as well as raise the warning. This all builds to a frightening and feverish pitch. What starts out slow and easy on soft sunny days speeds up and turns dark with sharp, ugly shadows.

What needs to be said? Any self-respecting collector/fan of science fiction and/or horror should own this film. This Blu-ray release has beautiful movie poster style artwork on the slip cover, and was priced CHEAPER than Amazon through Best Buy at the time of my purchase. Great work, Best Buy!

One of the best science fiction films of the 50s comes to Blu-ray and it looks magnificent and sounds marvelous. The picture and sound are crisp and clear, probably the best they have looked since the movie was released in theaters. The film is tense and suspenseful and stars Kevin McCarthy, who is great in the role of a small town doctor, and Dana Wynter, who is beautiful as the newly-rekindled love of the small town doctor. Paranoia and mistrust run deep in director Don Siegel's wonderful INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.

What can you say about Invasion of the Body Snatchers that hasn't already been said? The original version is a classic however you look at it, even if it was originally a Cold War, anti-Communist fable from the McCarthy era adapted from Jack Finney's novel. Kevin McCarthy (no relation to the notorious Senator) and Dana Wynter star in this still-upsetting tale of alien seed pods looking to replace humankind with emotionless copies. And now it's on Blu-ray Disc, bringing a new level of clarity to the picture and sound.

Wonderful, exciting, and joyfully spine tingling without all of the blood and gore that you see today. Real storytelling that took me back to when I went to the neighborhood movie theater as a young boy in the 1950's and got good and scared without having nightmares about it later.

Make no mistake - in the genre of '50's Sci-Fi, this is a classic (the fact that they've tried to re-make it TWICE speaks to that)! It's in B/W, but widescreen, and the transfer to blu-ray is very good (the phenomenon of backgrounds being "crawly" when they transfer old movies to blu-ray is well under control). Yes, it's a little "dated", but still WELL worth a look (do yourself a favor). One sad omission - there are no "extras" (even though I know that an interview with star Kevin McCarthy is available).

I wasn't huge on the '70s remake so I didn't have high expectations for this one. It's a lot of fun though. Definitely one of the best of the black and white '50s sci-fi alien flicks.