INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)
The Preshow Entertainment was the rest of Red Hot Rock. These are 80's rock videos that feature nudity. We watched the first half last month, and what was such a hit in December was only mildly fun this time out. Don't get me wrong, the videos were all terrible, cheesy, and '80s, but when we watched them last month, we were all jaw dropping, eye-popping viewers in a disbelief so intense we didn't even speak. Now we knew what we were in for, so the surprise factor was gone.
The Random Movie was:
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. This was the 1956 version. The original.
IOTBS is known by film lovers and film school brats alike as an allegory (or is it metaphor? What do I know?) for "you never know who your neighbors are" and "you can turn in your neighbor." It was made during the Red Scare. But I ask you to cast this tidbit aside, and accept the movie for what it is- Scary, amusing, smart, and charming.
The lovable, droopy-faced Kevin McCarthy plays a small town doc returning from a trip to find a few cases of "delusions" among the locals. Soon, it's upgraded to "mass hysteria." But will he uncover the truth? And in time? Well don't fall asleep or the enemy will get you.
One of the things I love about this movie is how fast it sucks you in. They don't waste much time, yet it's paced sort of slowly. Not an easy task. But director Don Siegel (DIRTY HARRY) balanced it. I do believe the pacing is what helps make this film work so well. The pace picks up as the protagonist figures things out, so by the 3/4 mark, it's relentless. The movie flies by. It's a perfect ride.
I understand the DVD has alternate endings, etc. That reminds me. I must put that in my Netflix Queue.
I'm not very big on remakes. I can't tell you how much I fear this year's remake of the 1987 Patrick Dempsey/Amanda Peterson starrer CAN'T BUY ME LOVE. But the 1978 remake of IOTBS with Leonard Nimoy (also in the RMC database), was one of the few remakes that worked pretty well. No Tim Burton "re-imagining" there. And then there was a second remake (or was it a remake of the remake?), called BODY SNATCHERS, which was just okay, except for a couple of things (Gabrielle Anwar's tits). A friend of mine mentioned there was a 4th (3rd remake), but I'm too lazy to research that.
At one point in the original, Kevin McCarthy runs through traffic (I think on the 110 fwy) and tries to stop cars saying stuff like "They're here!" SPOILER AHEAD- In the 1978 remake, he makes a cameo at the beginning as a crazy guy shouting "They're here," as if he has been running for 20 years.
The 1956 INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is a great movie. Maybe not required viewing (no, maybe it is), but at the very least, highly recommended viewing. It's classy and classic.
Tags: random movie club, invasion of the body snatchers, red hot rock
