When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 11 nominations
- Boccardo
- (as Gary Goodrow)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- Trivia(at around 5 mins) Robert Duvall, who had previously worked with Philip Kaufman on The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), happened to be in San Francisco at the time of filming, and shot his only scene for free. He plays a crazy priest playing on a swing. It's supposed to foreshadow the pod person anomie and alienation we feel later in the movie.
- Goofs(at around 1h 40 mins) The ship being loaded with pods was in dry dock; the entire propeller is clearly visible. Ships are not loaded in dry dock.
- Quotes
Matthew Bennell: [dials his phone] I'll get the police.
Telephone Operator: [voice] Police.
Matthew Bennell: Officer, I'd like to report four bodies in my backyard.
Telephone Operator: Wait right there Mr. Bennell.
Matthew Bennell: How do you know my name?
Jack Bellicec: [Jack's eyes widen with fear] Hang up, Matthew.
Matthew Bennell: [into the phone] I didn't tell you my name.
Jack Bellicec: Hang up!
Matthew Bennell: [hangs up the phone] I didn't tell them my name!
Nancy Bellicec: That's because they're all part of it. They're all pods, all of them!
- Alternate versionsIn the version that ABC-TV ran in 1980, Brooke Adams's nude scene, where she walks through the greenhouse where the pods are being grown, was replaced with an alternate shot of her wearing her red dress.
- ConnectionsEdited into Ice Queen (2005)
- SoundtracksAmazing Grace
Traditional
Performed by The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (as the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards)
Courtesy of RCA Limited
One oddity about this film is that it seems to assume that very few people will watch who aren't already familiar with the original. Scripter W.D. Richter and director Philip Kaufman give away the "twist" immediately, and there are a number of statements from characters in this film (such as the first time we hear the advice to not fall asleep) that only make sense if one already knows from Don Siegel's original just why they shouldn't fall asleep. For this reason, I strongly recommend that anyone interested in this film who hasn't seen it yet should make sure they watch the original first.
The opening shots, which firmly set this remake into sci-fi territory, are a great idea, even if the execution is somewhat questionable. I'm not sure that Kaufman's "art gel" works, and the way it moves through space, as if blown by trade winds, is slightly hokey. But I'm willing to forgive a misstep if it's in service of a great idea, and especially if the misstep is the result of budgetary limitations.
Early in the film, the major asset is the cinematography. There is an excellent, slow tracking shot down a hallway, where we only see our main character by way of her feet and a slight reflection in a window. There are a lot of great "tilted" shots. There are a lot of subtle lighting effects to set mood, and a just as many subtle instances of symbolism for the horrors to come.
The cast, featuring Adams, Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum, Leonard Nimoy and Veronica Cartwright, is an interesting combination of stars who tend to give idiosyncratic performances. Kaufman exploits the collection of personalities well, although occasionally gives us odd "everyone talk at once" scenes which can verge on the brink of annoying. Although I'm not usually the biggest fan of Goldblum (in some roles, such as The Fly, I like him, in some roles he tends to irritate me), I noted an odd similarity between him in this film and an actor and performance I'm much more fond of--David Duchovny and his X-Files character Fox Mulder.
Speaking of that, there is a strong X-Files vibe to this film overall. Whereas the original Invasion had thinly veiled subtexts of fear and doubts of "The Other"--whether politically-rooted (the common analysis is that the original Invasion was a subtext for U.S. fears of communism), religiously-rooted (some see it as a parable about cults, or religions in general) or simply about personal identity (in a philosophical sense of "Who am I/are you?" "What makes one oneself?"), Kaufman's take has stronger subtexts of encroaching mental illness--fear of losing one's mind and a generalized, "clinical" paranoia.
Given that difference, it's perhaps odd that there are so many similarities between the two films. The character structure and relationships are largely the same, with some mostly insignificant differences, including slightly different occupations. There are many scenes taken almost verbatim from the original film, often only with differences of setting, but staged the same, with similar scenarios and occasionally identical dialogue. There is even a wonderful moment where Kevin McCarthy, star of the original film, comes running down the street, screaming that we're all doomed.
A number of quirky moments push the value of Kaufman's film up a notch. These are sprinkled throughout the film, but some highlights are a Robert Duvall cameo as a priest inexplicably on a swingset next to toddlers, the "mud bath" parlor, a brief spurt of marvelous, Zappa-sounding avant-garde classical as we witness a chase down a staircase, and a greenhouse in a shipping yard, through which Elizabeth eventually strolls naked, casually walking by employees. The "creature" effects may be better here than in the original, but they are not more effective for that.
But overall, this is a great film. Just make sure you don't miss the superior original.
- BrandtSponseller
- Feb 8, 2005
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Los usurpadores de cuerpos
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $3,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $24,946,533
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,298,129
- Dec 25, 1978
- Gross worldwide
- $24,949,050
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1