4K ULTRA HD REVIEW / HDR SCREENSHOTS
Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter), left, Jack Belicec (King Donovan), Teddy Belicec (Carolyn Jones) and Dr. Miles J. Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) find an alien pod inside the Belicecs’ greenhouse.
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“INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray, 1956, unrated
Best extra: The new commentary with film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
YOU KNOW the story. A small-town doctor realizes that the good people of Santa Mira, Calif., are systematically being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates. Fighting to stay awake – fall asleep and the pods get you – and not knowing who he can trust, he runs and runs and runs to warn the world.
So, then, what is “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”?
An indictment of McCarthyism? Of Communism? Maybe it’s Don Siegel’s critique of post-war America’s general state of mind, or his takedown of every studio exec who crossed paths with the tough-as-nails director. It could be a veiled statement about Madison Avenue conformity.
In their lively, engaging new commentary recorded for this Kino Lorber Studio Classics release, film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson hit the bull’s-eye. It’s a Rorschach test, they say. “You can project whatever you want on it.”
In that spirit, the vote here is for Thompson’s call: “It’s the greatest sci-fi/horror noir of all time.”
That’s clear as Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy, “Death of a Salesman”) becomes more isolated and increasingly desperate after the woman he loves, Becky Driscoll (Dana Wynter, “The Crimson Pirate”), picks up the femme fatale mantle. Then there’s Daniel Mainwaring’s (the noir classic “Out of the Past”) in-your-face screenplay, Carmen Dragon’s (“Cover Girl”) creepy score, and the real giveaway: the dramatic lighting and sharp contrasts courtesy of Siegel (“Dirty Harry,” “The Shootist”) and cinematographer Ellsworth Fredericks (“Sayonara”).
(1) “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” premiered in the U.S. on Feb. 5, 1956. (2) Bennell recounts his incredulous story at the hospital. (3) He drives to the office with his assistant Nurse Sally Withers (Jean Willis), after attending an out-of-town conference. (4&5) Convinced that his grandmother isn’t his grandmother, Jimmy Grimaldi (Bobby Clark) runs from home and is later seen by Bennell at his office. (6) Becky and the doc rekindle their romance when she moves back to Santa Mira.
VIDEO/AUDIO
That’s the good news. The not-as-good, but not-unexpected, news is that the 4K UHD master doesn’t approach reference-quality. And that’s no fault of Kino Lorber’s, whose cap is chock-full of 4K feathers. It was pieced together from the best available 35mm elements, and while there are enough moments when the images shine, especially in the close-ups and lighting, there are others when the source is obvious. Is it unwatchable? Not in the least.
Besides, KL serves up two ratios and both in Dolby Vision: the 1.85:1 and the original, matted 2.00:1 Superscope, which allowed filmmakers to produce widescreen pictures without paying through the nose for CinemaScope anamorphic lenses. The movie was screened in both ratios back in the day. My TV is a puny 43 inches so the difference was negligible.
Everything was encoded onto a 100 GB disc, with the peak HDR10 brightness hitting 607 nits on the 1.85:1 version, 613 on 2.00:1, and averaging 43 and 39 nits respectively. The video bitrates vary from the upper 20 Megabits per second to 90-plus on both versions.
Compared to the 2018 Olive Signature Blu-ray, the 4K and new Blu-ray are graded much darker, which adds to its film noir appeal. The film grain structure is well-defined and varies in size depending on the film source – second – or third-generation.
The audio is solid, even if it’s not as expansive as you’d like. That’s not unexpected either – “Body Snatchers” is going on 70 years old. There are no issues with the dialogue and effects; they couldn’t be clearer.
(1) Wilma Lentz (Virginia Christine) tells Bennell that something isn’t right with her Uncle Ira. (2&3) Belicec and Bennell are perplexed by a body that appears to be Belicec’s double. When it opens its eyes, Teddy goes into hysterics. (4&6) Bennell destroys his likeness then burns two pods that have been slipped into the trunk of his car.
EXTRAS
The Mitchell-Thompson commentary tops an impressive package. More like a confab between two good friends and super fans, they cover every conceivable base:
Much of the plot and dialogue were from Jack Finney’s 1954 novel “The Body Snatchers,” which was first serialized in Collier’s magazine. Producer Walter Wanger (“Scarlet Street”) jumped on the rights before the serial was finished. Siegel’s rep as a “reality-based” director gave the film its gravitas. As for character development, it’s rivaled by the original “War of the Worlds,” “Them!” and “The Thing from Another World.”
“Right out of the gate, you believe in this movie, you believe in these people,” they say. “Everything you’re watching is taking place in the real world.”
Film scholar Jason A. Ney sits down for a second new commentary. He sounds like he’s reading from a script, but his insights into the differences between the film and novel make for a good listen.
Also included are two archival commentaries – one with McCarthy and Wynter moderated by director Joe Dante (“The Howling,” “Matinee”), the other with writer Richard Harland Smith – the original Olive Films short features “The Fear Is Real,” “The Stranger in Your Lover’s Eyes,” and “I No Longer Belong: The Rise and Fall of Walter Wanger,” and trailers for the original movie and the excellent 1978 remake directed by Philip Kaufman (“The Right Stuff”) and starring the late Donald Sutherland (“M*A*S*H”).
Not to be an alarmist, but they’re here already, right? Enjoy it while you can.
– Craig Shapiro
On the Run
(1) Desperate to stay awake, Bennell and Becky hide in his office. (2&3) The replicants try to capture Bennell but he breaks free and runs. (4-6) Bennell carries an exhausted Becky into a mountain tunnel, then gets the shock of his life when she awakens.
4K menu screen
1.85:1 vs. 2.00:1
(1) 1.85:1 aspect ratio: Debris marks pop up at times on the top and bottom of the frame. (2) 2.00:1 aspect ratio: The top and bottom of the frame are slightly cropped, and the horizontal frame is a smidgen wider, which provides a more cinematic image for owners with a projection system using 2.00:1 to 2.35:1 screens.
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