Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
- written February 2005
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Dr. Miles returns his small town practice to find several of his patients suffering the paranoid delusion that their friends or relatives are impostors. He is initially skeptical, especially when the imposters are able to answer questions about their victim's life, but he is eventually persuaded that something odd has happened, and determines to find out what. Problem is, will they let him?
Overall: Great, great film. Even after almost 50 years, this film still works. We have good acting, great scenes of paranoia and a nice story. Biggest prob the film is, is not giving us enough info on the pods and the aliens but that’s ok. The film is trying to show one man and his relentlessness to save mankind. More than enough people criticize the ending for being too “plain” or trying to take the scariness of it. I disagree. I think the ending with Miles listening as other people call for the FBI is great. It shows that some people did believe his wild story but also, perhaps that it was too late anyway. I think the film could have ended with him on the highway chasing cars but it would have needed to finish off the "story-telling" idea. So leave it as it is. First thing you can do is watch this film and see it as a warning for Communism. It is 1956 and Hungary is being repressed at this time. Soviets are running through Europe, solidifying their hold over them. The U.S. begins to send troops to Vietnam at the same time already fighting the communist menace in Korea. I totally see the connection with this movie and the political events of the time, but it doesn’t necessarily need this to be effective. It works because we as Americans tended and even now still tend to ignore our surroundings and just let things be. This film is warning us, to question things and to take a stand. Awesome film that definitely stands up through time. Comparison: The Puppet Masters meet Impostor |
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