No Escape is an all around entertaining film perfect for a Saturday movie night. No, it doesn’t make you think or have any profound performances but the acting isn’t bad with Owen Wilson serving as a fine everyman type of character and Pierce Brosnan in his small part is a lot of fun. This is probably worthy of a rental.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
— Collector’s Edition —
(1978)
Genre(s): Science Fiction, Thriller, Horror
Shout Factory | PG – 115 min. – $34.93 | August 2, 2016
Date Published: 07/29/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 4.25/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Under cover of darkness, while an unsuspecting city sleeps, an alien life form begins to sow the seeds of unspeakable terror. One by one, the residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves. As the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers, Matthew (DONALD SUTHERLAND) and Elizabeth (BROOKE ADAMS), uncover the horrifying truth: Mysterious pods are cloning humans — and destroying the originals. The unworldly invasion grows stronger with each passing minute, hurling Matthew and Elizabeth into a desperate race to save not only their own lives, but the future of the entire human race. Quick Hit Review: 1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one heck of a scary ride and one of the rare remakes that is equal or better than the original. The cast is top notch for its time from Donald Sutherland and Leonard Nimoy to a young Jeff Goldblum who was making a name for himself during the era. It’s a well written movie but better yet, it’s an intense film from beginning to end, a final image that’s become a meme around the Internet. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.75/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover. The inner cover is reversible and is of the original poster artwork. Audio Commentaries Star-Crossed in the Invasion (9:06; HD) is a new interview with actress Brooke Adams as she discusses working on the movie and her character. Leading the Invasion (25:05; HD) – Here Actor Art Hindle extensively discusses his career and casting in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Re-Creating the Invasion (15:43’ HD) – Writer W.D. Richter chats on adapting the remake. Scoring the Invasion (15:34; HD) finds composer Denny Zeitlin on his approach to scoring the movie. Also included are some archival featurettes: Re-Visitors From Outer Space (16:14; HD) featuring older interviews with Donald Sutherland, W.D. Richter and others; Practical Magic (4:38) on the practical effects; The Man Behind the Scream (12:47; HD) covering the sound effects; The Invasion Will Be Televised (5:24; HD) delves into the cinematography; and last up is the Theatrical Trailer (2:13; HD), TV Spots (1:02; HD), Radio Spots (4:46; HD), a Photo Gallery and the short film, Science Fiction Theater, Time Is Just a Place (25:53; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Shout Factory, through their Scream line, releases Invasion of the Body Snatchers presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. For a movie going on nearly 40 years old, it doesn’t look half bad. Detail is relatively sharp and colors are generally bright and the transfer itself is clean, free of debris, scratches, artifacts or other flaws. |
AUDIO – 4.25/5 |
| The disc comes with both a 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks, both of which are good options though the former does add a bit of depth though they both offer clear dialogue levels. They aren’t robust tracks given the age of the film but presumably they are a solid upgrade over its DVD counterparts. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
| Overall, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one of the rare remakes that works and is another great film from 1978. The performances are all well done with Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams highlighting and it’s just an all around tense film from beginning to end. This “Collector’s Edition” Blu-ray released by Shout Factory offers great video and audio transfers and a nice selection of bonus material. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.