region 2 DVD: pub: MGM 16184DVD. 1 hr 51 minute film with audio commentary. Price: under £ 4.00 (UK) if you know where to look). stars: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright.

check out website: www.mgmuk.co.uk

This is the second film based on Jack Finney's book 'Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers'. There's been a couple since showing it's a popular plot of subtle alien invasion. Despite being made thirty years ago, it holds up well and complements the first and original film starring Kevin McCarthy, who also has a guest-role here, as indeed does its director Don Siegel. It was also released prior to 'Star Wars' on a much lower budget. In his commentary, director Philip Kaufman points out that when he was working on this film that it was believed there was no future for Science Fiction films. Well, we all know how that turned out. No doubt these were pod people who just didn't want us to have engaging SF films any more.



The Earth is quietly invaded by alien plant-form that over night quietly replaces people with duplicates and has their desiccated original remains taken away in the morning in dustcarts. A couple members of San Francisco' Public Health Department, Matthew Bennell (actor Donald Sutherland) and Elizabeth Driscoll (actress Brooke Adams) discover the truth literally by being confronted by their own duplicates growing in the garden. The city slowly gets stranger and they and a couple friends are on the run. The important thing is to not express emotion, sleep and be caught. Not as easy as it might seem when there is no one to turn to.

As Kaufman reminds you, things aren't that much different today. If anything, this film is a sharp reminder about what makes you you and what makes you a pod person so don't forget to do the reverse occasionally and remind people that you're alive and you can care. Cos if you don't, you might have already been taken over without even realising it.

As you might guess from my comments above, I'm rather taken by Kaufman's laconic commentary. He places things in historic context and how everything was shot on location. If ever you needed a Science Fiction film that didn't involve the future, high-tech, spaceships and robots, then 'Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers' is a good one to choose. After the ending, you'd be looking at people very carefully afterwards, checking the trash and being very careful about sleeping in the garden. Concrete patios don't help. The most insidious invasions are by those you don't spot coming. This is quality SF.

GF Willmetts