Episode 130 · Film year 1956
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
- Special Guest
- Mark Thomas McGee
- Guest Co-Host
- Jamie Jenkins
Show notes
From the deep reaches of space the pods arrive, ready to take over the human race, erasing our humanity and turning us into walking vegetables. We're looking at the four versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (and a few other films).
We're joined this week by Jamie Jenkins of Devour the Podcast (opens in a new tab) and the Lycan It (opens in a new tab) podcast.
We're joined this week by Jamie Jenkins of Devour the Podcast (opens in a new tab) and the Lycan It (opens in a new tab) podcast.
Labels: Abel Ferrara Don Siegel Donald Sutherland Jamie Jenkins Jeff Goldblum Kevin McCarthy Leonard Nimoy Mark McGee Philip Kaufman W.D. Richter
Watch
Links & resources
- Buy Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney (opens in a new tab)
- Buy Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Making of a Classic by Mark McGee (opens in a new tab)
- Buy You Won't Believe Your Eyes by Mark McGee (opens in a new tab)
- Buy Invasion of the Body Snatchers Edited by Al LaValley (Rutgers Press) (opens in a new tab)
- Buy Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) on DVD (opens in a new tab)
- Buy Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) on DVD (opens in a new tab)
- Buy Body Snatchers (1994) on DVD (opens in a new tab)
- Buy The Invasion (2007) on DVD (opens in a new tab)
- Buy The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein (opens in a new tab)
- Buy The Puppet Masters on DVD (opens in a new tab)
- Buy The Faculty on DVD (opens in a new tab)
- Buy Invasion of the Booty Snatchers on DVD (opens in a new tab)
Related episodes
Episodes that share keywords with this one.
Charley Varrick (1973)
Shared: Director Don Siegel, Don Siegel
Andy Robinson, Heather Drain, Maurice Bursztynski
Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Shared: Donald Sutherland
John Landis, Stuart Margolin, Gavin MacLeod, Samm Deighan and others
The Bad Lieutenant Films (1992, 2009)
Shared: Abel Ferrara
Edward Pressman, William M. Finkelstein, Patrick Bromley
Comments (6)
Robert H. One interesting tangent... In the ABC series INVASION, which (very, VERY SLOWLY) details an alien invasion/extraterrestial refugee settlement in a small town in Florida after a hurricane, Veronica Cartwright plays a television news executive/reporter, in true tongue-in-cheek casting. Too bad they couldn't have gotten Sutherland, who was starring in the Geena Davis COMMANDER IN CHIEF show at the same time to do a walk on for an episode...ejluther Another great episode! I really enjoy all 4 BODY SNATCHER films for much of the same reasons I enjoy the 4 films in the ALIEN franchise - they're all variations on a theme with similar elements but very distinctive styles and approaches. I'll even defend THE INVASION - a believable female heroine, a fairly well-rounded African-American male character who actually saves the day with his brain and doesn't have to be sacrificed as a result, clever imagery, philosophical subtext, having the virus being very AIDS-like, giving us a "happy" ending that still leaves us feeling discomforted and upset...I like all those things about it. Sure there are things about it I don't like about THE INVASION but that's true of the other three, too. Just an added bit of trivia - there was a fairly serious accident during the shooting of THE INVASION: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7b7bd8efa7 This part of the well-publicized reshoots, I believe... As always -great work and many thanks...Anonymous (Sorry if this is a duplicate.) FYI, Re: BODY SNATCHERS '78 - Jerry Garcia overdubbed the banjo music the bum's playing, but he didn't play the bum himself. Mike's half-correct about the cameo! It's an audio cameo, albeit not a visual one. (I recall this being stated either in Philip Kaufman's DVD commentary or one of the documentaries on the 2007 Collector's Edition DVD. Wish I could provide more specific citation but I don't remember exactly when and where on the DVD it's stated!)Eric Gilliland I really enjoyed this episode. The Siegel and Kaufman versions remain my favorites - especially Kaufman's because I catch something new every time. I listened to this show late at night and the next morning I went for a run. It was trash collection day in the neighborhood and the sight and sound of all those trucks was unsettling to say the least!herman the german I am not sure which version of RAH's Puppet Masters you read, but the one I have is nothing like that at all: Puppet Masters do not enjoy sex, (something which is right in the movie) they do not enjoy nor are they aroused at the sight of cleavage, for example. Or maybe you read it too long ago to remember it properly.Mike White It's been a long time since this was recorded so I don't remember what I said. >>The 1951 version does mention that men possessed by the invaders lost all sexual feeling - an essential element in the early parts of the plot; but the original publisher completely cut out a reference to the "puppet masters" later discovering human sexuality and embarking upon wild orgies, broadcast live on TV in the areas under their control.<< https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Puppet_Masters