June 06, 2010

The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).

When Jack Finney wrote in 1955 the invasion of the Body Snatchers and one year later Hollywood released a cinematographic version, I'm sure he wasn't aware of the impact his story would have. So many versions, parodies and music inspiration were related to his work.

This post is about the 1956 movie, my favourite, but it is here because I had the opportunity of watching the 2007 Nicole Kidman version. And although I found interesting this version, I was longing for the old version all the time.

[via videovista]

And this attachment to the first movie is simply because this film has all the qualities the good old Science Fiction movies have: the creation of a perfect setting and a perfect path of action.

Everything is artificious, unreal and unnatural but it works. In 1978 the movie tries to be more realistic and the result is inferior but great. And the 2007 Oliver Hirschbiegel lacks the spontaneity of the unlikely first version. And although it is more realistic is more unbelievable.

[via Bola Extra]

We the watcher know what's happening. And after a few minutes everyone in the movie does. And Carol Bennell (Nicole Kidman) turns into a commando. What surprises me is that there are no gangs of crazy humans killing contaminated people while high on stimulants that prevent them from falling asleep.

In the 1956 movie that was inconceivable. The little town was as good as any other place to hold all sane humans and letting almost no room to Doctor Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) to fight them. And that's what makes his struggle so epic.

There is no government after Miles Bennell, no scientific investigation and no moral reflection about how bad is the human being and how cool could it be if we turn into mindless citizens. But that's the dream of totalitarian governments. And in the 2007 movie they seem to try to make us uncomfortable and ashamed of loving our freedom. That's something I didn't like and I consider it unacceptable.