Blu-ray Release: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Blu-ray Release Date: Oct. 16, 2018
Price: Blu-ray $26.42
Studio: Olive Films


The classic 1956 science fiction/horror thriller film Invasion of the Body Snatchers gets the Olive Signature treatment in its latest Blu-ray incarnation!

Kevin McCarthy (Kansas City Bomber) stars as a doctor in a small California town whose patients are becoming hysterical and accuse their loved ones of “becoming” emotionless imposters. It doesn’t take too long for McCarthy and his friends to discover that plant-like extra-terrestrials have invaded Earth and are replicating the townsfolk in giant seed “pods,” taking possession of their souls while they sleep. Realizing that the epidemic is out of control and spreading everywhere, the remaining humans find themselves in a terrifying race for their lives.

Directed by the great Don Siegel (Private Hell 36) and co-starring Dana Wynter (On the Double), Carolyn Jones (TV’s The Addams Family) and Larry Gates (Funny Lady), the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1993.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers has inspired countless knock-offs, parodies and at least three remakes: Philip Kaufman’s very fine Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Abel Ferrara’s weirdly entertaining The Body Snatchers (1993) and James McTeigue’s awful The Invasion (2007).

Here’s a breakdown of what Olive has included on its Signature edition:

  • New High-Definition digital restoration
  • Audio Commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith
  • Audio Commentary by actors Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, and filmmaker Joe Dante
  • “The Stranger in Your Lover’s Eyes” – A two-part visual essay with actor and son of director Don Siegel, Kristoffer Tabori, reading from his father’s book A Siegel Film
  • “The Fear is Real” – Filmmakers Larry Cohen and Joe Dante on the film’s cultural significance
  • “I No Longer Belong: The Rise and Fall of Walter Wanger” – Film scholar and author Matthew Bernstein discusses the life and career of the film’s producer
  • “Sleep No More: Invasion of the Body Snatchers Revisited” –  Never-before-seen appreciation of the film featuring actors Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, along with comments from film directors and fans, John Landis, Mick Garris, and Stuart Gordon
  • “The Fear and the Fiction: The Body Snatchers Phenomenon” – Never-before-seen interviews with Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, along with film directors John Landis, Mick Garris and Stuart Gordon, discussing the making of the film, its place in history, and its meaning
  • 1985 archival interview with Kevin McCarthy hosted by Tom Hatten
  • “Return to Santa Mira” – An exploration of the film’s locations
  • “What’s In a Name?” – On the film’s title
  • Gallery of rare documents detailing aspects of the film’s production including the never-produced opening narration to have been read by Orson Welles
  • Essay by author and film programmer Kier-La Janisse
  • Original theatrical trailer
Buy or Rent Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.