Film Review: INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978, Philip Kaufman)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 115 minutes.
Tag-line: "Get some sleep."
Notable Cast or Crew: Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Brooke Adams (THE DEAD ZONE, DAYS OF HEAVEN), Art Hindle (PORKY'S, THE BROOD), Veronica Cartwright (ALIEN, THE RIGHT STUFF). Cameos by Don Siegel, Robert Duvall, and Kevin McCarthy. Written by W.D. Richter.
Best one-liner: "Here I am, you pod bastards! Hey, pods! Come and get me you scum!"

Now this is how you do a remake- measured, requisite homage to the source, a balanced degree of artistic reinterpretation, and a top-notch ensemble cast. As far as I'm concerned, this film ushered in a decade of well-made horror remakes (THE THING, THE FLY, THE BLOB, CAT PEOPLE)- a phenomenon that sadly, did not outlast the 80's. Philip Kaufman's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS brings a tremendous amount of artistry to the table: using a taut screenplay by W.D. Richter (BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS), Kaufman masters the slow build, the character development, and paranoiac atmosphere necessary to pull this off. There are perfectly alienating moments that feel like they're culled from a film by Teshigahara: the cobwebby aliens fleeing their home planet, wafting through space- abstract forms set to atonal music:

a cameo by Robert Duvall as a sinister priest pendulating back and forth on a squeaky swingset:

a world in panic, viewed through the distorted, cracked windshield of a car...

These impressions build, ever so slowly, to a crescendo of sorts- one of encroaching madness. We see a world in transformation: a puzzle assembled before our very eyes- only by the time its true face is revealed, we've passed the point of no return. Our heroes (who strain to seek the truth before it's too late) include Donald Sutherland as a likable, rational health inspector:

Jeff Goldblum as a high-strung, rambling writer:

Brooke Adams as a winsome, persistent botanist:

Veronica Cartwright as a resolute hippie; and Leonard Nimoy as a self-help guru who preaches reason in a time where what's called for is volatility.


The special effects are entirely disturbing, and not on a level of sheer gore- it's an unsettling depiction of wholly alien, biological, bodily processes, and it really begins to get under your skin.

This is a disorienting movie, full of convex mirrors, handheld cameras, and wide-angle lens shots-

I would go as far to say that it surpasses the original in sheer effectiveness- and it culminates with an (atonally?) pitch-perfect finale. Five stars.

-Sean Gill

And as a side note- watch for ingenious Don Siegel and Kevin McCarthy cameos-

You're next!

Film Review: THE WANDERERS (1979, Philip Kaufman)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 117 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Karen Allen, Olympia Dukakis, Linda Manz (DAYS OF HEAVEN, GUMMO), Val Avery (FACES, THE ANDERSON TAPES, SHARKY'S MACHINE), Erland van Lidth (Dynamo in THE RUNNING MAN and Fatty in ALONE IN THE DARK), Ken Wahl (FORT APACHE THE BRONX), Ken Foree (the lead black cop in the original DAWN OF THE DEAD).
Tag-lines: "It's 1963. Meet The Wanderers... They were the hottest guys in town."
Best one-liner(s): "It's a shame to see kids beatin' each other's brains out, especially when there's no financial advantage."

THE WANDERERS is quite an achievement. It continually combines disparate elements and moods with an epic, exquisitely flowing narrative: it's a gang movie, it's a coming-of-age drama, it's a sentimental comedy, and it's a serious art film.

It owes most of its success to Philip Kaufman's direction and adaptation (the screenplay was co-written with his wife, Rose). Like Oliver Stone, all of Kaufman's films deal with pivotal historical moments in one way or another, but he chooses to focus on the emotional and mystical ramifications of these events: Eastern European turmoil in THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, an intimate look at the Marquis de Sade in QUILLS, the human face of the space program in THE RIGHT STUFF, post-Civil War frustration in THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (which he adapted), or the hamfisted, lopsided-grinned righteousness the specter of Nazi evil inspires in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (which he co-wrote). THE WANDERERS gets billed as sort of a 1960's-set WARRIORS, lulls you into complacency as an AMERICAN GRAFFITI-esque nostalgia comedy/drama, leaps headfirst into actual gang brutality, and ultimately ends with a reflective air of melancholy. As awesome as they are, the film's not about the endless, red-haired legions of murderous Irish toughs named 'The Ducky Boys.'

It's not about the fantastic, comprehensive soundtrack featuring music from 'The Shirelles,' 'The Four Seasons,' 'The Surfaris,' and a slew of others. It's not about the Baldies, the Wongs, gang brawls, football games, strip poker, or fishing for babes. It's about a mistake made by our hero before the the opening credits even roll, an error that cements his status in a culture of stagnancy, anchoring him to a world in decline, condemning him only to be a spectator and not a participant in the exciting and tumultuous youth movement of the 60's that is just beginning to raise its free-spirited head at the film's close. Five sobering stars.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981, Steven Spielberg)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 115 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Eliot, William Hootkins, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, Dennis Muren, John Williams, George Lucas, Pat Roach, Alfred Molina, Lawrence Kasdan
Tag-line: "The Return of the Great Adventure."
Best one-liner: "You want to talk to God? Let's go see him together, I've got nothing better to do."

Ah, Indiana Jones. A true hero for America. He's basically a grave robber, a cultural appropriator, sucker-punch thrower, a 'shoot first and ask questions later' kind of guy. He feels justified in everything he does, and when he gets called out on it, he defuses the situation with a smarmy grin. And the film acknowledges it, with Belloq's whole "shadowy reflection of you" speech, which is the screenwriter Kasdan beautifully channeling the days of Hawks and Huston. According to the original RAIDERS novelization, college-age Indy seduced 16-year-old Marion, promised her the world, and then left her. His friend and favorite professor's daughter! She was so broken down that she followed her dad to Nepal, he promptly died, and she had to work as a prostitute for some years in order to survive.

Now, with THAT subtext, watch their reunion scene, and soak in what a dick Indy is.

Cause that's exactly it. Indiana Jones is a dick. Case in point, in the Nazi sub base, Indy is dressed as a Nazi soldier. His mission- which risks not only his own neck and that of a woman he loves, but possibly the fate of the entire world- hangs in the balance. Yet, when he sees Belloq, he's willing to risk it all just to smack his shoulder into him. Of course, Belloq assumes it's a clumsy Nazi, and exits disdainfully, but Indy could have ruined the entire plan right there. Just so he could be a dick.





And look at that final, smug look of self-satisfaction. That really sums it all up.

Yet... when it all comes down to it, we love Indy. Because in the context of the films, he's usually fighting the most vile, venomous enemies the planet has ever excreted. So keep fighting the good fight, Indy, but cool it with the hypocrisy. There's a pretty blurry line between elitist private collection, 'public' museum, and Hovitos Temple. Aww, there you go with that lopsided grin again. Damn it. Fine. Five stars. But this is the last time!

-Sean Gill