Institute History
Description
"Don't be trapped by old concepts. You're evolving into anew life form. We came here from a dying world. We adapt and we survive," Dr. David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy) tells Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) in Kaufman's adaptation of Don Siegel's 1956 sci-fi classic. It is quintessential Kaufman advice, but like all the nurturing, Edenic images In this film, it is twisted and turned in on itself. (And how brilliant to cast Nimoy in this role—could Mr. Spock deceive us?) The pods which fall on San Francisco in a gentle rain and appear as colorful, exotic flowers are actually grotesque parasites whose blooming brings spiritual death and transforms the entire city almost overnight. In one of the film's most powerful images, a "reborn" Elizabeth (Brooke Adams) rises naked from the grass and tries to seduce Matthew like an evil Eve.
Praised by many critics as one of the best films of 1978, Invasion of the Body Snatchers again demonstrates Kaufman's ability to transcend genre. The film features a thriller pace, a chilling sound track, fine performances by Sutherland, Adams, Jeff Goldblum and especially Veronica Cartwright, and one of the most terrifying endings in recent cinema.
Monday Jan 25 10:15 am
Holiday Village Cinema II
Saturday Jan 30 9:00 pm
Prospector Square Theatre
$6.00