|
''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' is a 1956 American black-and-white science fiction film shot and told in Film Noir style, produced by Walter Wanger, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. The film was released through Allied Artists Picture Corporation. Daniel Mainwaring adapted the screenplay from Jack Finney's science fiction novel ''The Body Snatchers'' (1954).〔Warren 1982 〕 The story depicts an extraterrestrial invasion that begins in the fictional California town of Santa Mira. Alien plant spores have fallen from space and grown into large seed pods, each one capable of reproducing a duplicate replacement copy of each human. As each pod reaches full development, it assimilates the physical characteristics, memories, and personalities of each sleeping person placed near it; these duplicates, however, are devoid of all human emotion. Little by little, a local doctor uncovers this "quiet" invasion and attempts to stop it. The slang expression "pod people" that arose in late 20th Century American culture references the emotionless duplicates seen in the film.〔 In 1994 ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." ==Plot== Psychiatrist Dr. Hill is called to the emergency room of a hospital, where a screaming man is being held in custody. Dr. Hill agrees to listen to his story. The man identifies himself as doctor, and he recounts, in flashback, the events leading up to his arrest and arrival at the hospital: In Santa Mira, California, Dr. Miles Bennell sees a number of patients suffering from Capgras delusion. Returning from a trip, Miles meets his former girlfriend, Becky Driscoll, who has herself recently come back to town after a recent divorce. Becky's cousin Wilma has the same fear about her Uncle Ira, with whom she lives. Psychiatrist Dr. Dan Kauffman assures Bennell that these cases are merely an "epidemic of mass hysteria". That same evening, Bennell's friend, Jack Belicec, finds a body with his exact physical features, though it appears not fully developed; later, another body is found in Becky's basement that is her exact duplicate. When Bennell calls Kauffman to the scene, the bodies have mysteriously disappeared, and Kauffman informs Bennell that he is falling for the same hysteria. The following night, Bennell, Becky, Jack, and Jack's wife Teddy again find duplicates of themselves, emerging from giant seed pods in Dr. Bennell's greenhouse. They conclude that the townspeople are being replaced while asleep with exact physical copies. Miles tries to make a long distance call to federal authorities for help, but the phone operator claims that all long-distance lines are busy; Jack and Teddy drive off to seek help in the next town. Bennell and Becky discover that by now all of the town's inhabitants have been replaced and are devoid of humanity; they flee to Bennell's office to hide for the night. The next morning they see truckloads of the giant pods heading to neighboring towns to be planted and used to replace their populations. Kauffman and Jack, both of whom are "pod people" by now, arrive at Bennell's office and reveal that an extraterrestrial life form is responsible for the invasion. After their takeover, they explain, life loses its frustrating complexity, because all emotions and sense of individuality vanish. Bennell and Becky manage to escape, but are soon pursued by a crowd of "pod people". Exhausted, they manage to hide in an abandoned mine outside of town. Bennell leaves a little later, coming upon a large greenhouse farm, where he discovers giant seed pods being grown by the hundreds. While he is gone, Becky falls asleep and is transformed into one of ''them''. When Bennell kisses her after his return, he realizes, to his horror, what has happened. She then calls out to any pursuing "pod people". Now panicking, Bennell runs and runs, eventually finding himself on a crowded state highway. After seeing a transport truck bound for San Francisco and Los Angeles filled with the pods, he frantically screams at the passing motorists, "They're here already! You're next! You're next!" As Bennell finishes his story at the hospital, Dr. Hill and the on-duty doctor doubt his account until an injured truck driver, involved in a highway accident, is brought into the emergency room. He was found in his wrecked truck buried under a load of giant seed pods. Both doctors realize that Bennell's story is true, and they immediately call the federal authorities. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Invasion of the Body Snatchers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|