Physical Media Releases (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Philip Kaufman's (in Body Snatchers, as director) Body Snatchers has passed through nearly every consumer home-video format of the last four-and-a-half decades — MGM/UA VHS, laserdisc, early DVD, a proper two-disc MGM collector's edition with Kaufman commentary, a Fox/MGM Blu-ray that dropped the commentary, Scream Factory's 2016 Collector's Edition Blu-ray with a new 2K transfer, a Region-B Arrow release with a Kim Newman panel, and in 2021 a Kino Lorber 4K UHD sourced from a new scan of the camera negative and color-graded by Kaufman himself. Each edition has added something the prior one left out; no single disc has ever assembled everything.
MGM/UA released the first VHS and laserdisc in the early 1980s
MGM/UA Home Video issued Invasion of the Body Snatchers on VHS in 1979 and in revised editions through the 1980s. The film also appeared on laserdisc in the late 1980s, in pan-and-scan and letterboxed editions, which — like the VHS tapes — carried no extras beyond a trailer. (wikipedia)
These were the editions through which the film built its reputation as one of the great horror remakes. The Kaufman commentary that became the film's signature extra did not exist yet.
MGM's first DVD preserved Kaufman's commentary
MGM issued a single-disc DVD of Invasion of the Body Snatchers in 1998 with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and, notably, a scene-specific audio commentary recorded by director Philip Kaufman. The commentary was the first substantive piece of supplementary material the film had ever received on home video, and it remains the core document of the director's thinking on the film. (thedigitalbits)
The disc was otherwise bare, but the commentary alone made it the reference edition for more than a decade.
The 2007 MGM Collector's Edition two-disc DVD assembled the first real supplements package
MGM Home Entertainment released a 2-Disc Collector's Edition DVD on July 10, 2007 in a case with a lenticular faceplate. The set carried the Kaufman commentary forward and added a slate of new retrospective featurettes:
- Re-Visitors From Outer Space, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pod (16 min) — a retrospective with Kaufman, Sutherland, Cartwright, Adams, and Goldblum
- Practical Magic: The Special Effects Pod (5 min) — Kaufman and effects technician Howard Preston on the pod-body effects
- The Man Behind The Scream: The Sound Effects Pod (13 min) — Ben Burtt on the final scream and the sound design
- The Invasion Will Be Televised: The Cinematography Pod (5 min) — Michael Chapman on shooting San Francisco
These four featurettes were carried forward onto every subsequent release. (dvdmg)
The 2010 MGM/Fox Blu-ray dropped the commentary
MGM and 20th Century Fox put out the first Blu-ray edition in 2010 as a two-disc set with a BD50 disc in a blue eco-case and a flipper DVD containing both widescreen and pan-and-scan versions. The disc carried a 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode at 1.85:1 with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. (dvdmg blu-ray, dvdcompare)
The decision that defined the release was what was left off. MGM did not port the Kaufman commentary from the 2007 DVD to the Blu-ray, and the four 2007 featurettes were included only in standard definition. Reviewers at the time flagged the omission as a baffling one — the commentary was the single most important piece of material the film had ever accumulated, and the Blu-ray shipped without it.
Arrow Video's Region B Blu-ray added the Kim Newman panel
Arrow Video released the film on Blu-ray in the UK in 2013 in a Region B locked edition with reversible sleeve art — a new Pop Art cover on one side, the original poster on the other. The disc carried over the Kaufman commentary and the 2007 featurettes and added two pieces commissioned by Arrow:
- Discussing the Pod — a panel discussion with critic Kim Newman and filmmakers Ben Wheatley and Norman J. Warren about invasion cinema
- An interview with film historian Annette Insdorf
- A biography of novelist Jack Finney
Audio was offered as DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and uncompressed LPCM 2.0. The Newman panel is the element that has made the Arrow disc the one imported by collectors who already own the US editions. (videofileblog)
Scream Factory's 2016 Collector's Edition Blu-ray was the first proper US upgrade
Scream Factory released Invasion of the Body Snatchers as a Collector's Edition Blu-ray on August 2, 2016. The disc was Region A locked on BD50 with a new 2K remaster of the interpositive, reversible cover art by Justin Osbourn, and a cardboard slipcover. (bluray.highdefdigest CE)
The 2K transfer was a meaningful jump from the 2010 disc
Technical specs:
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Video | 1080p/AVC MPEG-4, 1.85:1 |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (original Dolby stereo), English DTS-HD MA 5.1 upmix |
| Subtitles | English SDH |
| Runtime | 115 minutes |
| Source | 2K scan of the interpositive |
Cinapse's review noted the upgrade most in the film's persistent dim interiors — the crowded party at Kibner's book launch, the warehouse, the nighttime pod-plant — which had been crushed to black on the 2010 disc and now resolved into readable shadow detail. (cinapse)
The Scream Factory disc restored Kaufman's commentary and commissioned a second
Two commentaries:
- Director Philip Kaufman (ported from the 1998 MGM DVD, absent from the 2010 Blu-ray)
- Steve Haberman, author and film historian (new for this release)
New on-camera interviews commissioned by Scream Factory:
- Leading the Invasion — Art Hindle (25 min)
- Re-Creating The Invasion — screenwriter W. D. Richter (16 min)
- Scoring The Invasion — composer Denny Zeitlin (16 min)
- Star-Crossed in the Invasion — Brooke Adams (9 min)
The disc also carried the four 2007 MGM featurettes (Re-Visitors, Practical Magic, The Man Behind the Scream, The Invasion Will Be Televised), a vintage Science Fiction Theatre episode (26 min) included as a curiosity of the period, the trailer, and a still gallery. This was the first US disc on which everything of consequence — Kaufman commentary, Haberman commentary, new cast and crew interviews, legacy featurettes — appeared together.
Kino Lorber's 2021 4K UHD is the current reference edition
Kino Lorber Studio Classics released Invasion of the Body Snatchers on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on November 23, 2021. The transfer was a new 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative, color-graded and approved by Philip Kaufman, presented in Dolby Vision HDR with HDR10 fallback. (kinolorber, ultrahd.highdefdigest)
The Dolby Vision grade warmed the film's palette
The Kaufman-supervised grade moved the film's color noticeably warmer than the cooler Scream Factory encode, and the HDR pass opened up the shadow detail that had been squeezed on every prior home-video version. The Digital Bits called the presentation "the best the film has ever looked outside of a screening room, if not better." (thedigitalbits)
High Def Digest awarded the video a 94/100 and called the image a "stunning, near-reference" presentation:
"Sharper definition and better contrast balance . . . crisp, radiant whites . . . inky, stygian blacks with outstanding gradational differences." — High Def Digest, High Def Digest (2021)
Kino carried the commentaries but not every Scream Factory interview
The Kino release included both audio commentaries (Kaufman and Haberman) and the four core Scream Factory interviews (Hindle, Richter, Zeitlin, Adams). It added a new piece — Writing the Pod, an 11-minute interview with Jack Finney scholar Jack Seabrook — plus the standard trailer, TV spots, and ten radio spots.
The Science Fiction Theatre episode from the Scream Factory disc did not carry over, and the Kim Newman panel and Annette Insdorf interview from the Arrow UK disc remained Region B exclusives.
Full technical specs:
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Disc type | UHD-100 (4K) + BD-50 (Blu-ray) |
| Video codec | HEVC H.265, 2160p/24hz |
| HDR | Dolby Vision / HDR10 |
| Aspect ratio | 1.85:1 |
| Audio | English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo |
| Subtitles | English SDH |
| Source | 4K scan of original 35mm camera negative |
| Color grade | Approved by Philip Kaufman |
Arrow's 2023 Limited Edition 4K UHD is the collector's disc
Arrow Video followed with a Region-B 4K UHD Limited Edition in the UK, using the same Kaufman-approved Dolby Vision master and adding packaging Kino had not pursued — a double-sided poster, six postcard art cards, and an illustrated collector's booklet with archival interviews. The Arrow UHD carries the Kaufman commentary, the Kim Newman / Ben Wheatley / Norman J. Warren panel from the 2013 Region B Blu-ray, and the core interview set. (arrowfilms)
For collectors, the disc pairing that assembles everything is the Kino 4K UHD plus the Arrow Region B UHD — the Kino for the Writing the Pod and Science Fiction Theatre-adjacent US exclusives (Seabrook and the radio spots), the Arrow for the Newman panel and Insdorf interview.
Release history at a glance
| Format | Year | Label | Region | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VHS | 1979 | MGM/UA Home Video | US | No extras |
| Laserdisc | late 1980s | MGM/UA | US | Pan-and-scan and letterboxed |
| DVD | 1998 | MGM | US (R1) | Anamorphic 1.85:1, Kaufman scene-specific commentary |
| DVD (2-disc) | 2007 | MGM Home Entertainment | US (R1) | Collector's Edition, lenticular slipcover, four new featurettes |
| Blu-ray | 2010 | MGM / 20th Century Fox | US (Region A) | 1080p 1.85:1, DTS-HD MA 5.1, Kaufman commentary omitted |
| Blu-ray | 2013 | Arrow Video | UK (Region B) | Kim Newman panel, Annette Insdorf interview, Finney bio |
| Blu-ray | 2016 | Scream Factory (Collector's Edition) | US (Region A) | 2K scan of interpositive, Haberman commentary, Hindle/Richter/Zeitlin/Adams interviews |
| 4K UHD + Blu-ray | 2021 | Kino Lorber Studio Classics | US (Region A) | New 4K scan, Dolby Vision, Kaufman color grade, Writing the Pod |
| 4K UHD + Blu-ray | 2023 | Arrow Video (Limited Edition) | UK (Region B) | Same Kaufman-approved master, Newman panel, booklet, postcards |
Sources
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film) — Wikipedia
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) — IMDb
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers Collector's Edition Blu-ray — High Def Digest (2016)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers 4K UHD — High Def Digest (2021)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers 4K UHD — The Digital Bits
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers 4K UHD — Kino Lorber
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers Scream Factory Blu-ray — Cinapse
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers Blu-ray — DVD Movie Guide
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers Collector's Edition DVD — DVD Movie Guide
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers Blu-ray — DVDCompare
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers Arrow Video Blu-ray — Videofile
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers Arrow Limited Edition 4K UHD — Arrow Films UK
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers Collector's Edition Blu-ray — Shout! Factory