Scream Factory Blu-ray (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The 2016 Collector's Edition was the first US disc that got the film right

Scream Factory released the Collector's Edition Blu-ray on August 2, 2016, with a new 2K scan of the interpositive and a specific problem to solve: the 2010 MGM/Fox Blu-ray had dropped Philip Kaufman's (in Body Snatchers, as director) commentary. Scream Factory restored it and added a second.

The 2K transfer finally respected Chapman's noir-in-color photography

Michael Chapman (in Body Snatchers, as cinematographer) shot the film dark on purpose. Every prior home video version had struggled with this — the 2010 disc crushed the shadows to black. The Scream Factory scan resolved what had been missing. Blu-ray.com's Jeffrey Kauffman gave the video 4.0/5.0:

"Detail levels are excellent across the board, especially considering how intentionally dark the film often is." — Jeffrey Kauffman, Blu-ray.com (2016)

High Def Digest's M. Enois Duarte called it the best the film had ever looked:

"The sci-fi horror classic invades... with a satisfying and much-improved 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode, making this the best the film has ever looked on home video." — M. Enois Duarte, High Def Digest (2016)

"The most pleasing improvement comes in terms of black levels, looking dark and full-bodied with deep, penetrating shadows." — M. Enois Duarte, High Def Digest (2016)

Geeks of Doom's Adam Frazier went further:

"This is the best presentation of Kaufman's film I've ever seen... I doubt even the folks at Criterion could add anything to this gorgeous restoration." — Adam Frazier, Geeks of Doom (2016)

The audio offered both the stereo and a 5.1 upmix

The disc carried two lossless tracks: a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track preserving the original Dolby Stereo theatrical mix, and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 upmix. Duarte preferred the stereo:

"The stereo track exhibits amazing fidelity and a terrific acoustic presence while vocals are intelligible and well-prioritized." — M. Enois Duarte, High Def Digest (2016)

But he also found value in the upmix:

"I found myself really enjoying the DTS-HD 5.1 upmix, exhibiting a more pleasing and broad imaging with excellent fidelity." — M. Enois Duarte, High Def Digest (2016)

Kauffman noted the audio's clarity:

"Dialogue is cleanly and clearly presented and well prioritized on this problem free track." — Jeffrey Kauffman, Blu-ray.com (2016)

For a film whose sound design is one of its defining achievements — Ben Burtt's pod scream, Denny Zeitlin's (in Body Snatchers, as composer) score — the stereo track is the one that preserves the original spatial decisions. See The Pod Scream and Denny Zeitlin.

Kaufman's commentary is the core document

The Kaufman commentary — ported from the 1998 MGM DVD, dropped from the 2010 Blu-ray, restored here — remains the single most important supplement the film has. In it, Kaufman reflects on what the film was about and whether it got the future right:

"I feel like everything that is talked about in Body Snatchers has come to pass, and that we are now living in a world largely controlled by pods." — Philip Kaufman, audio commentary, Scream Factory Collector's Edition (1998/2016)

Scream Factory added a second commentary by film historian Steve Haberman and four new on-camera interviews — Art Hindle (25 min), W. D. Richter (16 min), Denny Zeitlin (16 min), and Brooke Adams (9 min).

Screen Anarchy's Michele Galgana singled out the new material:

"I found that the interviews with Art Hindle and Denny Zeitlin were the most eye-opening aspects." — Michele Galgana, Screen Anarchy (2016)

The disc also carried the four 2007 MGM featurettes, a vintage Science Fiction Theatre episode, a trailer, and a still gallery. This was the first US disc on which everything of consequence appeared together.

Duarte summed up the package:

"The folks at Scream have compiled a nice set of supplements, making the overall package a must for devoted fans." — M. Enois Duarte, High Def Digest (2016)

Specs: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4, 1.85:1 | DTS-HD MA 2.0 (original Dolby Stereo) + DTS-HD MA 5.1 (upmix) | 2K scan of interpositive | BD-50, Region A | August 2, 2016. Full release history at Physical Media Releases (Invasion of the Body Snatchers).