Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Media Essay

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An analysis of the opening of the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Immediately at the opening of Phillip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) we can tell this film is science fiction film, because of the tense atmosphere that is created by the credits. This is created by the effects of non-diegetic eerie music that is slowly suggesting a build-up. While the music is still causing tension in the background, the camera zooms out to reveal a barren planetscape harshly lit by a large, reddish sun. While the credits start to show up on the screen, clear, jelly like creatures begin floating away from the surface. The credits though are shown boldly in white, but appear to have tiny cracks in them, which create a sense of decaying.

The tense music and unusual surroundings makes the audience feel a sense of unease, as the creatures begin to rise through space, the music changes from the shrill sound at the start to more of a flourish. The change in music suggests uplift and movement. This is when the camera reveals a shot of the Earth, from a high angle making the planet look weak and vulnerable. Then as the creatures start to move closer to the planet the shrill sound repeats again. Then the web-like organisms begin to descend to earth, as though they are invading the planet, the editing is very quick here, as the shots rapidly change and the camera zooms closer in to the surface of Earth. As the aliens fall with rain, they change into parasitic flowers on plants in what we soon see is San Francisco.

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Then the non-diegetic sound fades out, but as the diegetic sound creeps in, it mixes with the added sounds and suggests something is wrong. As the children play in a city park, the strange flowers are blooming everywhere. From a long shot a suspicious looking priest stares at the children while swinging on a swing set, he is an odd character, showing no emotion as the swing, very loudly, creaks back and forth. The diegetic sound is exaggerated this sound creates tension, and unease.

We are then introduced to the character of Elizabeth Driscoll, played by Brooke Adams, who picks ...

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