Not just good - MUCH better and scarier than this one. Don't get me wrong, I like this cult classic but the 1978 remake is clearly better in every aspect, including acting!
shareThe 1978 version was the first one I saw, so I may be biased towards it, but I think it's the best of the versions (the Nicole Kidman version has A-list actors and production values, but never really took off for me. I haven't seen the Abel Ferrara version). To compare the original and Philip Kaufman's '78 remake:
- The original maintains a feeling of small-town normality until the first pod-person appears, while the remake creates an eerie, uneasy atmosphere from the very beginning. Which you prefer is probably a matter of individual taste, but I like the way Kaufman makes ordinary things like a telephone cord retracting seem strange and foreboding.
- The flash-back style narration of the original is a drawback, in my opinion. It's a little hokey and removes some of the tension from the chase scenes, since you know he will be OK until the very end.
- The acting is fine in both movies, though I think Brooke Adams is more affecting in the remake (though Dana Wynter is beautiful in the original). Seeing Leonard Nimoy in a non-Spock role is also a plus for the remake.
- The special effects are better in the remake, which you would expect. I've read some reviews which criticize them for being too gory, but I like that aspect.
- The original is a little more philosophical about the choice between remaining human and being taken over by the aliens, and the pros and cons of a world without love and hate. Both versions could have dealt with this in more detail, but the '78 version passes over that discussion very quickly.
- The ending of the '78 version is more memorable. I haven't read the book, but I have a feeling the original ending was tinkered with by the studio.
One thing about the Kidman remake. It's the only one of the four films to bother to make the argument that the converted world would be a better place. There are multiple scenes with radio or TV reports in the background about things such as middle-east peace accords or the ending of wars, etc. I don't think it was a very good film, but at least it tried to make the case. Plus the virus-like transmission from person to person is a whole lot more credible than giant plants.
Love the original because it's the original, but agree that the 1978 version is better.
I love it. It's very scary and the pod peoples scream is chilling.
Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly .