Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a prime example of a film whose word-of-mouth has long outlived its poor marketing. Officially released in February 1956, Don Siegel’s science-fiction masterpiece did not open in New York until Friday, April 27th of that year as part of a double-bill with World Without End at RKO and other neighborhood theatres where they were advertised as “horror” films rather than the science-fiction films they clearly were. Their five-day run was sandwiched between a three-day re-run of Mister Roberts and Rebel Without a Cause and the incoming Carousel, which had a high profile opening at the Roxy on Broadway in February.

Films, in those days, almost always had their world premieres in New York or Los Angeles where good reviews bolstered their box-office potential as they fanned out to the rest of the country and the world. Films released directly to neighborhood theatres in New York were not always reviewed by the local newspapers and these two films were no exception. You won’t find a New York Times review of the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers anywhere because there wasn’t one. The only way to track down its run is to go to the New York Times print edition or the online archival copy and look for the printed ads.

Despite its lack of support by Allied Artists whose big film of 1956 was Friendly Persuasion, Invasion of the Body Snatchers was fondly remembered by all those who were lucky enough to see it in its initial run. It later had a long life on TV and has been a home video staple since its initial VHS release in 1981. Olive Video, which released a Blu-ray version of it in 2012 has now released an Olive Signature edition to join the likes of High Noon, The Quiet Man, and Johnny Guitar as one of the films they have given extra special attention to. Extras include both archival interviews with stars Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter and a new two-part interview with Siegel’s son, actor Kristoffer Tabori.

The film was not the first to deal with alien invasions – 1951’s The Day the Earth Stood Still and 1953’s The War of the Worlds had been huge successes – but it was the first in which the minds and bodies of humans were taken over by the aliens, in this case pod people. The film’s sense of dread starts the minute the film appears on screen and doesn’t let up until long after its unsettling ending. Both McCarthy and Wynter had made many films over long careers, McCarthy had even been nominated for an Oscar for 1951’s Death of a Salesman, but both actors fifty years after the film’s release were still being asked about Invasion of the Body Snatchers as though they had made no other film.

In the sixty-two years that have elapsed since the release of the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, there have been numerous imitations and three official remakes, but none except Philip Kaufman’s 1978 same-titled version have held a candle to the original. McCarthy has a cameo in that version in support of Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams. Both are worth seeking out, but if you see the original first you will appreciate McCarthy’s cameo in the remake more.

The Olive Signature release is Blu-ray only.

Criterion has done a commendable 4K restoration of 1975’s Shampoo written by Warren Beatty and Robert Towne (Chinatown) and produced by Beatty who had not yet become a director as well. That job was given to Hal Ashby (The Last Detail) who does an admirable job balancing the film between comedy and drama.

Beatty’s character of the womanizing hairdresser was based on real-life celebrity hairdressers Jay Sebring who was one of the three people murdered with Sharon Tate in 1969 and Jon Peters who later became a celebrated film producer. It was also based on Beatty’s own reputation as Hollywood’s best-known Lothario. His top-billed co-stars were two of his most famous lovers, Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn. The film also starred Lee Grant in her Oscar-winning role, Jack Warden in an Oscar-nominated one, and Carrie Fisher in her screen debut. It all takes place the day before and the 1968 Presidential Election in which Richard Nixon was elected the 37th U.S. president. Christie, who has the film’s most infamous line, hated her character and ended her on-again, off-again relationship with Beatty during the filming although she remained friends with him and later co-starred with him again in 1978’s Heaven Can Wait.

It seems odd that this was considered a period film when made in late 1974, just six years after the events of the film, but the world and politics had changed so much in the interim that it really was a different world then. By the time the film was released in March 1975, Nixon had already resigned from office, replaced by Gerald Ford.

Extras include a conversation about the film between critics Mark Harris and Frank Rich.

Dreamworks’ Antz was released theatrically in October 1998 one month before Pixar’s similarly themed A Bug’s Life but has taken nine years more to receive a Blu-ray release. Although both films are about hero ants, Antz revolves around a conflict within the ant community whereas A Bug’s Life involves a conflict between ants and grasshoppers.

Antz, which has finally been released on Blu-ray, featured the first screenplay written by Todd Alcott and Paul and Chris Weitz. It was directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson. Its title has two meanings – “ants” and “ant Z” the name of the character voiced by Woody Allen. Much of the PG-rated film’s charm comes from the first-rate voice acting of its starry cast which also includes Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Christopher Walken, Sylvester Stallone, Danny Glover, John Mahoney, Grant Shaud, and Dan Aykroyd among many others. The informative commentary provided by the directors on the original DVD release has been imported to the Blu-ray.

Speaking of finally getting around to things, I’ve finally seen Hereditary, the hit horror film that some critics have compared to Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. To me, the only comparison is in subject matter as all three films have to do in some measure with devil worship, but whereas the earlier films were highly publicized and anticipated works based on best-selling novels, Hereditary is a film that came out of nowhere and doesn’t look to me like something that will endure for 45-50 years like the two films it has been compared to.

Toni Collette gives an anguished performance as a woman conflicted over the death of her evil mother. Gabriel Byrne gives a bemused performance as her perplexed husband and Alex Wolff gives a tormented performance as her teenage son. The only other performer who makes an impression is Ann Dowd as a goody-two-shoes who obviously isn’t what she seems to be to Collette. The best I can say about is that it keeps you guessing with its mostly understated horror but leads to a rather silly denouement.

Hereditary is available on both Blu-ray and standard DVD.

This week’s new releases include Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and the Blu-ray release of Brian DePalma’s Sisters.