They Live [Blu-ray] [2018]

I always liked this movie. It has a slow start but it's worth it if you stick with it. When you think about it, the only parts that are kinda far-fetched is the whole alien thing and the frequency being transmitted that keeps people from seeing what's really out there. But these 2 things are metaphors for what's really going on. I remember thinking back in the day that Rowdy Roddy Piper was a strange casting choice, but the look on his face when he first sees a disguised alien through the sunglasses proves that he was perfect for the role.

Great cult classic sic-fi film. I think this film was ahead of its time, but also timeless in many ways. The overarching plot, themes, undertones, and overtones all match up with things people are just beginning to piece together now, in fragments. At the same time, there are very memorable segues containing action and very classic one-liners that have been paid homage to in many TV shows and Hollywood films ever since, but you probably didn't realize they came from this film. With such a low budget, they had to be very creative, and you would never guess this from the visual/AV production, which looks as good as anything big budget. But through that creativity a lot of novel ideas appeared in this film before their times. A film, "Branded", which fell through the cracks and received poor reviews, did similar things, nearly 25 years later. And yet, this film was on average highly praised by critics. Like most great films, it's best watched if you don't watch trailers, don't read about it on the internet, and don't spoil it for yourself; just go wit the flow. And a great flow it has. In some ways, perhaps in another universe, you can easily see from his sci-fi work that Carpenter would have been a top notch director for big budget films of the time, like Terminator 2, etc; but he stuck to what he wanted to do and the messages he wanted to get across. One other analogy that comes to mind when watching this film, not so much in content or plot, but conceptually, is Idiocracy. If you enjoyed that film, you will probably dig this a lot. Idiocracy made such great social commentary that it was well finished, and a great film, but ultimately the studio dropped all marketing money and efforts, because they feared alienating their core (masses) base of TV viewers. In other words, they thought the film was too intelligent to show. You get that feeling here; the film did well (made a profit), got great reviews, etc, but is scarcely heard of. Definitely worth a watch if you are a sci-fi fan. Some of the best stuff came out of the very late 80s going into the big progressive world of the 90s (especially for sci-fi; Star Trek: TNG, anyone?); a time which is only really paralleled in recent history by the 60s. This film may have fallen through the cracks, but thankfully, Amazon has it available in its catalogue for rental!

Greatest film of all time

Got it for a good price. I couldn't help but throwing the little money that was beingn asked for this classic. You get both Blu and UHD discs. No digital downloads, but that's okay. Buy it, you don't need fancy covers... at least, I don't think you do?

The movie lulls for the first half-hour, but improves. For example, one of the first disappointments was how much time the director used to establish the fact that being down and out in the late 1980s was almost hell. Obviously, John Carpenter wanted his audiences to care and relate. So, following this extended character development, when the plot turns to a scene in which city authorities openly escalate their crackdown on the homeless camp with bulldozers and helicopters--he expected that we should be appalled at the callousness shown these many victims that we now know--and we are. Further, Carpenter established those hopeless conditions as a backdrop for a strong friendship between the two main characters (Piper and David)--this relationship needs to be solidified because things will get worse from that point. Once the film begins moving, however, it tends to keep the intrigue/suspense level high. After an epiphany (involving the infamous glasses) and a decision to directly confront the "bad guys" (no spoilers here), Roddy Piper delivers easily the best line of the movie. Soon after, you hope Roddy has a few more brilliant deliveries to give--but, the movie writers fail to provide a follow up. The rest of the movie has action (ex., wrestling moves!), suspense, reversals in fortune, and a final plot twist. Hence, it is still watchable all the way through. An interesting, primary theme of this work is the constant tension between freedom and control--the question: is the more perfect society the one that offers the most freedom (but more chaos and more poverty), or the one that establishes order and peace (at the cost of independent thought and action). How the director visually presents these themes and what the characters representing each side say (and how their statements provide clues into whether those allegiances are motivated by self-interest or altruism) are redeeming qualities of this film. That and other themes present like alienation and belonging, social stratification, etc., make this movie hard to place in a particular box. "They Live" is often classified into the horror genre because Carpenter directed it, but it is much more than that. I thought "they" were not intimidating, but kind of funny; my wife, on the other hand, was very grossed-out by the appearance of "them", but she enjoyed the fighting and gun play (she's a Bruce Willis fan). Then, there was an unexpected and brief gratuitous sex scene of a few seconds long (well, that may seem to move it back toward the modern horror flick class); it occurred near the end of the story and it seemed somewhat out of place compared to the rest of the film--IMO, it should have been cut and left on the screening room floor even though the scene was an attempt to lighten up the mood--or to ensure an "R" rating. Anyway, after writing this much (too much), I think I will stop and go watch the movie again.

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of The Collector's Edition of 'They Live' released by Shout! Factory. MY RATING: Since this is a 'Collector's Edition', I am putting more weight on this releases extra's than on it's plot. Most people who are looking at this Blu-Ray have probably seen the movie. This was not the case with myself. I have included my thoughts and plot summary for those who are looking at this for the first time like I was just before I purchased this release. ABOUT THIS MOVIE: This is a lower budget ($4 million) science fiction movie that was released by Universal in 1988. It stars wrestling legend 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper in what he considers his best movie. The director, John Carpenter, made this movie as sort of a response to the Ronald Reagan era as well as wanting to improve upon alien invasion movies. My headline quote is from John Carpenter. He makes this comment in his interview in the 'EXTRA'S'. FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A FIRST TIME VIEWER IN 2020: This review is from the perspective of someone who is 55 years old and watching this movie for the first time around Thanksgiving, 2020. I purchased this 'Collectors Edition' after watching an interview with Roddy Piper that was in the extra's to 'Hell Comes to Frogtown'. In that interview, Piper called 'They Live' the best movie he ever did. I had never heard of this movie until he mentioned it in that interview. I put 'They Live' on my 'To watch' list and finally decided to purchase this 'Collector's Edition' after hearing someone recommend it as a theme in a collector's forum. I knew absolutely nothing about this movie before watching it other than it had an obvious 'cult' following. I didn't even know that it was an alien invasion movie. I watched it first and then watched the 'extra's' and read up about it afterward. EXTRA'S: I think that the extra's are not up to par with some of the other 'Collector's Editions' I have seen. Unfortunately, the companies distributing these editions are being a bit deceptive. In effect, they are taking one 'Making of' Documentary and dividing it up into a bunch of short 'extra's' and giving the impression that there is much more included than what there really is. It's not that what's here is not good... I just have a problem with deceptive marketing. Most older movies these days are given a release with an audio commentary, a 'Making of' documentary and the usual trailers, stills and TV spots. In effect, this is a good 'regular' release. To be fair, there is a little bit extra. They give you an 8 minute contemporary documentary and the 'full' versions of the commercials in the movie. What is included... -Audio Commentary with the John Carpenter and 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper - This is an excellent and entertaining commentary. The two mention at the beginning that this is the first time they are watching this movie together in 12 years. Carpenter says that this movie was his attempt to upgrade the alien invasion genre. -Interview: "Independent Thoughts" - In this 10 minute interview, John Carpenter discusses being an Independent movie maker. He says that he hates authority. He focuses on 'They Live' for this interview. He talks about where he got the idea for the plot as well as the production. -Interview - "Woman of Mystery" - This is a 5 minute interview with the actress who plays Holly Thompson. She talks about the main theme of the movie... authority. She talks about her character role. -Documentary: "Watch, Look, Listen" - This is an 11 minute documentary on the "Sights and Sounds of They Live". It features cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe, Stunt Coordinator Jim Imoda, and Co-Composer, Alan Howarth. Imoda, was the stuntman who did all of the stunts, both make and female, for the aliens in the movie. Kibbe talks about how he got the job and his choices for shooting the movie. -Interview: 'Man versus Alien' - This is an 11 minute interview with actor, Keith David. David plays Frank in 'They Live'. Carpenter hired him because of his performance in 'The Thing'. David says his role of Frank Armitage was his first major role. He tells a story about the premiere of 'The Thing' and how he didn't get another until four years after that film. -Documentary: "Original EPK: The Making of "They Live" - This is an 8 minute 'Making of' documentary that seems to be contemporary with when the movie was made. *****WHAT DOES EPK MEAN?***** EPK is the abbreviation for "Electronic Press Kit". The press kit is a set of promotional materials. I looked this up because I had no idea. I figured that there are probably others looking at this who are as uninformed as myself. -'Never-Before-Seen-Footage' - This a reel of the mostly complete commercials that are seen in 'They Live'. Only bits and pieces of them are seen in the movie but they are original 'fake commercials' that were filmed just for this movie. The footage is about 2 1/2 minutes in length. -TV spots -Still Gallery -Trailers - There are three trailers. They are for 'They Live', 'Halloween II' and 'Halloween III'. -Subtitles *****WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT***** PLOT SUMMARY/SYNOPSIS: In Los Angeles, an unnamed drifter who goes by the name John Nada, goes looking for work at an employment agency without success. He walks to a construction site and gets hired. After work on his first day, he meets Frank Armitage. Armitage invites him to join him at his shelter. Armitage has a family that he was forced to leave and now lives at an abandoned site that serves as a homeless shelter of sorts. The site's leader is a man named Gilbert. From time to time, the television set that the shelter occupants are watching has the signal broken into. The signal, that doesn't last long, seems to be a warning about the population being controlled. The next day, Nada follows Gilbert to a nearby church. He discovers a secret meeting and discretely listens to a meeting while a recording of church music plays. While in an unoccupied room, Nada discovers a batch of sunglasses that are being manufactured for an unknown reason. A blind preacher from the shelter walks in on him and Nada leaves. That evening the police raid the area. They cause a lot of destruction and beat on the locals. Nada gets away unharmed and returns the next morning. He goes back to the church and goes to a secret room he discovered by accident the day before. He takes a box of from the room. He goes downtown and walks down a deserted alley and opens the box to discover that it is filled with sunglasses. He takes one pair and hides the box in a garbage can. Once Nada gets to a major street he puts the glasses on and discovers that he can only see in black & white. He notices that every single sign as well books, magazines and even money, have a slogan in place of what is seen without the glasses. They are all messages that seem to be orders of some sort, such as 'obey', 'consume', 'submit', 'sleep', etc. Nada also notices that some people have a face that looks 'skeletal' or alien in appearance. Nada wanders around and becomes indignant toward what he is seeing An alien disguised as an old woman, alerts the police to Nada via her wristwatch. The police chase Nada but he disables a couple of cops and takes their guns. He goes to a bank and starts firing on aliens. He leaves the bank and is pursued by alien drones and cops. He meets a woman, Holly Thompson, in a car garage and takes her hostage. He has her drive them both to her home. At her home, Holly, tells Nada that she is a program director for a television studio. Nada is exhausted and wants to rest. He tries to get Holly to put on the glasses but she doesn't. She then hits him over the head with a bottle and pushes him out off her balcony and calls the cops. Nada dropped the glasses at Holly's home and he makes his way back to the construction site. Frank tells him to get lost and Nada works his way back to the alley where he left the box. Once there, he gets the glasses and Frank shows up. Frank is showing pity on Nada and gives him money and tells him to leave him alone. Nada unsuccessfully tries to convince Frank to put on the sunglasses. He refuses and a massive brawl takes place between the two. After it is over, Frank finally puts on the glasses and understands what is happening. Frank and Nada make their way to a hotel. While staying there, one day, Gilbert shows up. He tells them about a meeting that is taking place that evening. At the meeting of the human resistance, Frank and Nada are given contact lenses to replace their glasses. They learn that there are humans who have sided with the aliens for money. The aliens treat Earth as if it is a 'third world' country. They want the Earth to suffer from global warming in order to make the planet closer to the alien homeworld. While there, Nada meets Holly. Holly apologizes for her behavior at her home. The police raid the resistance safe house. Nada and Frank escape and Holly apparently gets away as well. While cornered in an alley, Frank and Nada use an alien wristwatch to open up a portal. They escape to an underground tunnel. There, they find a political dinner of sorts for the aliens. They encounter one of citizens of the homeless shelter who has gone over to the aliens. He shows them around the facility. Eventually he brings them to the television studio where the alien signal originates. Frank and Nada start blasting away and eventually come across Holly. The three continue battling their way up to the roof of the building they are in. While Nada isn't looking, Holly kills Frank. Nada reaches the transmitter on the roof. Nada takes his gun and aims at the transmitter and Holly stops him by pointing a gun at him. Nada drops his gun but pulls out a hidden gun. He destroys the transmitter as a group of helicopters gun him down. As he lies dying, Nada gives the aliens the finger. All over the world, the alien cover is gone. Everyone can now see the aliens. COMMENTS/PRODUCTION: -John Carpenter hired Keith David based on his performance on 'The Thing'. -The black & white movie you see being watched at the homeless shelter is Universal's 'The Monolith Monsters (1957)'. -I thought the eyes of Meg Foster (who plays Holly Thompson) were contact lenses but apparently those eyes are real. -Roddy Piper says that he is unhappy with his final scene. He says his finger should have been more forceful rather than weak when he gives the middle digit to the aliens. RODDY PIPERS FIRST 'REAL' MOVIE?: Roddy Piper says that 'They Live' was his first real movie role that had a real director. He says his early roles were just bit parts or didn't have a director. He may have been kissing John Carpenter's butt. I disagree with him. It may have had better production values but I thought 'Hell Comes to Frogtown' was quite entertaining. It's because of that movie that I even found out about 'They Live'. At least Piper is consistent. He says in an interview on the 'Hell Comes to Frogtown' release that 'They Live' was his best movie. I think that the reason that he disparages the production of 'Hell Comes to Frogtown' is that he felt that he wasn't liked on that set. As proof, Piper offers that he was not asked to do the sequels even though he was the lead. WHAT HAPPENED TO 'ROWDY' RODDY PIPER?: Roderick Toombs (Piper's real name) died in 2015 at the age of 61. He had a heart attack after going to bed not feeling well. THESE PEOPLE ARE HOMELESS? I know this is nitpicking but the actors chosen for people that live at a homeless shelter couldn't possibly look less like homeless people. The casting for this was not good. At the least, the outfits of the cast were uninspired. Yeah, I know... it wasn't a big budget movie and some corners have to be cut. THAT FIGHT SCENE: I know that I'm among the minority on this one. When I first watched this scene, I thought it went on way too long. I'm not much of 'fight scene' person. I now know that this scene lasted about 6 minutes long and is considered a highlight of the movie. John Carpenter calls this one of the best fight scenes in Hollywood history. OK... if he says so. Carpenter says that it is realistic and that there is no crazy stuff going on like you see in martial arts films and other action movies. I'd have to disagree. To me, it looked like a pro wresting match... greatly exaggerated... nobody can take that much punishment. If it were real, that fight wouldn't have lasted longer than a minute. Let's call it what it is... a shout out to pro wrestling fans. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. This isn't the sort of movie in which anyone is looking for realism. If you are among the group that likes wrestling and Roddy Piper movies then you are going to think that scene is great. In the commentary, they mention that they had to cut the scene down! IS NADA A SAP?: I know this isn't something that was on anybody's mind while watching this movie but I thought the love angle between Nada and Holly was a bit (more like 'a lot') forced. Nada is either the biggest sap around or the original screenplay had a lot more relationship stuff included. There is absolutely no reason for Nada to 'fall' for her. Within minutes of getting to her apartment and having his first real conversation with him, she hits him over the head with a bottle and tosses him off her balcony, possibly to his death. Yep... true love. TOO POLITICAL?: Director John Carpenter makes no secret that this movie was politically motivated. A big part of the plot has to do with his criticism of 'Reaganomics'. Knowing this, it makes me wonder about a comment made by Keith David in his interview right here on this collector's edition. He said that 'They Live', upon release, became the number one movie for two straight weeks and then just disappeared from the theaters. He hints that somebody must have been pissed off. CONCLUSIONS: After watching 'They Live' for the first time, I realized that this is not a movie for everyone. This is not a criticism. There are very few movies in this world that appeal to almost anybody. 'They Live' has a very specific appeal. As an 80's era film, it's potential audience is very large which includes the pro wrestling crowd. As of the time of this review, 80's movies have been "in" for quite some time. My opinion of the movie is that it's not great but decent. It's entertaining and ultimately, entertainment is what watching movies is all about. I think that this 'Collector's' release is a bit light on the extra's. It has a seemingly large amount but in reality, a whole bunch of these extra's are just one 'Making of' documentary that has been cut up into pieces. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of this movie then this is the edition to get. At the time of this review on Thanksgiving Day, 2020, this edition is only fifteen dollars. So my complaints about not enough extra's can be discounted. RECOMMENDATIONS: Recommended obviously for fans of cult science fiction movies. Recommended obviously for fans of Roddy Piper. Recommended very obviously for fans of 'They Live'! IF YOU LIKE THIS THEN TRY...: -Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978): You can choose from 3 versions of this movie but I'm listing the second one because it is closest in tone to 'They Live'. -Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988) - It might have an unusual premise, a post apocalyptic world (partly populated by 'frog people') in which all of the men and most of the women have become infertile, but it is fairly entertaining. Now imagine this world in which 'Rowdy' Roddy is discovered to be the only male that is still fertile and he is given the mission (by force!!!) of impregnating a group of beautiful and fertile woman. Roddy must wear an electronic chastity belt that electrocutes his 'privates' if he tries to avoid doing his duty for mankind by running away! Now that's a movie! RATINGS: Plot: 7/10 or 3 1/2 stars - This plot has been done countless times. It's not bad, just not a whole lot new. In any event, it's at least entertaining and that's what it's all about. SFX: 9/10 or 4 1/2 stars - Not a lot of visual effects but what's here is excellent. Extra's: 6/10 or 3 stars- I am basing this score for a 'Collector's Edition's' extra's not a regular edition's extra's. The extra's are light even though there are seemingly a lot. Overall: 8.5/10 or 4 1/2 stars but it gets 5 stars because I'm rating this on the extra's.

This movie is a SciFi depiction about Secret Societies and the way they operate that I review about on Secret Messages: Concealment, Codes, and Other Types...

This is such a fantastic movie from John Carpenter. It is a SY-FY thriller that has a lot of excitement from the beginning to the end of the film. I love it!