They Live (1988)

A drifter discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to wake up to the fact that aliens have taken over the Earth.

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Ray Nelson (short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning"), John Carpenter (screenplay)

Stars:

Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roddy Piper	...	Nada
Keith David	...	Frank
Meg Foster	...	Holly
George 'Buck' Flower	...	Drifter
Peter Jason	...	Gilbert
Raymond St. Jacques	...	Street Preacher
Jason Robards III	...	Family Man
John Lawrence	...	Bearded Man
Susan Barnes	...	Brown Haired Woman
Sy Richardson	...	Black Revolutionary
Wendy Brainard	...	Family Man's Daughter
Lucille Meredith	...	Female Interviewer
Susan Blanchard	...	Ingenue
Norman Alden	...	Foreman
Dana Bratton	...	Black Junkie

Storyline

Nada, a down-on-his-luck construction worker, discovers a pair of special sunglasses. Wearing them, he is able to see the world as it really is: people being bombarded by media and government with messages like "Stay Asleep", "No Imagination", "Submit to Authority". Even scarier is that he is able to see that some usually normal-looking people are in fact ugly aliens in charge of the massive campaign to keep humans subdued.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | sunglasses | construction worker | subliminal message | television | 

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Taglines:

Who are they? And what do they want?

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

JohnCarpenter - movie site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's They Live

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$13,008,928 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alive Films, Larry Franco Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The eponymous scene in South Park: Cripple Fight was taken blow-by-blow from the fight between Frank and Nada in the alley.

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Goofs

The scars on Nada's face disappear by the time he is in the underground base.

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Quotes

Frank: Listen, man, I don't like anyone following me if I don't know why they are.
Nada: Well, I don't join up with anyone, unless I know where they're going.

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Connections

Features The Monolith Monsters (1957)

User Reviews

Clever sci-fi film with current cultural relevance

An unemployed man in the 80s (of the WWF variety, complete with Mel-mullet) shows up in the big city looking for work, American Dream intact. He finds a "Hooverville"-like (perhaps Reaganville!) community that takes him in and finds work in construction. He notices that several of the providers are ostensibly up to no good and hold meetings at the local church. He stumbles upon a secret door and finds a stash of...80s sunglasses! After the community is destroyed by the police, our baffled working-class hero pops on a pair of the glasses, which allows him see the world as it really is, and wake up out of his sleeeepy false consciousness! Was Carpenter reading up on his Marx? Maybe! Either way, this sci-fi/action flick is fantastic, cheesy, and clever. "They Live" was obviously influenced by the excess of the 80s, but doesn't come across as dated and actually seems very relevant to the current cultural climate in the US. There are various flaws (namely, the creepy-in-a-bad-way Meg Foster and her character), but overall this is an excellent, amusing, and entertaining film. My Rating: 9.5/10