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 communicators that the guards use are the P.K.E. meters from Ghostbusters.

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Goofs

At the newspaper stand, the alien gentleman goes to his car, his face is alien but his hands are not. All other aliens throughout movie have face and hands that are skeletal.

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Quotes

Street Preacher: This world may have blinded me, but the Lord has let me see.

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Connections

Referenced in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)

User Reviews

Extremely Underrated Thriller

"They Live" is one of the most original and underrated sci-fi action movies i've ever seen. Eventhough the acting isn't spectacular, and by the end turns into a down right urban action movie, "They Live" is one of the most entertaining ever.

The plot is quite simple, Nada(Roddy Piper) a homeless drifter stumbles upon a pair of sunglasses through which you can see the world for what it really is, a communist type environment controlled by aliens, and then joins up with his buddy Frank(Keith David) to stop them. In the middle of all this there a lot of great one liners, a lot of harebrained action and one of the longest, and best, fist fights ever filmed.

The way John Carpenter directs really makes the film work. Everything seems downbeat and realistic. The acting of ex-pro wrestler Roddy Piper is better than expected but not too spectacular and Keith David isn't at all convincing. But none of that matters, the real reason to see this movie is just to be entertained and on that level is suceeds. My Rating is 8/10