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 | |
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John Lawrence | ... | Bearded Man |
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Susan Barnes | ... | Brown Haired Woman |
Sy Richardson | ... | Black Revolutionary | |
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Wendy Brainard | ... | Family Man's Daughter |
Lucille Meredith | ... | Female Interviewer | |
Susan Blanchard | ... | Ingenue | |
Norman Alden | ... | Foreman | |
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Dana Bratton | ... | Black Junkie |
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. Written by Melissa Portell <mportell@s-cwis.unomaha.edu>
"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