John Carpenter's THEY LIVE (Highly Recommended)
03-05-00, 10:17 PM
#1
CineSchlock-O-Rama
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Dallas
Posts: 2,828
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
By G. Noel Gross
with apologies to Joe Bob Briggs
THEY LIVE (1988, 94 minutes) -- Highly Recommended -- You'd have to be born under a goldang rock not to know who the great Rowdy Roddy Piper is ... either that, or a commie. Which is sorta ironic, or something, cuz Roddy made a pinko movie with that John Carpenter fella (Halloween, The Thing remake) back when ol' Ron Reagan was still catnapping in the Oval Office. Well, Roddy made a sci-fi/action picture, but Carpenter had this whole subtext in mind that derided what he called "unrestrained capitalism." But don't worry, or nothing, there's plenty of ass whuppin' in it. Hell, I've watched it a mess of times and I still get all misty when Lee Greenwood belts out "God Bless The USA."
The movie: Roddy is this dude by the name of John Nada who falls on hard times back in Denver, so he high-tails it out to El Lay looking for work. It's the late '80s and the rich just seem to keep getting richer, and the regular Joes, like you and me, keep finding it harder and harder to keep up their deer leases AND buy beer. Anyway, there's some plot points mixed in, but Nada accidentally gets hooked up with this church choir, that turns out to be a militia group. They rant on about unseen forces at work in regular society, "THEY LIVE, WE SLEEP." After the El Lay PD bulldozes the shanty town Nada was living in, he starts to think maybe its time to get out of Dodge. But before he does, he tries on some fancy eyewear the choir folks made ... well, that's when things get real interesting. The "Hoffman Lenses" (probably named for Albert Hoffman, the inventor of LSD) look like regular ol' sunglasses, but they let Nada see all these subliminal messages (OBEY, CONFORM, STAY ASLEEP) and some real-deal space aliens, which he so delicately states, "look like their head fell in the cheese dip back in 1957." Sorta like if you rung a human inside out and threw a bunch of glitter in their eyes, you know, like Tom Petty. These multi-dimensional yuppie aliens from Andromeda, or some such, have infiltrated the powers of the world and talk to eachother through their Rolex watches. They lure humans to their side with wealth and power. Roddy, of course, doesn't know all that right away, he just decides its time to start kicking some space alien keister -- and does. He also has THE most hellacious two-man brawl in film history with Keith David (as his buddy Frank). And it's said that Piper and David's fight was originally 5 minutes longer (inspired by The Duke's fight in The Quiet Man.) Anyway, Roddy also meets up with b-movie legend Meg Foster (as Holly) who works for Cable 54 which turns out is beaming the alien's brain-washing signal. Ah, hell, you'll just have to watch the movie to see how it all works out. I will say, it has prolly one of the best goldang endings ever, but you never get to see it on basic cable. In fact, it ends abruptly when you watch it on TV, because in the movie there's this topless gal (Cibby Danyla), whose amazing talents don't make it into the TV version. Tragically, Danyla never made another movie -- a real shame.
Notables: Two breasts. 64 dead bodies. Yuppies from outer space. Exploding TV studio. Most hellacious two-man brawl ever put on film. Garbage truck fu. Meg Foster fu. Blind priest clubbing. Riot squad fu. Gratuitous nosy gay neighbors. Multiple gun battles. Bulldozer fu.
Quotables: Roddy Piper has one of the greatest lines in film history in They Live, a line that he adlibed after spitting out his gum before shooting a scene, "I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass -- and I'm all out of bubble gum." A couple other memorable quotes: "I'm giving you a choice. Either put on these glasses, or start eating that trash can" and a personal favorite, "Life's a bitch -- she's back in heat." Keep an eye on George "Buck" Flower (as Drifter), he doesn't have any particularly memorable lines, but he's great as the slimy alien sympathizer.
Time codes: The resistance movement interrupts regularly scheduled programming (12:00). Nada slips on his shades ... some of the messages he sees, "MARRY & REPRODUCE, NO INDEPENDENT THOUGHT, CONSUME, WATCH TV, SUBMIT, WORK 8 HOURS / SLEEP 8 HOURS / PLAY 8 HOURS, BUY, NO IDEAS, SURRENDER, DOUBT HUMANITY, FOLLOW, DO NOT QUESTION AUTHORITY, NO IMAGINATION" and printed on cash, "THIS IS YOUR GOD" (32:00). First space alien revealed (34:30). Roddy starts whuppin' ass (40:00). Meg Foster arrives (43:00). The fist fight (55:49). Ms. Cibb Danyla is ready for her close up, Mr. Carpenter (1:30:20).
Audio/Video: One of my favorite things about the movie is John Carpenter and Alan Howarth's DA, Da, DA, Dum score, and it sounds great in Dolby digital surround sound. The print is bright, sharp, clean and in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It is also enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
Extras: Like Rowdy Roddy's character ... Nada. Not even a trailer. Be pleased with the image and sound quality, and the fact that this relatively obscure picture is readily available on DVD.
Final thought: Truly a great film, and probably one of the best-kept secrets in the ever expanding DVD library. Let's all say a little prayer for a Special Edition. Noel Bob says, "Check it out."
Other reviews:
Piranha: The 25th Anniversary Special Edition (Highly Recommended.)
Eaten Alive (Recommended.)
------------------
MY DVDs: A study in addiction
EATEN ALIVE: My latest DVD review ... Recommended.
PIRANHA: SPECIAL EDITION: Highly Recommended.
03-06-00, 08:40 PM
#5
DVD Talk Godfather
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Posts: 63,290
Received 1,809 Likes
on
1,129 Posts
I agree.
This is one of the great "Underrated Films" of the 80's.
This is one of the great "Underrated Films" of the 80's.
03-07-00, 09:00 AM
#6
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Michigan
Posts: 8,692
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great film. Even my Wife got interested in this one. The soundtrack is dark and has a good beat. I gotta get this on DVD!
------------------
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming...
------------------
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming...
03-10-00, 07:30 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 277
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
sonic,
I couldn't agree more. This movie is excellent. The problem is trying to get someone to trade it on the forum. The ones that have it don't seem to want to part with it. Can't say I blame them.
Outstanding review noelgross. Hey Joe Bob watch your back.
I couldn't agree more. This movie is excellent. The problem is trying to get someone to trade it on the forum. The ones that have it don't seem to want to part with it. Can't say I blame them.
Outstanding review noelgross. Hey Joe Bob watch your back.
03-12-00, 07:40 PM
#8
Member
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Huntington, NY USA
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A great idea for a movie ruined by bad acting, mediocre writing, inept writing and the world's most boring fight scenes. Definitely, one of the worst movies ever.
------------------
------------------
