Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, can anyone say bare bones?
Review: This B grade Sci fi classic has been given the bare bones DVD release treatment here. I own teh british region 2 version and its much better than this one. Amoung its many features are a great making of documentary and an amazing commentary by John Carpenter and star Roddy Piper.
The film it self is a little gem. It starts off very slow and demands a little bit of patience, with subsequent viewings im less bothered by this as I really enjoy the mood that John Carpenter sets especially with the score which yet again he had a hand in. The film has a great premise and some unriavlled scenes and some great performances from its inexperienced lead actor. the end is totally rushed and the film goes haywire. But this film was amde incredibly cheap so that probabl;y explains that. It showed a lot of promise but didn't quite live up to it. The film on its own is a 3 star affiar but I suggest you look at the Region 2 version to make this film worth while buying.
Rating: 
Summary: Strong philosophical and religious undertones
Review: Made as the Reagan era came to a close, this film not only has strong political undertones, but religious and philosophical connotations as well. Carpenter emphasizes the B-film aspects of his movie - outrageous violence (and a well-known wrestler to play the main character), elaborate make-up effects, aliens, etc. as much as he can, so that the film's subversiveness is sufficiently hidden. Masquerading as a routine invasion story, it portrays a society whose members blindly accept all of the implicit materialist/capitalist messages thrown their way; the only resistance is offered by those who don't fit in that money-oriented mold - a blind preacher, the poor, some dissident intellectuals. Many religious and philosophical grids can be used to read this movie - Hinduism's doctrine of maya, Plato's cave, Gnosticism: an unlikely visionary (Piper) realizes that the 'real world' is in fact full of illusions; convincing others of his discovery proves to be difficult (witness the famously extended fight scene, at once hilarious and revealing), and a battle soon begins between two secret fraternities - one determined to maintain the illusions, the other eager to dispel them. This is one of Carpenter's best films.
Rating:
Summary: Effective Sci/Fi Thriller
Review: Even in 1988, when "They Live" was released, the idea that mankind had been infiltrated by aliens was hardly an original one. British fans will recall Professor Quatermass battling aliens disguised as humans back in the 50s ! Of course, the television series " V " is another famous example of aliens threatening "life on earth as we know it ".Nevertheless, this creepy entry from John Carpenter still delivers 90 minutes of fun and excitement. Wrestler Roddy Piper is well-cast as a down-on-his-luck working man, who unwittingly stumbles across the alien conspiracy. When he puts those "sunglasses" on , and goes for a walk, we are in for an unforgettable scene--those subliminal message billboards--these weird skull-faced beings--what goes on ? ! Keith David provides a powerful presence, as our hero's very reluctant partner--their long fight in the alley is a classic. Carpenter fans will remember Keith David's important role in "The Thing". Of course, interwoven in the story are less-than-subtle messages about rampant consumerism, greed, corruption and a healthy disdain for politics. Politicians that lie to us ? Politicians who do not serve the public's best interest and could care less ?
Rich people for whom more is never enough ? This is just fiction--right ? Er--right ? No--this is not a sci/fi "landmark" film--but it has action, humour and some Orwellian ideas that sadly remain relevant. The DVD has a fair, widescreen colour picture and decent sound. Don't expect extras--the packaging is rudimentary. This may not be Carpenter's best film, but it should not be overlooked by fans either. At this reasonable price, give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: The paranoid are always right!
Review: Carpenter's classic 1988 film, THEY LIVE, can be seen as an(other) inspiration to Chris Carter's "The X Files" with its conspiracy of like-minded aliens and humans manipulating the masses of Earthlings. Roddy Piper, as an out-of-work working class hero, stumbles upon sunglasses which allow him to see the reality behind the facades, the messages beneath the billboards, the subliminal under the overt, and, more eerily, the strangely Dan Quayle looking creatures under the human masks. (Appropriate for 1988--after all, Quayle was vice president at the time.) Piper's efforts to alarm the general public and infiltrate this conspiracy make up most of the middle third of the film, and it ends, appropriately, with guns ablazing and things exploding. Fortunately, this movie doesn't take itself too seriously, otherwise it might have been disastrous. (In mood and tone, THEY LIVE is first cousin to 1989's TREMORS.) A good dose of campy humor keeps THEY LIVE from becoming a diatribe on capital versus labor, rich versus poor, etc. Instead, THEY LIVE is a classic, sci-fi B movie whose heart is in the right place.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, fiction proves fact
Review: isnt this damn interesting, hmm, well lets just say that this very interesting movie links to what some people have been talking about for years, the new world order, and the order of the illuminati, fnord, hail eris.
www.davidicke.com - if you liked this movie and thought that it was more real in fact then visit this website, this guy david icke has proof.
Rating:
Summary: A bit of truth and a lot of humor!
Review: Got to hand it to Carpenter and Piper, though it be a "B" movie, if watched with the intent of having a good time with a thoughtful mind, you'll come away from the monitor a bit more leery than before. (And perhaps still laughing)
Rating:
Summary: "Momma don't like tattle-tales!!"
Review: This film has one of the most silliest plots ever concieved, and stars "Rowdy" Roddy Piper--a former pro wrestler. To top off a ridiculous plot involving aliens that can only be seen with the aid of "magic sunglasses," Piper's one-liners are second only to Bruce Campbell in "Army of Darkness," in thier ridiculousness. Some memorable quotes are "Momma don't like tattle-tales!!," and "I came here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I just ran out of bubble-gum." I still can't get over the fact that cheap, generic sunglasses were somehow incorporated into this gem of a movie. "They Live" represents everything I look for in a film: an entertaining plot, a "tough guy" as an unlikely hero, irrational vioilence, and of course, breasts (the last scene). If your looking for a movie that's in the same vein as "Escape From New York," or "Army of Darkness," then this film is for you...
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous
Review: I don't know where to begin. I'd been told about this movie for years and then saw it at a local store so I had to buy it for the $11. Rowdy Roddy Piper is the "star." "Star."
He says things like "Beat your feet" when he wants this dude to run away. And "Get set to sweat" when about to enter some action scene. Ri-g_d-d_mn-diculous. The dialogue is insane.
I guess the premise is pretty cool. This drifter comes to a big city looking for work because there were no jobs in his home town. He ends up living in this shanty town where he discovers some magic glasses in a suspicious church which is really a cover for a group of people that are trying to debunk a conspiracy. The conspiracy goes like this: aliens have taken over the upper eschelons of business and politics in order to turn humans into greedy slaves that do anything to make money. Apparently all the ills of society can be attributed to this scheme of theirs. Global warming, the poverty rate going up and the middle class shrinking, air pollution, social complacence.
So the glasses allow our "star" to see things hidden from normal view. Advertisments turn out to say stuff like "Consume" and "Buy" and "Watch TV" and "Marry and Reproduce." The glasses also reveal who is alien and who is human. Eventually he and a few others try to stop the aliens. But the story takes some of the lamest turns ever produced for mass consumption. The fact that a decent premise was wasted on giving Rowdy Roddy Piper a vehicle to display his "acting" talent is a pity.
All in all, its a really entertaining movie for the pure hilarity of how sincerely Rowdy and his co-stars take the performance. I kinda hope that someday another director or producer decides to remake the original short story into a better movie. The story really has potential.
I say buy it. There are worse movies out there, I think.
I hope there are.
Oh yeah, Johnny Pneumonic was worse than this.
Rating:
Summary: Best fight scene of all time.
Review: Really, There's a fight scene between Piper and keith david that goes for twenty minutes. If not longer. I don't remember laughing so hard over one scene. I don't watch wrestling, but if its anything like this fight scene, I'm going to start. I'm so bought on the fight scene it's hard to write about anything else. I liked the conspiracy. The first time I watched this movie I had no idea what it was about. She when Piper put on those cool shades and I got my first Black and Whit mug shot of an alien, I was surprised. Oh yeah, my favorite duke nukem like quote is from this movie. "I've come to kick A&* and chew bubble gum. And I'm all out of bubble gum!" The best B-rated movie in my book.-jeff
Rating:
Summary: Not bad!
Review: Rowdy Roddy Piper, the man claims to be from Scotland, but sure sounds Canadian does a pretty good job carrying this film. The film is worth viewing, but it is not one of John Carpenter's better movies. Pretty entertaining, though.
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