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They Live

They Live

List Price: $14.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hilarious
Review: For those of you flaming this movie - get a life. For the price this movie is a lot of fun, pure and simple. Look at the four-plus star rating, after several hundred reviews.

Buy it as cheap as you can, and enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: They Live--OBEY
Review: This movie is so good it is the inspiration for the propaganda artist Shepard Fairey of Obey Giant fame.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: DISGUSTING LACK OF EXTRAS!!!!!!!
Review: I have been waiting for this movie to be re-released on DVD after being OOP for soooooooo long....and this is what Universal gives me? Absolutely pathetic! The movie itself is truly a gem, anyone who has seen it knows it is an underrated classic to the nth degree. I was amazed that it held up after all these years. I credit John Carpenter for not using bad 80's music in the film. That definetly would have killed the movie and cheesed it up quite a bit. The fact that the music is subtle and not overbearing makes it seem more serious. I was hesitant to watch it again after not having seen it for over 15 years, but everything worked out nicely. I thought my memories of loving it as a teenager would be destroyed, but again, the movie still really holds up well.
And by the way, it has quite a bit of a MATRIX feel to it with everyone being brainwashed into believing an alternate/pseudo reality.

NOW, here is where the BS comes into play. Not even a stinkin' trailor on this DVD!!!??? NOTHING!!!! OH but it's ok to give the European release 2, count em, TWO commentaries!!! One by John Carpenter, and another by...get this Rowdy Roddy himeself!!!! OH MY GOD how great would that be to listen to??!!! Not to mention a "making of" featurette! Did the United States get jibbed here or what?

Universal and John Carpenter should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. I just don't understand what warrants a better DVD release overseas than in the US. Does anyone know of any future plans to supe up this DVD and give it the DVD treatment it deserves? I would love to hear some feedback, I can't be the only one this disgusted.....I'm not asking for 4 hours of worthless extras that aren't any good any way, but my god not even the TRAILOR!!!!!????

I'm not even going to give you the plot, I'm sure enough people on Amazon have that covered...I just wanted to rant like a complete madman over the grotesque injustice this DVD received. My GOD they re-released C.H.U.D. with more extras than this..They gave KRULL a ridiculous DVD makeover...I've even seen THE LAST STARFIGHTER balls out on DVD!!!! I just don't get it!!! I'm not that nostalgic for 80's movies, but I like a few of them. How can those other movies get the DVD star treatment and not this one??? AGGGHHHHHHH!!! Ok...I'm done...this is getting ridiculous...I just had to vent on this one......sorry about that.....in closing..watch the movie, but don't buy this thing until they do it right....

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This is John Carpenter?
Review: I guess I thought it would be better. The aliens are laughable, the plot is silly, and the whole thing looks cheap. The little injections of topical humor are occassionally witty but that's about it. How is one supposed to obey commands to both "sleep" and "marry and reproduce"? Oh wait, maybe that's humor, too. It creeped out my 11 year old daughter, and I guess that about the level it works on.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Future so bright... (well, you know)
Review: I don't know what it is about this movie but I love it. Is it "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, the misguided premise, the cheesy betrayel by the anti-humans, the kick-(...) soundtrack, the absurd fight sequence between Piper and David (the scene was even parodied by South Park), the hilarious one-liners: "Momma don't like a tattle tail", "I've had a rough couple of days", "Brother, life's a b*tch and she's back in heat", and the classic "I came here to kick as* and chew bubble gum.. I'm all out of bubble gum.", or is it that I feel like I must "OBEY". All of the above apply. This one is a cult classic and I'm a proud part of the cult.

Rating: 3 stars
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: 5 stars
Summary: B Movie Blessing
Review: A John Carpenter movie is a lot like a Big Mac--not the most gourmet of offerings available, but almost never unsatisfying. "They Live" is among his lesser-known gems, a high-concept if low-budget sci-fi outing that pits Carpenter's counterculture sensibilities against the rabid consumerism of the 1980s. Here, wrestler-turned-actor Roddy Piper shines as a drifter who stumbles upon a terrifying secret: the aliens we've watched the skies for have not only already invaded, they've taken over. Years before the overrated "Matrix" films would posit that our reality is not our own, "They Live" imagines a world in which the bulk of humanity unwittingly has become enslaved through a combination of mind control and marketplace manipulation. The joke is that the aliens don't want to kill us; they simply want to turn us into product-buying sheep, distracting us as they swipe our natural resources, all with the help of a handful of superpowerful human sellouts. Carpenter's satire of America's yuppie mallculture hits home, right down to the notion of only the poorest and most dispossessed among us being able to see the truth (with the aid of special sunglasses that penetrate the aliens' electronic disguises). "They Live" is as funny as it is biting, with quite probably the best fistfight ever filmed, and features all the hallmarks of Carpenter at his best: a terrific score, a plot that crescendos to a cool climax, and a visual style that supplants the lack of big Hollywood dollars.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What a surprise.
Review: I stumble across this movie one night, many years ago, while watching television, and I was fascinated by it. This film is a great, original, wacky and well done story of an alien invasion. It plays light and simple, yet it keeps you amused and curious on what is going to develop. Overall: VERY GOOD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "I'm all out of bubblegum..."
Review: Another forgotten gem from horror master John Carpenter (The Thing, Halloween, Vampires), They Live is a fantastic sci-fi/horror B-movie that is still enjoyable today, albeit a bit dated. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper stars as Nada; a drifter who finds a pair of sunglasses that allow him to see the truth. When he looks at magazines, billboards, or advertisements, he sees hidden messages that say OBEY, MARRY & REPRODUCE, STAY ASLEEP, and so on, but when he looks at a few people, he sees behind their disguises and sees them as the grotesque bug eyed alien invaders that they truly are. More or less a satire of consumerism and commercialism, Carpenter manages to pull out plenty of his tricks to make They Live an unrelenting, and always entertaining, ride that sci-fi fans, and Carpenter fans who may have missed out on this, will no doubt enjoy. The never ending fight scene between Piper and Keith David is reason enough to see this film. The DVD however, has no extras at all. Universal could have at least put something on here, trailers or a commentary or something, but alas, this is another bare bones DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "BRING ON A SPECIAL EDITION FOR REGION 1 CUSTOMERS!"
Review: I AGREE WITH THE OTHER PERSON WHO WANTED TO KNOW WHERE THE SPECIAL EDITION IS FOR THEY LIVE FOR REGION 1 CUSTOMERS. I FOR ONE THINK THIS MOVIE IS GREAT AND WOULD LOVE TO GET MY HANDS ON THE SPECIAL EDITION VERSION BUT IT IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO REGION 2 CUSTOMERS. WHY IS THIS SO? I HAVE THE BARE BONES EDITION OF THEY LIVE JUST BECAUSE I ENJOY THIS FLICK SO MUCH AND AM A DIE HARD JOHN CARPENTER FAN BUT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET MY HANDS ON A SPECIAL EDITION WITH COMMENTARY, FEATURETTES, TRAILERS, ETC. FOR NOW I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO SETTLE FOR THE BARE BONES EDITION BUT PLEASE GET US THE SPECIAL EDITION ON REGION 1. AWESOME 80'S FLICK. GIVE IT FIVE STARS! RODDY PIPER AND JOHN CARPENTER SHOULD WORK TOGETHER AGAIN.


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