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Stars:
Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster
Writer:
Frank Armitage
Director:
John Carpenter
Based
On The Short Story By: Ray Nelson
Feature
length: 95 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 18
Sound:
Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1988/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Universal Studios Home Video
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Every
time I watch “John Carpenter’s They Live” I am amazed at just how
prophetic and on the money the film is. Now do I believe that aliens are
controlling us? No, but if there were aliens influencing our behavior wouldn’t
that be as good a reason as any as to why we live in a society that values
celebrity at any cost, including infamy, and where denial is king. I mean the
issue of homelessness in America was prevalent in the 1980s, but over the years
it has grown worse while social programs designed to help those in need are
continually cut back. The film references unnamed corporations where our
characters worked and sacrificed their time for lower wages only to be out of a
job and find out the money they gave up to help save the company went into the
pockets of the board of directors who gave themselves raises. The shantytown
seen in “They Live” was a common site in some parks in New York City in the
early 1990s before the police drove them out in force reminiscent to a scene
that occurs in the film. The image of excessive police violence on an unarmed
civilian became one of the most controversial images on television and
subsequently led to a trial and riot that was viewed worldwide on CNN. There is
at times a sense of tension in the air in post-911 New York City and it is not
just about the fear of terrorism. It is an anxiety bought out from the fears
people have of losing their jobs as more and more professions are being exported
overseas. On certain corners in various areas throughout the city, it is not
uncommon to see day laborers waiting to be picked up for a day’s work. I have
been told that one can see them scramble to get on a truck, literally pushing at
each other like rats trying to escape a sinking ship. I could go on and on, but
it doesn’t take much to see that the American Dream is getting harder to
obtain every day.
John Nada (Roddy
Piper) is a working class man who drifts into Los Angeles after his previous job
in the heartland dried up. He gets a job doing construction and accompanies
another down on his luck man (Keith David) to a downtown lot where there is a
church and a colony of homeless people trying to survive under the shadows of
helicopter surveillance. Every once in a while there is a rogue transmission
where a scientist is trying to alert the people that things are not what they
seem, but the signal is quickly jammed and most people dismiss it as a prank.
Then one day when the police march in to drive the homeless out of the lot, Nada
stumbles across a peculiar pair of sunglasses that enables him to see a world
where skull faced aliens are subliminally controlling humanity for their own
profit. He soon joins a resistance and goes on a mission to cut the transmission
that has had people walking in a matrix for an undetermined amount of years.
WATCH
TV
When “John Carpenter’s They Live” opened theatrically in 1988, it was not mass crowd pleaser in part because there were not enough people out there who wanted to see a film that criticized in a subversive manner America in the “Regan Era.” People who were casual sci-fi film fans and not necessarily John Carpenter devotees were not pleased with the way the ghoul like aliens appeared. I think they were expecting something less human, but I also think in the years that have past since the film-opened people can appreciate the appearance of the aliens as a satire on yuppies as well as the selfish indifference that can be seen in humanity. Therefore they are humanoid, but not quite human or humane.
Roddy Piper is
perfectly cast as the everyman working-class hero who just wants to work hard,
earn his keep, and has faith that one day he’ll get a chance at something
better. Keith David makes a perfect companion character that is not all that
different from Piper’s character. He has not forgotten his humanity and is
willing to help out another, but unlike the Piper character, he may know the
score, but he is unwilling at first to know the truth behind it. George
“Buck” Flower has a memorable character role in the film and Meg Foster
appears at times almost otherworldly with her cold demeanor and those eyes of
hers. About the only part of the film that never worked for me is the street
fight scene between Piper and David’s characters. It is just too long and
seems more like Carpenter was trying to capitalize on Piper’s abilities as a
professional wrestler to the detriment of the film’s pacing. Carpenter wrote
the screenplay under the alias “Frank Armitage” and he composed the score
for the film along with long time collaborator Alan Howarth.
Themes of media manipulation, secret societies, and conspiracy were also
explored in “Halloween III: Season Of The Witch.”
In fact if you watch both films, you might notice that the same television
station that runs the “Silver Shamrock” ads in “Halloween
III: Season Of The Witch” is also the same network where the alien
transmits signals that subdue humans into their complacent state is broadcast
from.
STAY
ASLEEP
Originally licensed
to Image Entertainment during the early days of DVD, Universal Studios Home
Video is now reissuing “John Carpenter’s They Live” with the same
anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) transfer that was made available on the previous
Image Entertainment release and the same English Dolby Surround Soundtrack too.
Both were quite good to begin with, with the picture quality appearing quite
sharp and vibrant while the Dolby Surround Soundtrack is clear and well rounded.
English Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language
Subtitles are encoded as options. Unfortunately there are no extra value bonus
features included on this DVD release. The feature length audio commentary with
Director John Carpenter and Star Roddy Piper as well as the vintage the
featurette found on the Momentum Pictures Region Two PAL DVD release are not
present on this reissue, which is a shame. The Region One DVD does feature a
genuine Dolby Surround Sound instead of the ordinary Stereo Soundtrack found on
the Region Two DVD release. At least it comes in a keep case too and is being
sold for a low suggested retail price. The previous Image Entertainment release
came in the dreaded snap case. The film has also been on moratorium for a few
years so as a bare bones DVD release for NTSC Region One users, this is still a
good deal since the picture and sound quality are quite good and in the end all
the bells and whistles in the world will not makeup for a poor presentation. So
if you are like me and feel the manner in which the film is presented on DVD is
the most important thing, then this DVD release should please you. The menus are
standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate.
CONSUME
“John Carpenter’s They Live” is available now at retailers on and offline from Universal Studios home Video.
© Copyright 2003
By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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