Movie Gadget Friday: The reality revealing sunglasses from They Live
posted May 20th 2005 7:18PM
For the last Movie Gadget Friday Josie Fraser checked out the Invisible Jet from Wonder Woman. For this week's installment she looks at the reality revealing sunglasses from They Live:
John Carpenter made his only kids movie, They Live, in 1988. Nada, an unemployed construction
worker/wrestler comes into town looking for a job and the American dream, resplendent in his every-man mullet and check
shirt combo. Following some curious police brutality, Nada stumbled upon what looks at first sight like a pair of low
prop budget plastic sunglasses. They look pretty slick to him. After putting them on though, the world becomes a very
different place - the innocent Nada finds himself living in a heterosexist, capitalist
psychogeographical nightmare of
Kruger-like proportions.
Billboards urge him to get married, go to church and obey. Money turns into blank pieces of paper bearing the legend
THIS IS YOUR GOD. Certain individuals turn out not to be nation loving Americans but parasitical aliens.
Before long, he is all out of patience and bubblegum.
What ever happened to symbolism and subtlety?
This movie is incredible. It features one of the longest, most intense and pointless fight scenes in any movie. I'm pretty sure it was some sort of contractual thing with Rowdy Roddy.
It is also the most accurate representation of our world that exists in cinema, according to David Icke.
Looks like I will be adding this to the Netflix collection...looks...strange...to say the least.
Sounds like an excellent movie.
It's a great movie.
The 'reality' sequences are done with style and ingenious design. I don't think carpenter takes it too seriously though, given the glasses literally let you see the world in 'black and white'.
Yes that fight scene is hilarious - just about his friend putting on the glasses. Totally absurd.
In actuality, the fight scene as well as the infamous "chew bubblegum" line were improvised. Roddy just kept the fight scene going and going and the director wanted to see where he was going with it.
It's a great movie though.
I love this movie. It's one of Carpenter's best. It's very funny and sharply satirical. I would also recommend his version of "The Thing." Brilliant film.
hahahahaha, They Live is an alltime classic. Fred1ner, that fight scene between Roddy Piper and the other wrestler actually wasn't scripted to be that long. Apparently they didn't stop fighting and Carpenter just kept rolling tape on it.
Put on the f'n glasses!
There was an obscure reference to "They Live" on the The South Park episode, "Cripple Fight", where Timmy, the kid in a wheelchair fought with Jimmy, the kid with crutches. Animators took the "They Live" fight and duplicated it frame by frame.
"I ain't puttin on them sunglasses, man. I got a wife and kids."
Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie, pick up the vid, grab a Stroh's and some pork rinds and have a good time, my friend.
I'd be willing to bet a pair of those sunglasses would go a long way to explaining Ann Coulter.
#9: LOL. But who needs the glasses to explain her? You can practically see the creepy alien skull exploding out of her emaciated face.
I wouldn't recommend Carpenter's The Thing that much, it has one good scene only. I would highly recommend the original The Thing From Outer Space, and take note when watching who is violent first. I also recommend Them! and of course, The Day The Earth Stood Still. And The Day The Earth Caught Fire, Seven Days to Noon, When Worlds Collide, This Island Earth (with it's fantastic Interocitor). If you want good 80s schlock, try The Hidden, Vamp, or the king of them all Trancers! Dry hair is for squids.
Quite how the crappy sunglasses count as a superb gadget is beyond me. Any of the gadgets Klaatu owned would be of more interest. Josie should rent better videos...
Haven't seen this one, but I think ima gonna...
'DD' I'm totally with you on 'The Thing'. For some odd reason I've become fascinated by it in the last few months. I even ended up buying the PC game of it. I had wanted to buy it when it came out new..Heehee...glad I waited, I got it for $5. Good movie, far too many good scenes deleted or never made...
So I guess I'd have to disagree with you on JC's 'The Thing' 'eye'. I think there was definitely more than ONE good scene (I assume of course you're talking about the technically awesome Norris imolation/spider-head scene). As I mentioned to 'DD' the movie could have been better. The growing paranoia was done pretty well, but could have been expanded and explored much more to much better effect. This was originally done in large part with the 'lights out' scene which was filmed but never released in any cut. A shame...
I will wholeheartedly agree with you about the 1950's 'The Thing'. Scared the screamin' willys out of me as a kid. Other movies never used to scare me cause I expected my stuffed dog to protect me (ah the simplicity of being 5 years old). So when I saw that dead, drained dog fall out of the wood box...I barely slept for a week... The 'first blood drawn by the humans' was a noteable feature as well (appropriate for the cold war times of introspection), in my older years I have considered that perhaps THING was only growing his/her little seedlings as backup 'cuz he/she obviously found the environment to be hostile (and I always did find it ammusing that in JC's they never even tried to talk to it at all...). But I think he/she woulda started preying on people eventually...it lived on blood...and the Red Cross was nowhere in sight.
THEM! My absolute FAVORITE movie as a child. I watched it nearly everyday one summer, and can still (almost) recite the entire movie all the way through. That movie is where my love affair with flamethrowers began (which may be one reason I like JC's 'The Thing' so much). I still get misty eyed when I think of poor Sgt. Ben Peterson getting killed trying to rescue the Lodge boys... I'd buy that movie on DVD, but it's always like $20...to rich for my blood...
As far as recomendations go though, I'd add the original Japanese cut of Godzilla...sans Raymond Burr. Much more effective film...
And of course the original movie version of 'War of the Worlds' since the new one is coming soon and will likely be hideous...
This is a good movie, I but I too agree: How do the sunglassess count as a gadget? The Mobile Assault Vehicle from Aliens would be a bit more interesting, espically now that I think about it the new Batmobile bears a resemblance to it.
Try watching Forbidden Planet. It was a pioneer in science fiction. Also it has two great movie gadgets in it. One is Robby the Robot is one and the alien machine that boosts intelligence is the other. It was the Star Wars of it's day.
Oh, man... eye... that's a bad recommendation, man. Carpenter's "The Thing" is amazing. It's one of the best re-makes ever made.
And Jeremy... that is a fantastic bit of trivia about the cripple fight scene being inspired by They Live's fight scene. Great.
Oh brudda.
How does the Babelfish count as a gadget?
Just roll with it man, just roll with it.
You guys should check out a book called "Prince Of Darkness: The Films Of John Carpenter".
He was right on. We are stuck in the middle of a society ruled by money, drunk on power, and with the need to control all who are under the most powerful.
It features all of his films in chronological order with explanations, essays and information by Carpenter and other very reliable sources.
Anyway, about "They Live"...
You know it isnot that far from the truth. Think about al the Public Service Announcements, Surgeon General's Warnings, "Do Not Try This At Home" warnings, "
They Live is just a futuristic look at capitalism, commercialism and..dare I say....BIG BROTHER.
OOPS! I gotta go. Black helicopters are hovering over my house and I think the implanted microchip in my head is feeding me messages to shut down all internet communications.
Crap! Here they come through the door...RUN PEOPLE!! RUN! They are coming to stop you from reading thi..................................
I'll have to also say Carpenter's 'The Thing' scared the shit outta me when I was younger. The first version was a good, classic sci-fi bordering on horror. But the remake was much scarier and, obviously, gory. I would say it was horror with sci-fi. I highly recommend the rental. And, yah, They Live was kick ass. I dunno, pretty much anything Carpenter is pretty good.
19: C'mon man! I mean, yah, you're partially right, but not everything is dictated by those in power. Stem cell research, for instance, will be unstoppable, regardless of how much the right doesn't want it. Anyway, if the powerful really all had control then we'd all be doing slave labor in some rock quarry. Seriously. If you know enough scientists, mathmaticians, or engineers or people who tend to really drive the future of humanity, then you'd know there is control, but not as far reaching as you think. I only say this cuz I know quite a few of these types of people and whenever I start with the conspiracy theories, the eyes start rolling. And then they usually go back to what they were doing like hacking on some quantum theory or curing some disease.
Well the scene that actually works in The Thing is the blood testing scene. They'll all tied to chairs, and one is infected. The wire is dipped, dipped, dipped and AAAARGH!
That's it, the rest is schlocky body-horror. Don't worry, body horror remade Hammer horror, Hammer horror remade Bela horror. Body horror was remade by 90s effects horror (Interview w/ vampire for example). So now CGI horror will replace that. It's cheaper to remake a hit than risk money on something new.
I always wondered in the original TTFAW, if the soldier hadn't shot the alien, maybe it would have been more peaceful.
The fight scene between Roddy Piper and David Keith is brutally realistic and amazingly fun....the only thing that is better is that the fight scene was copied, move for move, punch for punch, by South Park, when the cripples, "Timmy" and Jimmy go at it in the alley....."Cripple Fight"!!!!!!!!
This is such a crazy, good movie. A classic like "Escape From New York". Just one of Carpenter's coolest ideas, that he just ran with. That long, seemingly unending fight scene somehow makes the movie *better* - I don't understand how.
What exactly makes _They Live_ a "kids movie"? The R classification it held when first shown would seem to indicate otherwise...
Isn't it funny how Roddy Piper looks suspiciously similar to David Icke?
For all you oldsters out there who prefer the "original" version of The Thing, I got news for ya. Both versions are based on the book "Who Goes There?", but only one version is loyal to the shapechanging concept in the book, and that's the remake. A western actor as a big man-shaped carrot just ain't scary, guys.
They Lived, one of my favorites.
It reminds me of Charlie Sheen's - The Arrival. Similar concept, aliens living among us, but no sun glasses.
http://www.allmovieportal.com/m/1996_The_Arrival.html
Everyone should rent "They Live" to see the closing scene, classic "B" movie ending (ie -someone was definately on drugs when they thought this was a good last shot)