John Nada is a man without job who walks around a big American city trying to find something to do. He finally finds a job as a worker and a place to spend the nights, but one day something terrible happens to him. John discovers a pair of sun-glasses through which he can see the true face of people. Many persons in this city are in fact aliens (from the Andromeda) and most of them are important members of our society. They keep humans in ignorance and they rule our world as they like. Nada must find the rest of the men that know what’s happening (those who made the strange sun-glasses) and join them in the fight against the aliens.

They Live (1988)
  • Rating: (31,157 votes)
  • Taglines:Who are they? And what do they want? » You see them on the street. You watch them on TV. You might even vote for one this fall. You think they're people just like you. You're wrong. Dead wrong. »
  • Runtime:93 minutes
  • Director: John Carpenter
  • Country:USA
  • Actors:
    Nada
    Roddy Piper
    Frank
    Keith David
    Holly
    Meg Foster
    Drifter
    George 'Buck' Flower
    Gilbert
    Peter Jason
    Street Preacher
    Raymond St. Jacques
    Family Man
    Jason Robards III
    Bearded Man
    John Lawrence
    Brown Haired Woman
    Susan Barnes
    Black Revolutionary
    Sy Richardson
  • Genres:Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
  • Producers:
    Andre Blay
    executive producer  
    Larry J. Franco
    producer (as Larry Franco) 
    Shep Gordon
    executive producer  
    Sandy King
    associate producer  
  • Plots: Nada, a down-on-his-luck construction worker, discovers a pair of special sunglasses. Wearing them, he is able to see the world as it really is: people being bombarded by media and government with messages like "Stay Asleep", "No Imagination", "Submit to Authority". Even scarier is that he is able to see that some usually normal-looking people are in fact ugly aliens in charge of the massive campaign to keep humans subdued. Written by Melissa Portell <mportell@s-cwis.unomaha.edu>
They Live
  • User's comment: by idolitor (idolitor@hotmail.com)

    They Live. Where to begin? Yes, it is goofy. Yes the production value is very low. Yes the action is standard. The guns never empty. The fights are poorly choreographed at times. But that, my friends, is not the point.

    This film was an attack on the Regan era. An attack on the rampant consumerism of the 80's. But open your mind. Saying that it's just an attack on the 80's is merely shutting your eyes. Telling yourself that things have gotten better. Sorry to disapoint you, but they haven't.

    Rowdy Roddy Piper puts on some sunglasses. The world changes. Billboards now say Obey or Sleep. Or Marry and Reproduce. Magazines no longer have articles or advertisements. They are blank white pages with said phrases upon them. Money now are white pieces of paper that say This is Your God. Boy oh boy are they right.

    So watch They Live. Grab some beer and score some corn. Enjoy the cheese. Enjoy the great one-liners. But also pay attention to the lines that sum up the truth. Remember the point of the film. Then go outside. Re-enter the corporate world outside your door.

    You won't need special glasses to see the truth.


  • Quotes: Frank: I've walked a white line my entire life, I'm not about to screw that up. Nada: White line's in the middle of the road, that's the worst place to drive. Nada: Brother, life's a bitch... and she's back in heat.
  • Also known as: Eles Vivem (Brazil - imdb display title), Eles Vivem (Portugal), Sobreviven (Mexico - imdb display title), Sobreviven (Peru - imdb display title), Ök élnek (Hungary - informal literal title), Elpusztíthatalanok (Hungary - imdb display title), Essi vivono (Italy), Están vivos (Spain), Invasion Los Angeles (France), John Carpenter's They Live (USA - complete title), John Nada - De hel breekt los (Netherlands - informal literal title), Oni zive (Serbia), Oni zyja (Poland), Paha kehä (Finland - DVD title), Pahan kehä (Finland - imdb display title), Sie leben! (West Germany), Skjulte fjender (Denmark - video title), They Live! (USA - poster title), Yasiyorlar (Turkey - Turkish title), Zoun anamesa mas (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title),

  1. EdmondPetrus Says:
    January 24th, 2011 at 12:03 am

    Shocking. A waking-up movie.
    And real at the same time.
    This is the world we live in! more and more full of plastic people! Look at Obama, pure plastic!!! And they try to convert us to being plastic…..
    Are you willing?????

    How many of us are still real!!?? Are you???!!!
    Most of us are being mentaley polluted by what society wants from us. And we obey like slave’s, and think this is LIFE
    Be a rebel, and learn to think of your own.
    Learn to love, live and laugh

    Love, Anando

  2. Peter van Westen Says:
    February 2nd, 2011 at 8:38 pm

    Yes, we were all born human. but do we remain human, or do we become robotized??!!
    That’s what this movie is all about.
    Don’t become a robot. Risk to be human!!!

    Peter.

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