Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

They Live Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 4, 2013

John Carpenter's "They Live" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and a brand new video interview with director John Carpenter. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The bubble-gum guy

Handsome drifter Nada (Roddy Piper, No Contest, Last to Surrender) arrives in L.A. looking for a job but instead discovers a pair of glasses that allow him to see our world like few other people can. With the glasses on, Nada realizes that there are alien creatures living amongst us who are destroying the planet’s valuable resources and manipulating us to consume more than we need. He also discovers that the alien creatures have created a powerful class of human puppets willing to follow their orders so long as they are well compensated for their efforts.

After a serious fight, Nada befriends construction worker Frank (Keith David, Platoon, Marked for Death) and shows him his glasses. The two then join a group of revolutionaries also equipped with glasses and special eye contact lenses who are planning to attack a local TV station run by the alien creatures. But before they can reach it, the police attack their secret base and kill most of them. Nada and Frank survive the attack and proceed to complete their mission.

This cult film directed by John Carpenter copies a formula that many B-horror films favored during the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. On one hand, it tells a story about alien invaders who have created a sophisticated system that allows them to control the entire planet. On the other hand, the film is essentially a very smart critique of Reaganism and all of its core values.

As a standard sci-fi film, They Live is only remotely entertaining. There are a few minor twists but its plot is indeed fairly unoriginal. It is also easy to tell that the sporadic action sequences were done with a very small budget.

However, the edgy but quite witty dialog elevates They Live above other similarly-themed films. Excellent one-liners and plenty of sharp observations about consumerism give the film a great deal of substance. The first half, in particular, where Nada is slowly starting to realize that reality is very much a state of mind, is very effective.

The acting is pleasing. Piper, at the time a professional wrestler, occasionally appears somewhat stiff, but his funny lines also make him look charming. (In a new video interview included on this release, Carpenter confirms that Piper suggested many of the most memorable lines in the film). David’s skepticism is believable, but his fighting skills are questionable. A striking beautiful Meg Foster also has a small but important part in the film.

The overwhelming majority of They Live was shot on location in Los Angeles. Many of the key sequences in the film show areas of the city that are now completely transformed. Carpenter worked with cinematographer Gary Kibbe, who also lensed the equally atmospheric Prince of Darkness.

The film’s moody soundtrack was created by Carpenter and Alan Howarth (Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Omega Code).

Note: In 1990, They Live earned Saturn nominations for Best Science Fiction Film and Best Music (John Carpenter, Alan Howarth).

They Live Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Carpenter's They Live arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Australian distributors Umbrella Entertainment.

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a dated source, most likely the same master Universal Studios used for various DVD releases of They Live. There are traces of light to moderate sharpening corrections that occasionally make the film look quite rough (see screencaptures #11 and 16). There are also traces of light denoising corrections. During select darker sequences image depth is fairly pleasing, but it is easy to tell that the film could look far more convincing. The daylight sequences suffer the most as edge-enhancement is often impossible to ignore. Generally speaking, colors are stable, but saturation can be improved. Contrast is mostly pleasing. Lastly, there are no serious damage marks, cuts, large debris, or stains. All in all, the Blu-ray release clearly represents an upgrade in quality over previous DVD releases of They Live, but the film could look far more convincing. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

They Live Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Umbrella Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The film has a very effective soundtrack that benefits a great deal from the lossless treatment. Dynamic activity is unlikely to impress viewers who like aggressive lossless tracks, but there is a good range of nuanced dynamics that enhance the unique atmosphere very well. The dialog is always crisp, clean, and easy to follow. Also, there are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.

They Live Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for They Live. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• He Lives - in this brand new video interview, director John Carpenter explains how They Live came to exist, and discusses some of the political overtones in the film. The interview was produced for Severin Films in 2013. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

They Live Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

They Live is a unique time capsule that has a lot of interesting observations about values that still determine how we live our lives. In a brand new interview included on this release, director John Carpenter warns that this isn't a good thing, but I am convinced there are many amongst his fans that disagree with him. Umbrella Entertainment's Blu-ray release isn't perfect, but it represents an upgrade in quality over previous DVD release of They Live.