Entries in John Carpenter (2)
John Carpenter Agrees With Me.
Rob Dean On Thursday, June 9, 2011 at 1:15PM Remember that DVD Double Dip Demands post on They Live? It was on Tuesday. Today I see this:
Boo Ya!
VINDICATION! I don't know how or for what...BUT VINDICATION!
...look, I spend my days working on landing pages and doing support. I gotta take joy from somewhere.
Well this got sad very quickly.
They Live
Rob Dean On Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 12:30PM Double Dip Demands is a column in which I propose films that deserve a re-release on DVD/Blu-Ray with more special features, better transfers and other nerdy bits. Some of the films have no DVDs out there for Region 1 viewers, and some of them have a really crappy version that's bare bones or poorly put together. Who speaks for these films? I do.
The Film: They Live (1988)
Cast & Crew: John Carpenter (writer/director); Ray Nelson (based on his short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning"); "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster
Plot Synopsis (from IMDB): A drifter discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to wake up to the fact that aliens have taken over the Earth.
Is It Out on DVD Currently?: Yes - but in a bare bones release with no extras.
Why Does it Deserve Special Features?: Discarded and derided at the time of its release, They Live is a clever and profoundly prescient movie that arrived in theaters wearing the trappings of a dumb B-Movie. They Live has since gone on to influence many other films and filmmakers, as well as graffiti artists, video game designers with its stylish simplicity and biting social commentary. A forerunner to 21st century cultural memes, They Live lambastes consumer culture and the vapid selfishness that defined Reagan-era America and is just as relevant in today's world of Weapons of Mass Distraction.
What Should be on the Disc?