Film
Bristol Film Festival: They Live
- Director
- John Carpenter
- Certificate
- 15
- Running Time
- 94 mins
Here’s a fascinating factlet that you may wish to ponder: when They Live was released back in the Ghastly Eighties, John Carpenter‘s reputation was at such a low ebb that it wasn’t shown anywhere in Bristol. Today, of course, it’s seen as a cult classic that’s worthy of the 4K restoration treament. It also speaks to our paranoid, conspiracy theory-driven times much more than most of the other badly dated films of its era. Indeed, there’s probably (I can’t be bothered to check) a bunch of swivel-eyed folk on social media who are convinced it’s a documentary.
Roddy Piper is cast as the working class hero who finds a special pair of sunglasses that allow him to see things as they really are – i.e. a world stealthily conquered by aliens, who plant subliminal messages in advertising and the media urging the cowed populace to obey, consume, reproduce and conform. Unhappily, some neo-Nazis claimed this was really about the Jewish takeover of the world. But Carpenter slapped them down, pointing out that it’s actually a satire on yuppies and capitalism. Among the film’s many champions is the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. It’s back on screen in Bristol Film Festival‘s Underground Cinema season of films in Redcliffe Caves. Go here for tickets.
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