you live

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Movie
German title you live
Original title John Carpenter's They Live
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1988
length 93 minutes
Age rating FSK 18
Rod
Director John Carpenter
script John Carpenter
(as Frank Armitage )
production Andre Blay
Larry J. Franco
Shep Gordon
Sandy King
music John Carpenter
Alan Howarth
camera Gary B. Kibbe
cut Give Jaffe ,
Frank E. Jimenez
occupation
synchronization

They live (AKA: John Carpenter's They Live , dt long title. John Carpenter's They live ) is an American science fiction - film from the year resulted in 1988. Directed by John Carpenter , who also wrote the screenplay and composed the music. The film is based on the 1963 short story Eight O'Clock in the Morning by Ray Nelson . The main role is played by the well-known Canadian wrestler Roddy Piper , who is dubbed in the German version by Manfred Lehmann . The film opened in German cinemas on May 4, 1989.

action

The unemployed oil worker John Nada moves through America in search of a job as a day laborer and ends up in Los Angeles . The metropolis is marked off the glittering office towers of big business by poverty and unemployment. Nada observes a blind preacher on a street corner who speaks apocalyptically about malicious manipulations by mysterious powers. Nada finds a job on a large construction site, which requires the approval of the union. There he met Frank, who told him about a strike defeat at his previous place of work, a steel mill in Detroit, and his decision to crack down on the capitalists at the next opportunity . Nada, on the other hand, takes the position that he, who believes in America, will achieve something if he only waits for his chance. Frank takes him to a makeshift barracks settlement near a small church, where free food is distributed and there is sleeping space. Most of the residents of these dwellings, like many other residents of the city, sit in front of the television and watch the television commercials broadcast by the stations. However, the programs are often interrupted by a spokesman for a TV pirate station who reports on a foreign power that humanity is abusing for its own purposes and only wants to increase its own profit. It remains unclear where this comes from or whether it means class differences. He calls for revolutionary resistance.

After the police stormed the nearby church with unbelievable brutality, completely destroyed the barracks and killed an old priest, Nada searched the remains of the church, in which he had previously overheard a kind of worship service that served as a meeting of resistance members. In a shed he finds a box filled with sunglasses, which he initially does not attach any importance to. He takes one of them.

When he puts them on, Nada is astonished because he can no longer see any colors through the sunglasses and the glasses cause severe headaches for a short time after taking them off. He becomes even more confused when he walks through the city center with his glasses on - advertising posters and magazines only contain commands such as “Obey!”, “Consume!”, “Go on sleeping!” Or “Watch TV!”, While bank notes read “This is your God! ", the words" Don't question authorities! "can be read in a magazine. In addition to these subliminal messages, there is also the fact that many people have skull-like faces, which is only visible through glasses. In a supermarket, the uninhibited Nada attacks one of the creatures who looks like an older woman without the sunglasses, because of the distorted face even verbally.

When the mysterious beings realize that Nada can see her true form, a hunt for him begins. He kills several beings working as police officers; he disarms a human police officer, but lets him live. From now on he is on the run. With the not entirely voluntary help of Holly Thompson, assistant program director for the largest local broadcaster, Nada escapes. But instead of being convinced of the reality of his incredible observations, she throws him out of the window of her apartment and calls the police.

After Nada was able to let his colleague Frank in on the secret of the sunglasses with the help of his fists, the two of them are contacted by the underground organization ( called communist terrorist organization in the media ) and invited to a meeting. There Nada meets Holly again. They learn that the ugly beings are extraterrestrials that have enslaved humanity. For mind control, the aliens send out a signal that they hide from people's eyes. The transmitter is hidden between the antennas of Holly's television station, which Holly denies. Nada and Frank are equipped with weapons, a wristwatch used by the aliens as a radio and teleporter, and new Hofmann lenses - no longer in the form of sunglasses, but in the form of contact lenses .

When the conspiratorial meeting was stormed by the police, several members of the group were shot immediately. In the course of the battle, Nada and Frank use the extraterrestrial "wristwatch" to enter the beings' headquarters through a tunnel system. There they learn that the human power elite is working with the aliens of Andromeda and allowing them to exploit the earth. A well-dressed man, whom they met earlier in the barracks settlement, who they also believe to be new collaborators, explains the background to them and shows them how people are controlled with the antenna signal.

The two realize that they can only save humanity if they destroy the aliens' transmitting antenna. And so Nada and Frank storm through the transmitter at gunpoint. Holly, who they find there, accompanies them to the roof. On the way there, Frank is shot from behind by Holly. She tries to kill Nada too, but he gets ahead of her and shoots her. Nada manages to destroy the antenna, but is fatally hit by a police helicopter. By destroying the antenna, the signal from the aliens is also interrupted, and the population can now see the real face of the aliens.

synchronization

The dubbing of the film was done by Interopa Film . The direction was directed by Andreas Pollak .

role actor German speaker
John Nada Roddy Piper Manfred Lehmann
Frank Keith David Kurt Goldstein
Holly Thompson Meg Foster Monica Bielenstein
Gilbert Peter Jason Helmut Krauss
Foreman Norman Alden Alexander Duke
Street preacher Raymond St. Jacques Joachim Nottke

criticism

Lexicon of international films : “Coarse-knit, but tightly staged science fiction thriller with satirical swipes at the American lifestyle; stylistically based on the genre films of the 50s. "

success

The film achieved a meta rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.

In 1990 the film received a Saturn Award nomination for "best science fiction film" and "best music" .

The film has long enjoyed cult status. So z. B. the fight scene between John Nada and Frank von Rotten Tomatoes ranked seventh on a list of the 20 best fight scenes. The scene was parodied several times. B. in the US cartoon series South Park and the video game Saints Row IV . Much more important, however, is that the scene is a metaphor, Frank does not want to put on the glasses that John forces on him, he prefers to fight to exhaustion, which stands for: He does not want to see, does not want to wake up! Like many participants in capitalism, he hopes for a better future and makes an effort . He does not want to see that his supposed goal in life may only be the result of a gigantic manipulation of his subconscious.

Versions

The DVD with 18 release is identical to the VHS cassette from Starlight-Video, Bochum. However, this version is released from 16 and is advertised as "Original Theatrical Version". These differences are probably due to the use of different master tapes, since the video version is missing a total of four seconds due to film tears. However, this does not affect scenes of violence.

Re-release

On the occasion of the sixty-fourth birthday of John Carpenter on January 16, 2012, the film was re-released by IFC. They live with the films The Thing From Another World , Big Trouble in Little China , Escape From LA , John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns , Christine and The Princes of Darkness in some cinemas in New York State .

influence

For his own artistic work, the street artist Shepard Fairey uses the motivic quotes Obey and This Is Your God (referring to a wad of money) from the feature film.

literature

  • Frank Schnelle: Suspense, shock, terror. John Carpenter and his films. Verlag Robert Fischer, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-924098-04-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ You live. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on April 10, 2020 .
  2. ↑ You live. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ↑ Total Recall: The 20 Greatest Fights Scenes Ever. Retrieved September 19, 2016 .
  4. ↑ IFC Center's weekly John Carpenter series starts this weekend! (Accessed January 17, 2012)