I'm gonna state off the bat that i love this movie for reasons that should be obvious, so it'll run into overtime if you can't be bothered. First some random info.
1: The movie opened number 1 at the box office. 2:("rowdy") Roddy Piper said the role was difficult as he lived on the streets, so the homeless aspect of it brought it back. 3: Both Piper & John Carpenter said that they were trying to convey the depth of the disparity between the rich & poor through Reagan's 80's America, how people were turning a blind eye to the blight of others especially the homeless/unemployed. (they also mentioned the emerging middle class - sell-outs to rise to the top etc)
4:Piper has apparently made 25 movies!! 5: The movie cost approximately $4million.
6:Piper recounts an event in the 50's called "The Brunswick affair." This is in the same vein as the hackers broadcast where for instance, women would go out shopping & say buy 50 pounds of dog food - & they wouldn't have a dog. This being down to subliminal messages in the broadcast from the television - a Brunswick. (Supposedly) 7:Jeff Imada (stunt director/coordinator) played as various "ghouls" (official name of the aliens in the screenplay as opposed to " fascinators" in the short story that inspired it) even the females. Piper & Carpenter regularly made fun of him when the ugliest of aliens were on screen - like the short haired woman in the bank with the teeth. (There were some really ugly female aliens!)
8:The newspaper stand owner was one of those real people hired for the movie - a non-actor (amongst almost a hundred-odd homeless people that they gave food to, they also paid them & the gangs in the downtown area of L.A. as John Nada walks by in the opening few scenes) that's the "this is your god" scene to be clear.
9: Apparently Piper wrote the line in the bank killing spree scene "i have come here to chew bubble gum & kick ass...& i'm all outta bubble gum."
10:The tunnel scene where they travel to the (alien-human elite alliance) banquet hall is a real tunnel network in L.A. that connects directly to municipal buildings around L.A., police stations, courthouses etc.
11:The one-on-one famous fight scene is a real one - apart from face & groin hits.
Okay so that was a bit of trivia. I know that it's been panned out in la la land but here too? The special effects are deliberately 50's B-movie, allowing the atmosphere for non-discerning viewers in modern times the view of silliness, thus dismissing the powerful symbolism throughout the film as well as a way of facilitating the humour in the piece. Some have as also criticized the use of guns - the killing spree that he goes on - "he uses a lot of guns" they say. (whoever "they" are)
Funny that. I remember a certain "the one" in "The Matrix" asking for "guns... lots of guns." I'm told people were whooping in the aisles.
Just a couple of other pointers & some fave scenes before i wrap this up.
··Note how trying to inform people of the truth leads to fear tactics, police brutality, depicted in the movie with the unmarked helicopters, tear-gas & riot police beating up the blind street preacher (Raymond Saint Jacques, died 1990) & near the end at the resistance movement meeting.
··The mini-mart scene is a favourite. A human guy stresses about a potential job discussing it with his friend the psyc.. er alien, & he's reassured that he'll get it, to which the human replies "it's allright for you you've already got the promotion." Hmm.
··The 2 "women" in the previous aisle discuss some mundane housewife stuff, "woman 1: "did you go to Bob & mary-ellen's last night?" Woman 2: "i was shocked, she served blue-corn tortillas, (?) it was so dated!" To which they both cok their head back & laugh in a chilling way.
··Notice the young black guy near the beginning who's mesmerized by the regular broadcast signal from the televisions as he stands outside an electronic shop, this is in keeping with the inspiration of the movie, the short story "eight o' clock in the morning" by Ray Nelson noted elsewhere on this thread.
··How about the "old woman" who arrogantly bumps into John Nada in the same mini-mart? "Ugh, excuse me" she says impudently. Piper ("nada") then begins to verbally tell the audience for the first time what he, & us, had been visually aware of :"take these glasses off she looks like a regular person doesn't she? put 'em back on formaldehyde face that's what we got going on here!" Brilliant.
··What of the out-of-phase drone surveillance? How long before that comes to pass if it isn't already?! The scene with the cops is great where (i swear he puts on a dodgy Irish accent!) he asks "nick yourself shaving this morning?"
··Note how to get a person to "see the unseen" when they're not ready is to beat them up as in the fight scene. This is key as the danger is clearly shown in the movie that they can be a threat to the system as well as you, evident in the final few scenes. (the interaction between Meg Foster's, character who Nada is strangely taken in by, & Frank) Would that have happened if the truth hadn't been forced on him? 1 to ponder.
Far too many truths in this so i'll conclude with some cool stuff.
The contact lenses, (upgrades) the portal-manifesting alien watches, (in the bank, in the alley, & the sell out "bum" at the end) the interplanetary alien "airport" in the tunnel utilizing "travel by some gravitational lens deal, bending the light or something."
"Ok, so you're fighting the forces of evil that no-one else can see, with sunglasses!" And when the truth is revealed at the end?
Female newscaster:"what's wrong, what's going on?" Cameraman: Gloria you look like sh*t, i'm outta here!"
“The venom of snakes is under their lips. Their mouths are full of bitterness and curses. And in their paths, nothing but ruin and misery. And the fear of God is not before their eyes! They have taken the hearts and minds of our leaders. They have recruited the rich and powerful, and they have blinded us to the truth! And our human spirit is corrupted. Why do we worship greed? Because outside the limit of our sight, feeding off us, perched on top of us from birth to death are our owners. Our owners — they have us. They control us. They are our masters. Wake up. They’re all about you, all around you!”. (Raymond st Jacques - street preacher)
“Our impulses are being redirected. We are living in an artificially induced state of consciousness that resembles sleep. (…) The poor and the underclass are growing. Racial justice and human rights are nonexistent. They have created a repressive society, and we are their unwitting accomplices. Their intention to rule rests with the annihilation of consciousness. We have been lulled into a trance. They have made us indifferent to ourselves, to others. We are focused only on our own gain. Please understand. They are safe as long as they are not discovered. That is their primary method of survival. Keep us asleep, keep us selfish, keep us sedated.”
"THEY LIVE WE SLEEP"
Mod's note: Edited per request.