They Live

They Live (1988)

18 mistakes

(5 votes)

They Live mistake picture

Revealing mistake: During the big fight scene, you can tell easily that Frank is wearing knee pads (try looking when his pant leg is wet). Construction workers will often wear knee pads for work but most often they wear them on the outside of the pants to save the knees of their pants. (00:58:50)

Continuity mistake: In the big fight scene, Roddy Piper and Keith David are wrestling and struggling about and land so the black guy's pants are getting soaking wet. In the very next shot as the fight continues, his pants are dry. (00:58:55)

Continuity mistake: During the big fight scene, Roddy Piper smashes the back window of a car with a piece of wood. In the very next shot, Keith David rushes Piper and continues to fight with him. Right before the shot ends, you can see the same car in the background, smashed window and all, now at least two cars over from where they are fighting. (00:59:30)

Continuity mistake: When Nada reads the magazine at the book stand, he removes the glasses, you can see that there's a graphic on the right page but when he put them back on in the following shot, the page is different. (00:34:20)

Dr Wilson

Continuity mistake: When Roddy Piper first puts on the sunglasses, he stops at a newsstand, where he sees his first alien. Watch as the alien guy pays for the magazine he's buying. The vendor gives him change twice, and even says different things to him each time he hands him the change: 1. "Here's your change sir." 2. "Here you are sir. Thank you." (00:34:55)

Continuity mistake: After Roddy Piper's character spends the night at the homeless camp, he walks towards the church wearing a toolbelt. He stops and watches the Street Preacher recite what is airing on television. As the shot switches back from the Preacher to Piper, his tool belt has vanished.

Continuity mistake: Rowdy Roddy Piper is in Holly's car trying to escape from the aliens after he attacks the bank, he is ducking down by the passenger's side front door lock. In one shot the door lock is up. In the next it is down. Then up, then down... (00:44:40)

Continuity mistake: During the big fight scene between Piper and the black dude, they begin to grapple and roll over. Piper's belt becomes buckled and unbuckled between various shots. (00:58:35)

Continuity mistake: When Nada and Frank are trying to get to the roof of the television building, at some point they shoot at two guards and a worker runs away. In the following shot, that same worker is closer to them. (01:26:25)

Dr Wilson

Revealing mistake: After Holly tells Nada that she works at Cable 54, he springs to his feet, and she cracks a glass over his head which dramatically sends him crashing out her bay window, to the bank below. Which would not happen in such a pricey home as hers with the thicker quality glass.

eaglegrad16

Continuity mistake: When Frank and Nada first start fighting in the alley, Frank throws his knapsack in the middle of the alley. During the fight it is moved next to a dumpster (as well as the cardboard box of sunglasses).

Audio problem: When Nada first sees the police helicopter, the only sound is a very muted whooshing of the blades. Any other time, the noises are normal.

Movie Nut

Continuity mistake: After leaving Frank at the construction site, Nada finds the box of shades in a garbage truck. However, there's only a few pairs, compared to when he hid the box, and it was full.

Movie Nut

Factual error: Throughout the movie, whenever the sunglasses/contacts are worn, both visual and audible hidden subliminal messages are seen and heard. Such as the hidden "obey" message flashing, or the hidden traffic siren repeating "sleep," etc. The problem is that the glasses/contacts only help the eyes, not the ears. So the hidden audio shouldn't be heard any differently or clearer than it is with them off.

Mlp1327

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: The glasses/contacts are made of a material that blocks the alien signal, hence why wearing them too long makes you feel sick since it messes with the brain. That would allow you to hear the audio as well.

Not true. Yes, the glasses would help you to be aware that the sounds existed; however, the error is that the sounds become louder. Take the traffic signal device. If it is saying "sleep sleep" as a subliminal message outside normal human hearing, wearing the glasses won't change the volume of the subliminal "sleep message" from "sleeeep" to "SLEEEP". Unless you're saying the sounds were always at normal human hearing levels.

Mlp1327

That's exactly what was happening. There's a difference between frequency and volume. A sound can have a frequency outside normal human perception and still be loud. For example, a dog whistle is loud enough to hear, but not in a frequency most humans can hear. The plot of the film seems to be that the frequency isn't picked up by the conscious mind, but by the subconscious mind, much like the visual images.

Bishop73

I just assumed, as is the case with most subliminal audio, that the sound messages were a case of low volume and not frequency. That is, sounds that were just below normal hearing volume. That is barely hearable to the average person volume-wise, but they heard enough for the brain to perceive them and process the information subconsciously. Unfortunately, I can only speculate which it is without an absolute answer, so I can't argue the correction really.

Mlp1327

Continuity mistake: Nada is wearing a green flannel the morning after he sees the preacher led into the church, but it's blue when he asks to borrow the binoculars just minutes later.

Nada: I'm giving you a choice: either put on these glasses or start eating that trashcan!

More quotes from They Live
More trivia for They Live

Answer: As part of the alien takeover, they're suppressing any resistance and discussion of the plot. They know there's a group, led by the preacher, who are onto the conspiracy and that they're somewhere in the camp. They destroy the camp to disburse them and prevent word from getting out.

More questions & answers from They Live

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