Christine
- 1983
- Tous publics
- 1h 50m
A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before, but the 50s music was interesting in that most of it came from artists who suffered untimely, tragic deaths....Buddy Holly and Richie Valens of course were killed in a plane crash at the height of their careers...Johnny Ace ("Pledging My Love") died playing Russian Roulette with a pistol....Larry Williams ("Bony Maronie") was killed in 1980 by a gunshot wound to the head; he had been involved with drug dealing for years and it was thought to be a gang execution....I think Dion was still alive at the time this movie was made("I Wonder Why"); I'm not sure about the rest of the Belmonts....
Tense, thrilling, reeking of terror & delivering the goods in a gripping fashion, John Carpenter's Christine is far more engaging & nail-biting than it looks, and appears just as polished today as it did at its time of release. Another impressive yet under-appreciated gem from The Horror Master that's well worthy of its cult following.
This is a well made horror/Fantasy picture, John Carpenter directs and puts his talent even into the music score, which is classic Carpenter old school synth based vibe, among also the presence of many 1950's rock n roll classic tracks, to give you a vibe of the car 'Christine' Period of manufacture during the 1950's.
Of course there are a few flaws here and there, but it's a addictive watch, with many modern horrors churned out in recent years which go straight to Netflix streaming service, this 1980's film has a high a look of high production value, especially when comparing it to so many modern digital movies from 2000 onwards. , I love the grain in the film and the non CGI, it has great special effects never the less.
I think it stands up as one of Carpenters better features along with The Thing and Assault on Precinct 13. It's perhaps not quite as good, but still it seems to have aged well. Good fun, if you like a car based film with mind of its own.
For my Smart Money, "Christine" is one of John Carpenter's most underrated efforts (up there with "Assault on Precinct 13"), and also one of his most effective. Even though its modest look and relative restraint in gore came as a result of "The Thing"'s box-office failure the previous year, and Carpenter has all but admitted his heart wasn't in the project, it ultimately turned out VERY well (if this is an effort from a sleepwalking Carpenter, he's better than most directors when they're awake). As someone who was knocked out by Rob Bottin's intricately gruesome FX work in "The Thing," but left cold by the shallow characters, "Christine" fills in the gaps of suspense and human story with ease. In retrospect, some of the absurd plot elements ("a haunted car," as Carpenter constantly reiterates) lends the film an odd humor that doesn't detract from things (and indeed, it was Stephen King's own infatuation with cars and rock music that inspired this story of obsession). Scenes are composed with great skill by Carpenter (making wonderful use of the widescreen image), and there are many striking images sprinkled throughout (the most incredible being the flaming Christine speeding after a villain). The excellent cast gives their all in making a potential B-movie premise glow with A-list polish: Keith Gordon's Arnie (the painfully square high-school senior who buys the titular vehicle), John Stockwell's Dennis (the resourceful jock and best friend), Alexandra Paul's Leigh (the earthy girlfriend who sparks Christine's jealousy), and Harry Dean Stanton's Junkins (the snooping P.I.) provide this tale with a lot of propulsive force. In a sense, "Christine" is a nice even ground between the zaniness of "Escape from New York" and the FX extremes of "The Thing," and exemplifies Carpenter's range as a director. A very underrated effort that is very much worth your time.
I'm not particularly a fan of horror movies and I couldn't fix an ailing automobile if my life depended on it so the workings of cars don't fascinate me.....but this movie fascinated me. The '58 Plymouth Fury, alias "Christine," is absolutely gorgeous. What a piece of machinery!
This is a horror story but there are no ghosts or monsters nor is there any gore. A car is the star of the film, a very jealous and vengeful one at that. Man, that sounds silly but, if you're reading this you have probably watched the movie so no sense going into details. It's hard to describe the story in a paragraph without it sounding stupid....but it's not. Maybe the quickest way to explain it is that it is about a car that is alive, like a human, and you mess with it, you pay!
It is definitely one creepy, well-made, unique and always-entertaining film.
The car is a lot better than any of the people, sad to say. No, I didn't like any of the kids in this film (high schoolers who all look 30 years old!) and the language is a little too rough in spots, but that can be filtered out.
The car, the '50s music, the unique story, the satisfying revenge angle all make this very watchable.
This is a horror story but there are no ghosts or monsters nor is there any gore. A car is the star of the film, a very jealous and vengeful one at that. Man, that sounds silly but, if you're reading this you have probably watched the movie so no sense going into details. It's hard to describe the story in a paragraph without it sounding stupid....but it's not. Maybe the quickest way to explain it is that it is about a car that is alive, like a human, and you mess with it, you pay!
It is definitely one creepy, well-made, unique and always-entertaining film.
The car is a lot better than any of the people, sad to say. No, I didn't like any of the kids in this film (high schoolers who all look 30 years old!) and the language is a little too rough in spots, but that can be filtered out.
The car, the '50s music, the unique story, the satisfying revenge angle all make this very watchable.
Did you know
- Trivia15% of the budget was just on the cars. By the end of filming, all but 2 were destroyed.
- GoofsWhen Christine smashes into the silver Camaro at the gas station, the hood of the Camaro gets knocked off the hinges and twisted sideways. As Christine reverses and drags the Camaro backward, you can see down through the hood that the engine compartment is empty. Minus a transmission, as well.
- Quotes
Arnie Cunningham: Okay... show me.
- Crazy creditsIn the opening credits when the titles are appearing, Christine's engine can be heard.
- Alternate versionsThere was a home video release during the 1980s that was an extended cut which included many of the deleted scenes found on the Special Edition DVD.
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Christine/Silkwood/Sudden Impact/Thriller (1983)
- SoundtracksBad To The Bone
Written by George Thorogood
Performed by George Thorogood & The Destroyers (as George Thorogood and The Destroyers)
Courtesy of EMI America Records
Delsound Music
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- John Carpenter's Christine
- Filming locations
- Calabasas High School - 22855 Mulholland Highway, Calabasas, California, USA(Football game scenes.)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $9,700,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,017,849
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,408,904
- Dec 11, 1983
- Gross worldwide
- $21,045,763
- Runtime
- 1h 50m(110 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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