Christine (1983)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Stephen King (novel)
Bill Phillips (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 December 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

She'll possess you. Then destroy you. She's death on wheels. She's...

Plot:

A nerdish boy buys a strange car with a evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Crushed To Death | 1970s | Automobile | Immolation

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Keith Gordon	...	Arnie
John Stockwell	...	Dennis
Alexandra Paul	...	Leigh
Robert Prosky	...	Darnell
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Junkins
Christine Belford	...	Regina Cunningham
Roberts Blossom	...	LeBay
William Ostrander	...	Buddy
David Spielberg	...	Mr. Casey
Malcolm Danare	...	Moochie
Steven Tash	...	Rich
Stuart Charno	...	Vandenberg
Kelly Preston	...	Roseanne
Marc Poppel	...	Chuck
Robert Darnell	...	Michael Cunningham
Richard Collier	...	Pepper Boyd
Bruce French	...	Mr. Smith
Douglas Warhit	...	Bemis
Keri Montgomery	...	Ellie
Jan Burrell	...	Librarian
Charlie Steak	...	Shoppie (as Charles Steak)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mohhib Jivan	...	Auto Shop Clerk (uncredited)
Daniel A. Lomino	...	Liquor Store Clerk (uncredited)
John Richard Petersen	...	High School Student (uncredited)
Barry Tubb	...	Football Player (uncredited)

Directed by
John Carpenter

Writing credits
Stephen King		(novel)
Bill Phillips		(screenplay)

Produced by
Barry Bernardi	....	associate producer
Larry J. Franco	....	co-producer (as Larry Franco)
Richard Kobritz	....	producer
Kirby McCauley	....	executive producer
Mark Tarlov	....	executive producer

Original Music by
John Carpenter
Alan Howarth

Cinematography by
Donald M. Morgan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Marion Rothman

Casting by
Karen Rea

Production Design by
Daniel A. Lomino		(as Daniel Lomino)

Set Decoration by
Cloudia

Costume Design by
Darryl Levine

Makeup Department
Frankie Bergman	....	hair stylist
Robert Dawn	....	makeup supervisor (as Bob Dawn)

Production Management
Robert Doudell	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Larry J. Franco	....	first assistant director (as Larry Franco)
Connie Garcia-Singer	....	dga trainee
Jack Philbrick	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Daril Alder	....	leadman
Richard Chirco	....	set dresser
William J. Durrell Jr.	....	set designer (as William Joseph Durrell Jr.)
Louis S. Fleming	....	assistant property master
Walton D. Hadfield	....	construction coordinator (as Walt Hadfield)
George Jenson	....	production illustrator
Kent H. Johnson	....	property master
Tony Leonardi	....	painter (as Anthony J. Leonardi Jr.)
J.D. Smith	....	set dresser
John Tyrrell	....	paint foreman

Sound Department
John K. Adams	....	foley artist (as John Adams)
Joseph F. Brennan	....	boom operator (as Joseph Brennan)
Thomas Causey	....	sound mixer
Hank Garfield	....	boom operator
Michael C. Gutierrez	....	dialogue editor (as Michael Gutierrez)
Duane Hartzell	....	sound editor
Devon Heffley Curry	....	adr supervisor (as Devon Heffley)
Robert J. Litt	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Post	....	sound editor
Steve Rice	....	foley artist
David E. Stone	....	sound editor (as David Stone)
Kendrick Sweet	....	dialogue editor (as Ken Sweet)
Elliot Tyson	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Lewis Yewdall	....	supervising sound editor (as David Yewdall)

Special Effects by
Ted Allen	....	special effects
Roy Arbogast	....	special effects supervisor
Elmer Hui	....	special effects (as E. Hui)
Bill Lee	....	special effects foreman
Kevin Quibell	....	special effects
Mike Reedy	....	special effects (as Michael Reedy)
David Simmons	....	special effects (as David L. Simmons)
Dick Wood	....	special effects (as Richard Wood)
Gary Zink	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Buff Brady	....	stunts
David D. Darling	....	stunts
Ted Duncan	....	stunts
Tom Elliott	....	stunts
Donna Evans	....	stunts
Clifford Happy	....	stunts
Robert Lee Harris	....	stunts
Norman Howell	....	stunts
Terry Leonard	....	stunt coordinator
Mike H. McGaughy	....	stunts
John Meier	....	stunts
Conrad E. Palmisano	....	stunts
Kerry Rossall	....	stunts
Ben Scott	....	stunts (as Ben R. Scott)
John-Clay Scott	....	stunts
Dean Smith	....	stunts
Dick Warlock	....	stunts
Jim Wilkey	....	stunts
Walter Wyatt	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Mike Amorelli	....	set electrician (as Michael Amorelli)
Ralph Barone	....	set electrician
Tom Barone	....	electrical best boy (as Thomas R. Barone)
Russell Caldwell	....	set electrician (as Ed Tobin)
David Canestro	....	grip
James B. Crawford	....	set electrician (as James Crawford)
Richard Dow	....	grip
Kim Gottlieb	....	still photographer (as Kim Gottlieb-Walker)
Richard Hartley	....	set electrician (as Richard Hartley Jr.)
Gary Holt	....	gaffer (as Gary H. Holt)
Bob E. Krattiger	....	set electrician (as Robert Krattiger)
Michael Laws	....	set electrician
Marc Margulies	....	second assistant camera
Gary Parker	....	dolly grip
Tony Rivetti	....	first assistant camera (as Anthony J. Rivetti)
Chris Schwiebert	....	camera operator
Alex Skvorzov	....	electrical best boy
Calvin Sterry	....	key grip (as Cal Sterry)
Louis Tobin	....	gaffer (as Lou Tobin)
Joseph F. Valentine	....	panaglide operator (as Joseph Valentine)
Clay H. Wilson	....	second grip (as Clay Wilson)
Steve Wolfe	....	set electrician
James B. Crawford	....	lamp operator (uncredited)
Michael Laws	....	lamp operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Annette Benson	....	casting assistant
Janice Spitzer	....	extras casting
Peter Spitzer	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dawn J. Jackson	....	costumer: women (as Dawn Jackson)
Darryl Levine	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Virginia Katz	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
William C. Carruth	....	music editor (as William Carruth)
David Marsh	....	music clearance
Michael Ochs	....	music coordinator

Transportation Department
George Alden	....	driver
Ed Arter	....	transportation captain
E.O. Braden	....	transportation co-captain
Gary Burch	....	driver
Eddie Lee Voelker	....	transportation coordinator
Gordon Wiles	....	driver (as Gordon W. Wiles)

Other crew
Ellen Benjamin	....	assistant: Mr. Carpenter
Shirley Bonner	....	assistant: Mr. Kobritz
Bethany Brown	....	assistant production accountant
Gary Burch	....	mechanic
Maurice Costello	....	first aid
Karlene Gallegly	....	location manager
Larry Hand	....	production accountant
Jeffery House	....	moldmaker (as Jeff House)
Kisuna Jacobsen	....	script supervisor
Mary McKernan	....	office assistant
Bridget Murphy	....	production coordinator
Midge Ogle	....	craft service
Carol Rosenthal	....	production secretary
Richard Ruiz	....	moldmaker
Rubin Saens	....	custom body works
Peter J. Silbermann	....	publicity coordinator
Eddie Lee Voelker	....	coordinator: "Christine"

Thanks
Robert Dawn	....	in memory of (as Bob Dawn)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Delphi Premier Productions
• Polar Film

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1987) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1984) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1984) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Filmverleih (1984) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (1999) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1999) (Spain) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Egmont Entertainment (2000) (Finland) (DVD)
• Esselte Video (198?) (Finland) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1991) (Finland) (TV)
• Nelonen (1998) (1999) (Finland) (TV)
• Nordisk Film Home Entertainment (1997) (Finland) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1985) (Spain) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Nordic (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (special edition)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Christine (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:R (Ontario) | Canada:18A | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-15 (2004) | Finland:K-16 (1984) | India:A | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | France:Unrated | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1984) | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Oak Park High School - 899 Kanan Road, Oak Park, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

To simulate the car regenerating itself, hydraulic pumps were installed on the inside of some of the film's numerous Plymouth Fury "stunt doubles", a mock-up in plastic that looked more like metal on camera than actual metal as it bent and deformed. These pumps were attached to cables, which were in turn attached to the cars' bodywork and when they compressed, they would "suck" the paneling inwards. Footage of the inward crumpling body was then reversed, giving the appearance of the car spontaneously retaking form.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Christine backs out of the office and almost backs into Leigh, hitting the pole, the "PLYMOUTH" letters are missing from the trunk door. In the next shot , they're back.

Quotes:

Bemis: She smiled at me. I want to have deep, meaningful sex with her.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Futurama: The Honking (#3.1)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Harlem Nocturne

Not Carpenter's best, but pretty good

Let me make this clear right away: I haven't read the book, nor do I intend to. You won't find any comparisons between the book and the film in this review. This film combines two of the biggest names in horror from two different medias; Stephen King is pretty much legendary for his written horror work. John Carpenter is also a pretty well-known name, but as a horror director rather than writer. Having not read the book, I have no idea how true Carpenter stayed to the source material, but I can understand from various sources that he changed a lot, and the changes were very big, so fans of the book might not like the movie. Whenever I hear about a film being made that is based on a King novel my response is usually that of someone who lacks any interest in it whatsoever. When I hear that it's directed by John Carpenter, one of my favorite directors, particularly within the horror genre, I develop an interest. Carpenter does a great job of turning something as potentially lame and goofy as a possessed car into something that you really fear. I was at the edge of my seat for a lot of the scenes, and I jumped at several shocking moments. The story revolves around a nerd buying a car, and the car significantly changing his personality. He changes enormously throughout the film, and I must say, the actor does a great job of capturing the emotion of the character. The plot is great, it doesn't move along very fast, but rather deliberately slow, building up atmosphere, building to a climax that is every bit as exciting as the build-up promises. The acting is great, especially by Keith Gordon, who portrays the nerd-like Arnie, who buys the demonic car. The film has pretty much the same sense of humor that Carpenter's films usually have, albeit slightly less of it is present than in several of his others, less serious films. The special effects are very good, they are almost impossible to tell. Had I not known better, I could have sworn that they were real. They probably could be more well-made had they been done today, but I still think it's amazing how real they look. They don't look the least bit dated. All in all, a good Carpenter film that probably won't be to everyones liking. I recommend it to fans of Carpenter, and fans of atmospheric horror films in general. 7/10