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IMDbPro

The Cars That Ate Paris

  • 19741974
  • PGPG
  • 1h 31m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
Watch Trailer [OV]
Play trailer3:28
1 Video
50 Photos
ComedyHorrorSci-Fi
The small town of Paris, Australia deliberately causes car accidents, then sells/salvages all valuables from the wrecks as a means of economy.The small town of Paris, Australia deliberately causes car accidents, then sells/salvages all valuables from the wrecks as a means of economy.The small town of Paris, Australia deliberately causes car accidents, then sells/salvages all valuables from the wrecks as a means of economy.
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Peter Weir
  • Writers
    • Peter Weir(screenplay)
    • Keith Gow(from a story by)
    • Piers Davies(from a story by)
  • Stars
    • Terry Camilleri
    • John Meillon
    • Kevin Miles
  • Director
    • Peter Weir
  • Writers
    • Peter Weir(screenplay)
    • Keith Gow(from a story by)
    • Piers Davies(from a story by)
  • Stars
    • Terry Camilleri
    • John Meillon
    • Kevin Miles
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 62User reviews
    • 60Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Trailer [OV]
    Trailer 3:28
    Watch Trailer [OV]

    Photos50

    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
    The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Terry Camilleri
    Terry Camilleri
    • Arthur
    John Meillon
    John Meillon
    • Mayor
    Kevin Miles
    • The Doctor
    Rick Scully
    • George
    Max Gillies
    Max Gillies
    • Metcalfe
    Danny Adcock
    • Policeman
    Bruce Spence
    Bruce Spence
    • Charlie
    Kevin Golsby
    • Insurance Man
    Chris Haywood
    Chris Haywood
    • Darryl
    Peter Armstrong
    • Gorman
    Joe Burrow
    • Ganger
    Deryck Barnes
    • Smedley
    Edward Howell
    • Tringham
    Max Phipps
    Max Phipps
    • Rev. Mulray
    Melissa Jaffer
    Melissa Jaffer
    • Beth
    Tim Robertson
    Tim Robertson
    • Les
    Herbert Nelson
    • Man in House
    • (as Herbie Nelson)
    Charlie Metcalfe
    • Clive Smedley
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Peter Weir
    • Writers
      • Peter Weir(screenplay) (from a story by)
      • Keith Gow(from a story by)
      • Piers Davies(from a story by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The opening scenes that feature a couple driving in a car and smoking prominently displaying cigarettes were a parody of a commercial aired on Australian television at the time of the film's original release. Website 'Peterweircave' says of this: "The opening "advertisement", which many viewers seem to take as blatant product placement for Coke and Alpine cigarettes, was actually a spoof in itself. At the time it was made, movies in Australia were often preceded by ads for cigarettes and such. By putting this before the opening credits, Weir was fooling the viewers into thinking this was yet another ad."
    • Goofs
      The people thrown from the car in the first accident are obvious dummies.
    • Quotes

      The Mayor: Have you country boys forgotten the old school war cry? Have you forgotten the meaning of those words? Woomera, Woomera, Babalu, Boomerang, Crocodile, Kookaburra, Wombat, Orangutan, Weehoo, Wayhoo, Terramungamine, Quandong, Billabong, Gundabluey Pine, Platypus, Emu, Wallaby, Roo...

    • Alternate versions
      US version, titled _The Cars that Ate People (1974)_ was shortened to 74 minutes by the distributor, and star Terry Camilleri's voice is dubbed. The film was finally reissued in the USA at complete length in 1984.
    • Connections
      Edited into Terror Nullius (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      Rock of Ages
      (uncredited)

      Lyrics by Augustus Montague Toplady and music by Thomas Hastings

      Played at the church

    User reviews62

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    More weird than mysterious or horrific, an allegory mired in distractions
    One hour into this movie and I wasn't exactly sure what kind of movie it was trying to "be". It starts off as a smalltown horror mystery of sorts but Peter Weir saddles it with so much absurdist black comedy the mystery all but evaporates and we're looking at something that is more weird/awkward than mysterious/surreal, more slow-ponderous than slow-absorbing, large parts of it reminiscent of Aki Kaurismaki and his static shots, cynical humor, deadpan delivery, and smalltown squalor. By the end of it however, the movie seems to emerge as some sort of societal parable, an allegory to the repression of a close-knit society that values appearances and tradition more than anything else and which must bury secrets in its own backyard to do so, but there's so much distraction and incoherence the point is never made with any clarity or force.

    At one point the score turns Morricone circa Once Upon a Time in the West and we get a showdown in the street and young men dressed with cowboy hats. We get Carmageddon-style cars circling the statue of a cannon like Comanches painted for war. We get the vague promise of a subplot about car crash survivors turned vegetables who are kept in the hospital of the small town and who later turn up in a ball masque dressed in hoods and carton boxes (a nod to Shock Corridor?), but it never goes anywhere. Peter Weir went on to make such remarkable films as Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Last Wave, and while this never reaches the hypnotic levels of those films, it's intriguing in its own quirky awkward way. It's like a movie struggling with itself, a cult classic trying to break free from the confines of a forgettable eccentricity.
    helpful•12
    3
    • chaos-rampant
    • Oct 21, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 11, 1976 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Australia
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Cars That Eat People
    • Filming locations
      • Sofala, New South Wales, Australia
    • Production companies
      • Royce Smeal Film Productions
      • Salt-Pan
      • The Australian Film Development Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • A$250,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 31 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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