Christine (1983)

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

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Bill Phillips (screenplay)

Stars:

Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keith Gordon	...	Arnie Cunningham
John Stockwell	...	Dennis Guilder
Alexandra Paul	...	Leigh Cabot
Robert Prosky	...	Will Darnell
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Detective Rudolph Junkins
Christine Belford	...	Regina Cunningham
Roberts Blossom	...	George LeBay
William Ostrander	...	Buddy Repperton
David Spielberg	...	Mr. Casey
Malcolm Danare	...	Moochie
Steven Tash	...	Rich
Stuart Charno	...	Don Vandenberg
Kelly Preston	...	Roseanne
Marc Poppel	...	Chuck
Robert Darnell	...	Michael Cunningham

Storyline

In 1957, in Detroit, a red Plymouth Fury is built and is the cause of two accidents, one of them fatal, still in the assembly line. Twenty-one years later, the outcast and bullied nerd Arnold "Arnie" Cunningham is getting a ride with his best and only friend Dennis Guilder and he sees the wrecked car for sale in a garden. Arnie immediately falls in love with the car. The car was given the name Christine by its first owner. He brings the car to a repair shop of the despicable Will Darnell and works hard to restore the classic car. While he works in the restoration, he changes his personality to a cocky teenager and he dates the most beautiful girl in the high-school, Leigh Cabot. Soon Arnie becomes selfish and jealous of the supernatural Christine that kills everyone that is a threat to them.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | killer car | year 1978 | year 1957 | murder | 

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Taglines:

Body by Plymouth. Soul by Satan.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Christine

Filming Locations:

Pickwick Drive-In Theater - 1100 W. Alameda Avenue, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,408,000, 11 December 1983, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$21,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Delphi Premier Productions, Polar Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arnie's nemesis, Det. Rudolph Junkins, also drives a Plymouth Fury, most noticeable when he questions Arnie in the school parking lot. Junkins' car appears to be a 1977 or 1978 Plymouth Fury - a popular police car of the late 1970s.

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Goofs

Camera reflected in the glass when Darnell is making the phone call just before he gets killed.

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Quotes

Arnie Cunningham: Whoa, whoa. You better watch what you say about my car. She's real sensitive.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits when the titles are appearing, Christine's engine can be heard.

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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 15 minutes from this film for its 1987 network television premiere.

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Connections

Referenced in Futurama: The Honking (2000)

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Soundtracks

We Belong Together
Written by Robert Carr, Johnny Mitchell and Hy Weiss
Performed by Robert & Johnny
Courtesy of Old Town Records
Big Seven Music Corp. & Maureen Music, Inc.

User Reviews

Christine, The Car-Killer

In 1957, in Detroit, a red Plymouth Fury is build and causes two accidents, one of them fatal, still in the assembly line. Twenty-one years later, the outcast and bullied nerd Arnold "Arnie" Cunningham (Keith Gordon) is getting a ride with his best and only friend Dennis Guilder (John Stockwell) and he sees the wrecked car in a junkyard. Arnie immediately falls in love with the car and calls it Christine. He buys the car and brings it car to the repair shop of the despicable Will Darnell (Robert Prosky) and works hard to restore the classic car. While he works in the restoration, he changes his personality to a cocky teenager and he dates the most beautiful girl in the high-school, Leigh Cabot (Alexandra Paul). Soon Arnie becomes selfish and jealous of the supernatural Christine that kills everyone that is a threat to them.

"Christine" is remarkable and unforgettable feature from John Carpenter and it is difficult to find out who that has not seen this movie at least once. The classic story of a supernatural car that fall in love with its owner is not dated and has outstanding special effects for a 1983 movie. This is practically the first successful feature of the gorgeous Alexandra Paul and Keith Gordon and John Stockwell have great performances. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Christine, O Carro Assassino" ("Christine, The Car Killer")