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:

Once she lures you behind her wheel...You're all hers.

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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:

$3,408,904, 11 December 1983

Gross USA:

$21,017,849

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,017,849

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

According to the filmmakers in the DVD documentary, 28 Plymouth "Furys" (which in reality were Belvederes or Savoys) were purchased and restored for the film. A few were "showcase" cars that were used whenever Christine is just sitting there "looking pretty" or whenever Arnie is driving her. There were "hot rod" versions with souped up engines and airplane landing lights for the headlights for Christine's rampages. And there were "junked" and "shell" cars for the versions of Christine in disrepair or for her "death" scene. There is one way to tell which cars are the showcase hot rod cars and the stunt cars: if you look at the under grill beneath Christine's front bumper, the showcase cars have a chrome under grill while the stunt cars have a red painted under grill.

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Goofs

When Arnie visits Dennis in the hospital and places the paper cup on Dennis' toe, the foot does not match Dennis' foot. As the camera angle changes, you can see the bottom of Dennis' foot and looking at the toes, the shape does not match the foot in the scene with Arnie.

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Quotes

Michael Cunningham: Your mother and I have decided to buy you a new car.
Arnie Cunningham: [to his mother] That's what everyone wants isn't it? Well, fuck you. I'm going to fix up Christine.
[walks away, his dad gets up and confronts him and grabs him by the shoulder]
Michael Cunningham: Listen, mister me and your mother have taken disrespect from you once too many times! Now, you go in there and apologize right now!
Arnie Cunningham: [grabs him by the neck] Keep your mitts off me, motherfucker! I'm hittin' the sack.
[walks upstairs]

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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

There 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.

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Connections

Featured in Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)

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Soundtracks

Bony Moronie
Written by Larry E Wiliams
Performed by Larry E Wiliams
Courtesy of Specialty Records, Inc.
Venice Music c/o ATV Music Corp.

User Reviews

One slick killing machine.

John Carpenter adapts Stephen King's novel with skillful precision. A high school kid becomes obsessive in his feelings for a very strange car he has bought. The car is given the name Christine and repays her owner's adoration by "taking care of" his enemies.

It is fun watching Keith Gordon, owner of Christine, go from wimp to self proclaimed stud. Also in the cast are: John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Harry Dean Stanton and David Spielberg.

It is super cool watching Christine repair her damaged parts. This is an underrated movie that deserves a repeat viewing.