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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer ( )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Surround
  • French: Dolby Digital Surround
  • Italian: Dolby Digital Surround
  • German: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
  Subtitles
    English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Hebrew, Czech, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Dutch, Arabic, Portuguese, Turkish, Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hindi
  Extras
  • Cast/crew biographies

Christine

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 106 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Christine isn't one of John Carpenter's best films (those accolades would go to Halloween and The Thing), but it's still one of the most effective Stephen King horror adaptations (along with The Shining and Misery).

The girl of the title isn't a girl at all, but a 1958 Plymouth Fury, possessed by an evil which gives it the ability to drive itself, repair its own damage and wreak vengeance on all and sundry!

Yes, it's highly silly, but Carpenter gives it all he's got, running rampant with a Panaglide camera and laying down throbbing slabs of uber-cool minimalist synth beats and drones with co-composer Alan Howarth. And are you willing to go past great lines like 'I want to have deep, meaningful sex with her'?

  Video
Contract

While anamorphically-enhanced and quite free of artifacts, the picture isn't as sharp as I had hoped and the colours are a little dull and muted. The picture definitely appears dated, unlike Universal's recent SE of the earlier The Thing. There is no apparent grain, but I perceived mild digital edge-enhancing in an attempt to increase apparent detail, which leads to some unpleasant aliasing in some scenes.

That said, this is the best this film has looked on video, and it's wonderful to finally see it in widescreen. It's a treat to see how Carpenter lovingly frames the lens flare from Christine's headlights when she fires up.

  Audio
Contract

Audio is nothing to write home about. Presented in basic Dolby Surround (four languages choices are encoded as Dolby Digital 2.0 except for the Spanish track which is mono), the sound is quite inconsistent and mono focused, with no really appreciable surround usage, as was still the norm in the early Eighties. Strangely, the music has less bass weight than Carpenter's earlier Assault on Precinct 13.

Speaking of the music, it's the most impressive and dynamic aspect of the sound. Carpenter's scores are always worth paying attention to, and there are definite nods to his earlier work in Halloween in this film.

  Extras
Contract

I was very disappointed that this disc had no commentary track from Carpenter, as it's something I've come to expect from him - every film I have of his has him meandering along on an alternate track. He's not a great commentator, but in between his lines like, 'And here we see the house for the first time' you generally get useful snippets like his cunning use of cuts while dollying in Escape From New York to make two separate locations appear to be one. I would have enjoyed finding out exactly how difficult it was to rig Christine to 'repair herself'.

The only extras you get with the disc are a few filmographies for Carpenter and the key cast. No trailer, no nothing. Disappointing indeed.

  Overall  
Contract

Okay, this isn't a stunning film, but it's very watchable and horror/Carpenter completists will be running to grab it regardless of the amount of extras it has. I wish it had more, but I'll still be filling out my Carpenter collection with it.

Grudgingly recommended. Columbia, give us more, please!


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      And I quote...
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