Christine (Special Edition)

Columbia Pictures/Sony has been in trouble financially for a while nowThere Home Video/Studio is where they can make moneybut, they have chose to broker a strange deal to sell back catalog titles of there cult/horror filmsthrough a indie company (Twilight Times) the problem with this deal the Blu Ray's are a very limited number 5,000 sometimes lessThere site at times (mostly during Pre-Release of there most popular titles example Night of the Living Dead '90, The Blob (Re-Make)Fright Night) tend to crash a lotanyone who has bought anything from Twilight Times will agree it's like buying a big mac for $20.00 cause only they have the big macThere prices are super over priced and they tack on a extra $4.00 s&h you'll drop almost $35.00 u.s. dollars on a BR with no real exclusives most of the times they take previous extras from the dvd and port them over (with The Blob and second printing of Fright Night they actually put in the effort and gave the fans **real exclusive extras**But, Twilight Times is in no way anywhere close to a Scream Factory or Arrow Films in terms of a Legit Distributor that give a damn about that name sake....... I've dealt with them a handful of times each time i cross my fingers to get my item @ some point I see the company vanishing out of nowhere I don't trust them as a business at all (some movie fans/collector defend Twilight Times and praise them for there effort) They reallly are not in the business for the love of the films they distributor or the prices wouldn't be so crazyCase in point TT got the License to distributed Christine for the first time Ever on Blu Ray (I think it was limited to 3,000 pressed)When the item when on sale there site crashed several timesBut, a few days later you could find plenty of copies of Christine on Ebay for around $75.00 +It's odd how crocked sellers were able to get a hold of copies of this film with n/pThen jack-up the price for fans who actually wanted itwhich lead to a secrete sale for the die-hard fans that missed out on getting a copy(Once again I actually was able to get a copy in my cart when i hit check out the site crashed)Twilight Times is a shady sleazy company imowill i deal with them again probably cause I'm a sucker!The Good news finally Columbia did the right thing and released there own blu ray version of ChristineIf you have the special edition dvd of Christine you can either sell it, donate it, recycle it or give it away!This BR has all the extras the Special Edition dvd hasThis is the exact same BR twilight times was over charging the consumers double the price forIt looks really good i forgot it was from 1983 it really doesn't look that old in terms of the look of the filmIt has this odd retro look to itI only watched 1/2 of it just to see how the picture looked I'm very impressed by how good it looksover all I'm happy never thought I'd get this on BR without taking out a loan for a copy of it on Blu Ray......The Audio is awesomeDTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (I doubt you'll ever hear it sound this good) the S.E. Dvd's audio was pretty good years ago this blows it out of the water it's Flawless and sounds just right!!!! This is a great example why i love DTS Audio if it's decode the proper way with the proper film it's Theater Quality sound at home x5The film itselfIMO Christine is one of John Carpenter's most forgotten filmspeople know Christine as a Stephen King Film most fans forget Carpenter directed itVisual it's one of his best looking films next to The Fog (It has this strange timeless look to it)Seeing it in HD makes you appreciate what a great eye Carpenter has for directing scenes everything looks real and aliveIf you don't know the story of this film by now you are living under a rock Futurama did a episode doing a parody of itIt's a classic........................ Evil lives inside of the car and the evil slowly turns the driver a little mad and evil tooThe Cast is good:Keith Gordon as ArnieJohn Stockwell as Dennis, (Stockwell is a actor that should've been much bigger then he ended up the dude could really act not sure how he was never a top leading man in the 80's)Alexandra Paul as Leigh (This is one of Alexandra first major roles and she is a natural always enjoyed her in this film you can clearly see her becoming the next Jamie Lee Curtis as far as being a Scream Queen but, that never happened..... which is such a waste she would've worked watch her in this film and proof me wrong she steals every scene she is in! (I'm surprised Carpenter didn't try and use her again in another film)she is a super under rated attracted actress that can really act (Keep in mind I'm not talking about the time she put into Baywatch I'm sure that was a steady pay check I'd hope anyway)Robert Prosky as Will DarnellHarry Dean Stanton as Detective Rudolph Junkins (almost anything he does is usually gold in my book of memories)Roberts Blossom as George LeBay, (Great actor RIP 1924–2011)Kelly Preston as RoseanneThis is a all around great horror film/adaptation there was a lot of love, sweat,and tears put into this film you can tell by the final productThey don't make films like this anymore they make torture porn, bad re-makes and scat porn (pretending to be horror)This is iconic and classic there is a reason that 3,000 units crashed a site!Besides inside seller (wink wink)One of the best John Carpenter films to this day and a little under appreciated 9.7/10This is a must have for the simple fact if it sells enough maybe Sony will wake up and sell there other horror titles on there own for a fair price not some gimmicky limited edition that only screws the fans that love the filmHopefully Columbia/Sony does the right thing and goes into there back catalog re-release a proper color corrected Night of The Living Dead, The Blob and Fright Night Sony wants money flow put out your cult films your make money!But, what do i really know I'm just a american consumer..................

John Carpenter’s next film after The Thing was supposed to be an adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter for Universal Pictures written by Thing scribe Bill Lancaster. When Carpenter’s sci-fi classic failed at the box office, Mark Lester was given the helm instead and ironically Carpenter found himself at Columbia Pictures directing another Stephen King adaptation, Christine. Carpenter would have the last laugh as Christine not only beat Lester’s Firestarter to the box office but, at the box office as well. Today Christine is considered a minor classic and Firestarter has all but been forgotten.I am reviewing Christine strictly as a movie and not as an adaptation, though I have read and enjoyed King's novel. Set in 1978, this horror flick tells the story of nerdy Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) who is oppressed by both his overbearing parents and the high school bullies. His only friend is kind hearted football player Dennis (John Stockwell)… that is, until he meets Christine. Christine is an old beat up red 1958 Plymouth Fury named by it’s previous owner who, unbeknownst to Arnie, committed suicide inside it. The owner’s brother (Roberts Blossom) sells it to him despite Dennis’ protests and Arnie sees the restoration of his new obsession as a way to finally earn respect from his peers. Not only does Arnie restore the car, he also begins to change. The awkward nerd becomes a confident man and wins the prettiest girl in school, Leigh (Alexandra Paul), but also the vengeful eye of the bullies he’d gotten expelled. When they trash his beloved car, the vehicle shows it’s true nature and not only restores itself before Arnie’s eyes, but methodically tracks down and slaughters the wrong doers… on it’s own. Arnie refuses to see the evil thing before him and the confident man starts to become an aggressive and violent person who forces anyone who cares about him out of his life, which he lives only for his car. Fearing for Arnie, Dennis and Leigh start to investigate the car’s past and not only find a trail of bodies, but the realization that Arnie’s obsession may be taking him on a ride straight to hell, unless it is stopped… but can it be and can Arnie be saved?Carpenter creates an entertaining and atmospheric thriller from Bill Phillips’ script adapted from the King novel. He successfully creates a likable and sympathetic character in Arnie and thus his transformation from nerd to cool guy to heartless villain gives the film the dramatic backbone it needs. He also successfully establishes the relationships between Arnie and Dennis and Leigh so, we understand why they are willing to put themselves in harm’s way to save their friend despite his becoming, for lack of a better word, a douche. Though I will say we could have maybe used a bit more of this to really solidify the relationships. What really makes this film click is the menacing and evil character given to the title vehicle by Carpenter and his team of FX people. From the opening scene set on an assembly line in 1957, we see Christine claim her first victims. A car that is born bad. We get a blood red car that is dripping with malice and one that only plays vintage Rock ‘N’ Roll songs on the radio… which seem to always suit the situation at hand… and takes a lethal interest in anyone that comes between her and Arnie, like Leigh… the other woman. Carpenter films the car from angles and in lighting that give it a demonic presence and stages the sequences of it pursuing it’s prey with the same tension and intensity he would if filming Michael Myers as a muscle car. Despite how bad the bullies are, there is a sense of remorse when Christine mows them down in cold blood. She is by far the greater of the two evils. The FX of the vehicle repairing itself after being damaged are truly breathtaking, as we literally watch panels un-dent and grills regain their off-the-assembly-line shape and it adds to the vehicles supernatural aura.The master director gets good work from his human cast too. Gordon is fairly solid as Arnie conveying the sensitive nerd and then his slow transformation to cold blooded killer. He does go a little over the top in a few sequences and could have done with less of the maniacal eye rolling in some of the later scenes, but otherwise is well cast. Stockwell gives his Dennis both a strong and a sensitive side as Arnie’s concerned friend. Paul’s Leigh seems like a naturally sweet girl who still cares about Arnie even after he is so mean to her and is a likable heroine. We also have veteran Harry Dead Stanton as a detective that knows Arnie and his car are responsible somehow for the murders yet, frustratingly can’t prove it and character actor Robert Prosky as a slimy garage owner that takes a shine to Arnie but, not to his car… and the feeling is mutual.Carpenter again supplies the music and though the score is very reminiscent of his excellent Halloween III score, it is still highly effective at adding atmosphere to the proceedings and also includes some great Rock ‘N’ Roll classics. Though it’s the first Carpenter film without cinematographer Dean Cundey since Assault on Precinct 13, Donald M.Morgan fills in and does very well in capturing Carpenter’s camera work and mood. The film isn’t perfect. There is some weak dialogue at points and, as stated, the relationships could have been a bit more fleshed out, but they do work fine as is. The final showdown between Christine and Dennis driving a bulldozer could have been a bit more intense, but this a modestly budgeted film, so, what we get is effective enough and certainly well staged.All in all, Christine may not be on the same level as Halloween, The Thing or Escape From New York, but it is certainly a solid and effective chiller and an entertaining movie that sometimes gets overlooked when talking about Carpenter’s classic films. Also stars Kelly Preston as a hottie trying and failing to catch Dennis’ eye.

I used to have this movie on VHS, but since DVDs come out, this movie was hard to find. But when I saw that it was available on Blu-ray, I had to get it. Brings back memories from when the movie first came out. 😊

I have a nostalgic attachment to this movie that is probably one of the reasons I like this film so much. It’s not really made for a modern audience so I doubt anyone under 30 will love it. But it’s John Carpenter and so it’s still worth the ride for a film fan. The UHD is a significant step up from the Blu Ray, but this is not going to be your new demo disc. Go in with those expectations and you will get your money’s worth.

Christine one of john carpenter's best filmmaking definitely worth adding to the collection if you like any other John carpenter's movie's I recommend big trouble in little China Kurt Russell plays his roll well as always

Increíble, la busque por mucho tiempo hasta que por fin la conseguí. Si eres cinéfilo está película tiene que estar en tu colección.

Tiene sólo un disco, pero ahí mismo contiene cuatro apartados de material extra. Además mencionar que la película viene con doblaje en español latino y castellano. En inglés 5.1 con subtítulos en español. El acabado del Steelbook es hermoso. Si eres un cinéfilo, amante de Carpenter y King, definitivamente debes adquirir este bluray.

La imagen esta muy bien,nítida y colores vivos.Se nota la diferencia al DVD.El sonido es la misma pista mono de siempre,se escucha bien,pero algo antiguo.Lo peor son los extras,trae comentarios del director y actor,pero los señores de Sony han pasado de subtitular los en español.Algo realmente lamentable que no es la primera vez que ocurre.