DVD Review | Christine (Special Edition)
Written by: Kage Alan

It amazes me that “Christine” ever got an “R” rating.  With the exception of some profanity, there really isn’t more violence in this thing than can be found in an “NYPD Blue” episode.  Then too, one of the best John Carpenter films ever was all about what you didn’t see rather than what you did.  It was about suspense and the horror that can manifest itself in what we would consider everyday situations.  So, in light of that, what better pairing than the style of Carpenter and the fertile imagination of Stephen King?

Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) is the school nerd.  We’ve all seen and known this person, so it’s not exactly a cliché.  Fortunately for Arnie, he’s friends with understanding high school football jock Dennis (John Stockwell).  While Dennis gets the respect, the girls and all the attention, Arnie gets the grief, but he’s hopeful that things will one day change.  Enter a beaten up old 1958 red and white Plymouth Fury named Christine that catches Dennis’ eye.  Instead of the typical high school romance with a girl, he enters into a hellish bond with the “girl” your mother never wanted you to bring home—in this case, the car.  What’s worse?  She’s needy.

Much to the dismay of the bullies, others we’ve all known and hated, they make the mistake of not only making Arnie’s life as horrific as possible, but they also take their aggressions out on Christine.  Bad move.  Christine isn’t about to settle for the hope of better days.  Instead, she exacts her revenge by taking them out one by one.  Even the detective on the case (Harry Dean Stanton) can’t figure out how it’s being done since no matter how much damage is done to the car at the scene, she’s in pristine condition the next day.  Can Dennis and would-be girlfriend to Arnie, Leigh (Alexandra Paul), stop the hellish vehicle before the friend’s soul is lost forever?  You know it’s not going to be a pretty ending.

After the likes of “Halloween” and “Escape From New York,” “Christine” may appear a little tame.  First, there’s no way to translate the length of Stephen King’s book into a film under 2 hours and do it complete justice.  Still, Carpenter captures some fine performances out of his mostly unknown cast, keeps the scenes and momentum moving and makes the most out of the special effects.  Having seen most of the King adaptations, this is one of a handful that is both watchable and treats itself with some respect.  I’m actually surprised it hasn’t been remade this decade into something lesser.

Sony has released this Special Edition of “Christine” in its original Widescreen ratio.  Picture quality is fairly sharp and colors look damn fine considering its budget and age.  Audio is okay, though not especially dynamic.  As for special features, they include an audio commentary with Director John Carpenter and actor Keith Gordon, 26-minutes of Deleted Scenes, “Christine: Fast and Furious” (28 ¾ min), “Christine: Finish Line” (7 ¼ min), “Christine: Ignition” (11 ¾ min), Filmographies and 4 Trailers (none of which are for this film).  The commentary was conversational and the two play off of each other nicely.  Carpenter also treats Gordon like a peer (Gordon is now a director himself) instead of an actor who worked for him and it’s clear that there is a mutual respect.  Carpenter commentaries are ALWAYS a highlight to listen to.  The featurettes provide some insight into this little film and don’t overstay their welcome, though why they aren’t put together into one long piece instead of separate ones is beyond me.

It’s nice to see that Sony has taken the time out to revisit John Carpenter’s film.  Honestly, I’d only ever caught it on video once many years back and probably wouldn’t have taken more of an interest in it without the director’s and King’s name attached to it.  The beauty in these special editions is that they give audiences who might have missed the film the first time around (possibly because they weren’t even born yet) an opportunity to see how they did things in the days before CGI.  It also gives the filmmaker a chance to set the tone and make a case for the reasons why he did the picture a certain way.  Carpenter remains a maestro in his field and I can only hope he continues to grace our screens with his work.

Film Rating: B
DVD Special Features: B+