Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Christine Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 28, 2015

John Carpenter's "Christine" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures-Germany. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with the American director and actor Keith Gordon; twenty deleted scenes; and three featurettes with cast and crew interviews. In English, with optional English, English SDH, Traditional Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Thai subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"Show me"

Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon, Dressed to Kill) knows that he is a loser. He isn’t attractive, no one likes his jokes, and he does not have a car. He also isn’t rich. But even if he was, it would not have made any difference because every single girl knows that he is still a virgin.

While passing by a rundown shack with his best friend Dennis Guilder (John Stockwell, Dangerously Close), Arnie sees an old and rusty 1958 Plymouth. He immediately falls in love with the car and much to Dennis’ disappointment decides to buy it with his savings. Before he writes a check for $250.00, Arnie is told that the car goes by the name of Christine and that years ago he first owner suffocated to death inside it.

When Arnie’s parents refuse to let him keep Christine at home, he drives her to Will Darnell’s (Robert Prosky, Thief) garage and begins working on it. A few weeks later, the restored Christine impresses Leigh Cabot (Alexandra Paul, Dragnet), the local beauty, and Arnie goes out on a date with her. At the end of the date, however, Leigh tells Arnie that even though Christine looks beautiful she does not feel comfortable in it.

Meanwhile, a few of the area’s troublemakers decide to remind Arnie that ugly losers are not allowed to dream big. They quietly enter the garage where Arnie keeps Christine and completely destroy the car. Soon after, another car looking exactly like Christine begins harassing them.

John Carpenter’s film looks rather dated now, but it has not lost its charm. In fact, because technology has evolved so much and contemporary horror films use so many digital effects to get the type of atmosphere they need, now it is a lot easier to appreciate Carpenter’s tremendous vision and enthusiasm. They truly are what make Christine worth seeing.

There are some obvious differences between the film and Stephen King’s novel -- in the novel the rich characterizations are far more important than the evolution of the conflicts -- but the changes are logical and actually enhance the film’s personality. Whether it is the right personality is something that has been debated since the film was released in 1983 -- and justly so, since King’s words rarely translate well to film -- but as interpreted by Carpenter Christine’s story is both enjoyable and visually pleasing.

Gordon undergoes a massive character transformation, but it is very convincing. The erotic sequences where he connects with Christine are amongst the film’s highlights. Stockwell and Paul are also very convincing. There are a couple of excellent cameos as well. Harry Dean Stanton plays a curious detective who senses that Christine is not an ordinary car, while Prosky is the vulgar owner of the garage where Christine is restored. Roberts Blossom, one of the stars in Don Siegel’s Escape from Alcatraz, is difficult to recognize, but he is the old drunkard that sells Christine to Arnie.

The soundtrack features original music by Carpenter and classic tracks by George Thorogood and The Destroyers (“Bad to the Bone”), The Rolling Stones (“Beast of Burden”), Ritchie Valens (“Come on, Let’s Go”), Buddy Holly (“Not Fade Away”), and Bonnie Raitt (“Runaway”), amongst others.

Christine Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, John Carpenter's Christine arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures-Germany.

The release uses a high-definition transfer that has been struck from the same master that was accessed when the limited U.S. release of the film was prepared and there are no obvious encoding differences between the two. Generally speaking, detail is quite pleasing, with the areas of the film where natural light is an abundance looking particularly good (see screencapture #5). Clarity and image depth fluctuate, but some of the most obvious fluctuations are actually inherited. For example, the opening sequence where Christine is seen in the factory was shot on Fuji film to achieve the dated and softer brownish look (see screencapture #8). Elsewhere, however, there are darker sequences that look uncharacteristically flat. Though never problematic, these sequences should convey better depth (see screencapture #11). Grain is present and despite the fluctuations addressed above easy to see. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Colors are stable, but there are areas of the film that make it clear that they are not entirely accurate (see screencaptures #13, 14, and 15). While I don't like to speculate, in this case I have to say that if one day director John Carpenter is directly involved in the production of a new and hopefully definitive release of Christine, there will be a wide range of different color tonalities. Finally, there are no serious stability issues. Also, there are no large cuts, debris, stains, or scratches to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Christine Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are eight standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 2.0 (Stereo), German Dolby Digital 2.0 (Stereo), Italian Dolby Digital 2.0, Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono), Russian Dolby Digital 2.0 (Stereo), Spanish/Castillian Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono), and Spanish/Latin America Dolby Digital 2.0 (Mono). For the record, Sony Pictures has included optional English, English SDH, Traditional Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Thai subtitles for the main feature.

The 5.1 mix is very good, but a 2.0 track should have been included as well. Nevertheless, dynamic intensity is excellent and there is plenty of depth throughout the entire film. The atmospheric music score, in particular, greatly benefits from the wide range of nuanced dynamics. The dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, background hiss, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in this review.

Christine Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this release are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Audio Commentary - director John Carpenter and actor Keith Gordon (Arnie Cunningham) spend a great deal of time explaining exactly how different sequences were shot and how the various special effects were done (the information about the reconstruction shots is particularly interesting), and discuss the awkward moments during the romantic sequences, some of the cuts that were made, the film's unique atmosphere, etc. The commentary initially appeared on the R1 Special Edition DVD release of Christine.

• Deleted Scenes - a gallery of deleted scenes. (26 min, 480/60i).
  
  1. Arnie and Dennis Driving to School
  2. Arnie Bullied in Auto Shop
  3. Arnie Leaves for Darnell's in Junked-Out Christine
  4. Arnie Breaks Down in Dennis' Car
  5. Darnell and Friend Talk to Arnie as He Fixes Up Christine
  6. Arnie Visits Dennis at the Hospital
  7. Bullies Trashing Christine
  8. Leigh and Arnie Walking to Darnell's
  9. Leigh Visits Dennis in the Hospital
  10. Mom Looks in on Arnie Sleeping in Bed
  11. Arnie Visits Dennis in the Hospital Again
  12. Junkins Questions Arnie in School Parking Lot
  13. Leigh Dumps Arnie on the Phone
  14. Bully Crushed by Car
  15. Junkins Questions Arnie at Darnell's
  16. Leigh Calls Dennis
  17. Leigh and and Dennis Talk on Couch
  18. Dennis and Arnie Driving in Christine
  19. Arnie Sees Dennis & Leigh at a Hamburger Stand
  20. Leigh and Dennis for Arnie in the Bulldozer

• Christine: Fast and Furious - in this featurette, director John Carpenter and writer Bill Philips discuss the adaptation of Stephen King's best-selling novel and the production history and visual style of Christine. Also included are clips from interviews with producer Richard Kobritz, actors Keith Gordon, John Stockwell and Allexandra Paul, and stunt coordinator Terry Leonard. In English, with optional English, French, German, Italian, and Japanese subtitles. (29 min, 480/60i).

• Christine: Finish Line - in this featurette, director John Carpenter, writer Bill Philips, and producer Richard Kobritz explain how Christine was scored (including how the rights to George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" were secured). In English, with optional English, French, German, Italian, and Japanese subtitles. (8 min, 480/60i).

• Christine: Ignition - in this featurette, producer Richard Kobritz recalls his interactions with Stephen King (initially, he was sent Cujo but he did not like it) and explains how Christine became a film. Director John Carpenter and writer Bill Phillips also address some of the key differences between the book and the film. In English, with optional English, French, German, Italian, and Japanese subtitles. (12 min, 480/60i).

Christine Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This Region-Free Blu-ray release of John Carpenter's Christine is very easy to recommend to fans of the film in North America. It comes with a standard price tag, it has optional English subtitles, and all of the supplemental features on it are perfectly playable on North American players. I think that the film could look better on Blu-ray, but this is a good release that represents a solid upgrade in quality over the old SE DVD release Sony Pictures produced in 2004. RECOMMENDED.