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Christine: Special Edition
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // September 28, 2004
List Price: $19.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
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While the frequently overlooked Christine doesn't reach the heights of Carpenter's best, I still found it very entertaining, and the emphasis on mood and characterization rather than merely using slickly-photographed high-octane thrills as a crutch help sets it apart from the likes of more recent productions such as the lackluster Highwaymen. The premise may be kind of out there, but Carpenter and the movie's cast manage to make the most of it. Although readers are cautioned that this isn't a grisly, fast-paced horror film, Christine is still recommended as at least a rental.
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Audio: The soundtrack, a Dolby stereo surround mix encoded at the healthy bitrate of 384Kbps, doesn't inspire quite as much gushing praise.
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Christine sports a slew of other audio options, beginning with dubs in French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The DVD is closed captioned and includes subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Thai.
Supplements: There are three featurettes on this DVD, listed somewhat out of sequence on the submenu. The first that should be watched is the twelve-minute "Ignition", which for whatever reason is last on the menu. It covers the early stages of production, including the fortunate process of acquiring the film rights, shooting a movie while the book was the number one best-seller in the nation, condensing the material to feature-length, and, ignoring the studio's pleas for name actors, the casting of a group of relative unknowns. One actor who was almost attached to the lead role was Kevin Bacon, who had to bow out to star in Footloose. The most substantial featurette is "Fast and Furious", which, at nearly half an hour in length, almost serves as a compressed commentary. "Fast and Furious" follows the movie in relatively chronological order, interspersing clips from the film with interviews with the movie's primary cast and crew alongside some vintage behind-the-scenes footage. Among the various topics covered are the elements that went into shooting the opening flashback sequence, filming the transformation shots after principal photography had wrapped, the difficulties encountered in shooting a sequence where the car is completely engulfed in flames, a practical joke with a twin sister, and the original epilogue with an appearance by "Bad to the Bone" songwriter George Thorogood. It's kind of an upbeat, trivia-riddled piece, and Keith Gordon steals the featurette almost the way he carries the movie, noting how he warmed up to making out with Alexandra Paul and how he accidentally caused himself to pass out while shooting his last scenes. A great featurette, and viewers renting the disc might want to consider giving "Fast and Furious" priority over the disc's audio commentary if time is a concern. "Finish Line" (7:17) places its emphasis on post-production and the movie's eventual release, such as compiling Christine's rock and roll soundtrack, the assembly of the score, John Carpenter's embarrassment of having his name appear numerous places on promotional material, and both the critical reception and longevity of the movie.
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Finally, director John Carpenter and actor Keith Gordon contribute a great audio commentary. The two of them genuinely seem to enjoy working on the movie and with each other, and that carries over to their discussion. Carpenter quips about pushing so much of the movie's lead cast out of acting and into directing, the opening being partially inspired by an idea of Alfred Hitchcock's, the differences between the book and the movie, and the influence of Westerns on wardrobe and certain shots. Some of the highlights -- Christine's de-crumpling body work, a dangerous rig on a speeding Mack truck, Gordon's determination to make his face beet red in the finale, and the vehicular sodomy, to name a few -- are covered in the "Fast and Furious" featurette, but viewers who have a couple of spare hours should give this entertaining, informative commentary a listen.
Brief filmographies are offered for John Carpenter, Stephen King, Bill Phillips, Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, and Harry Dean Stanton. Finally, there are previews for Asylum of the Damned, Hellboy, Secret Window, and Stephen King Presents Kingdom Hospital. The DVD features a set of 16x9 animated menus, and the disc comes packaged in a keepcase. An insert is provided, although it doesn't list the movie's twenty-eight chapter stops.
Conclusion: Overlooked and underrated, Christine combines elements of horror, action, and an offbeat love story into a fairly unique character-driven piece. While its length, slower pace, and lack of emphasis on action may not appeal to viewers weaned on the quick-cutting, over-caffeinated genre films of today, I continue to enjoy Christine and would recommend it as a purchase or a rental. Owners of the current disc should find that the reasonable list price and quality extras warrant an upgrade. Recommended.
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