Taglines: Body by Plymouth. Soul by Satan.
In 1957, in Detroit, a red Plymouth Fury is built and is the cause of two accidents, one of them fatal, still in the assembly line. Twenty-one years later, the outcast and bullied nerd Arnold “Arnie” Cunningham is getting a ride with his best and only friend Dennis Guilder and he sees the wrecked car for sale in a garden. Arnie immediately falls in love with the car.
Christine movie storyline. The car was given the name Christine by its first owner. He brings the car to a repair shop of the despicable Will Darnell and works hard to restore the classic car. While he works in the restoration, he changes his personality to a cocky teenager and he dates the most beautiful girl in the high-school, Leigh Cabot. Soon Arnie becomes selfish and jealous of the supernatural Christine that kills everyone that is a threat to them.
Christine is a 1983 American supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter and starring Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky and Harry Dean Stanton. The film also features supporting performances from Roberts Blossom and Kelly Preston.
Written by Bill Phillips and based on Stephen King’s 1983 novel of the same name, the movie follows the changes in the lives of Arnie Cunningham, his friends, his family, and his teenage enemies after Arnie buys a classic Red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine, licence number CQB 241, a car that seems to have a jealous, possessive personality – and a mind of its own. Upon its release, the film grossed $21 million at the US box office. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and has since become a cult classic.
Christine was shot largely in Los Angeles, California, while the location for Darnell’s garage was located in Santa Clarita. Filming began in April 1983, merely days after the King novel had been published. An abandoned furniture factory in Irwindale was used for the opening scene. The film’s stunts were primarily completed by stunt coordinator Terry Leonard, who was behind the wheel of the car during the high-speed chase scenes, as well as the scene in which the car drives down a highway engulfed in flames. During that scene, Leonard wore a Nomex firefighter’s suit complete with breathing apparatus.
Alexandra Paul’s identical twin sister Caroline Paul wrote that she and her sister pulled a prank during filming, sending Caroline on set in place of Alexandra without telling Carpenter that they had made the switch until after he had shot a scene. She wrote, “My highly skilled clutch-pushing actually made it into the movie.”
Christine was released in North America on December 9, 1983, to 1,045 theaters. In its opening weekend Christine brought in $3,408,904 landing at #4. The film dropped 39.6% in its second weekend, grossing $2,058,517 slipping from fourth to eighth place. In its third weekend, it grossed $1,851,909 dropping to #9.
The film remained at #9 its fourth weekend, grossing $2,736,782. In its fifth weekend, it returned to #8, grossing $2,015,922. Bringing in $1,316,835 in its sixth weekend, the film dropped out of the box office top ten to twelfth place. In its seventh and final weekend, the film brought in $819,972 landing at #14, bringing the total gross for Christine to $21,017,849.
Christine (1983)
Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Christine Belford, Robert Darnell, Roberts Blossom, Kelly Preston, William Ostrander
Screenplay by: Bill Phillips
Production Design by: Daniel A. Lomino
Cinematography by: Donald M. Morgan
Film Editing by: Marion Rothman
Costume Design by: Darryl Levine
Set Decoration by: Cloudia Rebar
Music by: John Carpenter, Alan Howarth
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: December 9, 1983
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