Favorite King novel. I was a bit disappointed with the showdown in Darnells garage at the end in the movie. Then I realized a straight frame 10 wheeler septic truck in real life isn't as maneuverable as it reads on paper. The bulldozer was needed to crush Christine down to disable her.
Oh I hadn't even wondered why they switched to a bulldozer but that makes sense. It's funny in the book though since Arnie calls people shitters and then it's a septic truck in the end 😆
It’s a cracking read - and an OK movie. At 6.27 mins, the bloke who drops the ash on Christine is played by Art Evans (uncredited) who passed this week at age 82 (more famous for his role in ‘Die Hard 2’).
That theme11:40 is also kinda reminiscent of Forbidden Planet and The Brood (assuming your familiar with THOSE movies), with some kind of monster (in this case the possessed car) executing someone's revenge, acting as a kind of assassin.
This is the case that the book wins by a mile. Don't get me wrong i enjoy the movie, it just that the book really gives you more details on the charcters and events. The biggest difference is Christine herself. In the book Christine is possesed by the her original owner Mr. Lebay, who sold his soul in order for Christine to come to life. In the movie its imply that Christine was also alive and evil. Also the book shows that Arnie is being controled by Lebays spirit which i thought was more scary then how the movie shows him. Also the book shows more of Arnie's parents and shows how Christine's influence ruined them as well. In the movie his parents aren't even the movie except for a couple of scenes, one when he moreor less threats them is actually pretty scary. But the thing that i think the book does best is how Christine gets revenge on the bullies that messed her up. Their more graphic in description and also so much more fun. It's like those slasher films where they get the ones that are totally assholes that by the time they get theirs your cheering for the bad guy.
Oooh! So excited to see you cover Christine after seeing it for my first time this Halloween! I loved the movie more than I expected to, so excited to hear what the books like!
I really enjoy these book vs. movie reviews. Subbed. When I first saw the movie I thought it would be great to have a car like Christine that could fix itself. Minus the possession of course.
Writer/director, Bryan Fuller, recently mentioned on a Stephen King podcast that the Christine reboot is still definitely happening. He intends to make closer to the novel and may even set it in the late 1970s.
Same, but it might also be a "my generation" thing. Watching older movies, you can see we looked older at a teenage age, while growing up and maturing well outwardly. When she first talked about him, I immediately picked out one in particular that looked 5-10 years older.
The pick of a 57 Pontiac was perfect as it was considered a terrible car plagued with bad manufacturing and breaking down IRL car. The 1957 Plymouth models were rushed to market and had many defects, including poor workmanship and a tendency to rust prematurely. Many buyers were disappointed with the quality of their cars, which damaged Chrysler's reputation and led to sales declines in the following years.
@ yeah King is very deliberate in small details that only he knows because writing is such a lonely pursuit that one has to amuse oneself while writing
Love this film! I never knew until I saw it that the music video for Karma Police by Radiohead seems to reference Christine. Specifically the scene where Christine slowly chases one of the bullies down a dark road. What a great film!
John Carpenter said he didn't want to include the scenes with Lebay's corpse because it was too similar to Jack's corpse returning. in An American Wewolf In London . Another great comparison video . Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays .
Love this adaptation; truly one of the authors best. Especially IM0 how the soundtrack/songs played give the car its own pov/perspective. When Arnie is killed you believe the emotion expressed by Christine.
If they remade Christine today, in 2025, Arnie would be obsessed with a 2000 Plymouth Neon, and he would slowly turn into a fan of Nu Metal, dressing like Fred Durst. All of this is to say that I really hope they remake Christine, and actually set it Pittsburgh this time, like in the book.
This is one of the better movie adaption. Not at the standard of The Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile but it is one one the better early adaption next to the Salem's Lot miniseries and Carrie. John Carpenter being the director help. The car mending scenes are very impressive considering there was no CGI. Carpenter took a question from the ending of Carrie and ran the film in reverse.
Laura, Thank you for the book vs movie review. For Stephen King's Christine. John Carpenter's movie version. I read the book. It was really good. It explains why Christine is a evil car. Why Arnie changes. The movie is good too. It's like the car is alive. In the book Christine goes for a joy ride with everyone that she has killed. Still with her. I really like both. The movie is the one I like the best. I think the world of Stephen King's Christine and other stories. I like your video. You did a great job. Talking about Christine the book and the movie. I do enjoy your videos. I will watch the one about Carrie. Look forward to your next video.
"The Death of Moochie Welch" I think this was King's finest descriptive writing, so I would like to ask John Carpenter "How the hell did you f that up?" I wish someone would give me the resources to shoot that scene, it's begging to be put on film.
For a bonified scaredy cat, this was my go-to comfort/ training wheels horror movie. It was always on cable tv after school in broad daylight 😅. As for the book, I really preferred the dramatic parts with the parents,school, and the bullies. I'm used to the car just being straight up evil. I never read a ghost/possession book before . I would of appreciated it more if I caught onto it sooner.
Thanks for sharing! Yeah I saw part of this on TV when I was younger and I thought it was a fun movie, definitely not one of his scarier books or films!
Christine going after the assembly workers was kind of justified if you see it from her POV and as a woman. The guy, who dropped cigar ash on her interior is like getting a drink thrown at her dress. The other one, who looked under her hood and got his hand injured was copping a feel. She was being disrespected and sexually assaulted.
wasnt there another ending to Christine in the book, where Petunia stalls while fighting Christine, he talks to the truck and when he wins, he woke up the next day the truck is in his driveway on its own playing on the radio,,, come on let's go for a ride. also in the book the victims of christine would end up in the car as ghosts and even drive to a gas station told the guy to fill her up
Dig the movie but never read the book. That said, if you haven't yet, check out Christine (2016). It's based on a true story but as far as I know there isn't a book it's based on. Merry Christmas!
Fun fact: the way they did the self reconstruction of Christine was they had it crushed through a hydraulic vacuum essentially, then they reversed the footage
I really enjoyed both book and movie one of my favorite Stephen king adaptations and john carpenter movie he would had done a great job on directing firestarter unfortunately he was replaced i really hope this film never gets a remake 🚗🚘
There are movies that surpass the book, like “Jaws”, “Mister Roberts”, “The Agony and the Ecstasy”, or, despite Crichton firing McTiernan and Hollywood Pictures eliminating the 3.5 hour original cut, “The 13th Warrior” versus “Eaters of the Dead”. What a lot of these “outside influence changes a person” stories gets wrong is what the Travolta movie “Phenomenon” gets right: instead of the outside influence imposing desirable or superhuman traits on the character, the outside influence only ramping up the natural desire and perception of the character to strive for more is not only clever, but it highlights the characters strengths, eliminating the weakness. It effectively takes a multi-dimensional character, and asks the “what if” question of turning them not into a Mary-Sue, but a slightly less flawed version of themselves. Then the story becomes more a question of the character looking themself in the mirror, deciding whether what they’ve become is better or worse.
The ending to the book is so sad. Poor Arnie. Dennis and Leigh really tried to save him. They did in the movie too but the book does it in such a way that made it seem even more hopeless. That Arnie was doomed regardless.
Very great analysis. Imho although I enjoyed the movie I always preferred the book. Roland's brother selling Arnie the car -with everything he knew about it- doesn't work. And the concept of someone so inherently evil that their personality bleeds into one of their possessions I always thought was scarier than Christine just being bad from the get-go.
Like a lot of Stephen King, I've seen the movie adaptation and not read the book, so I'll have to remedy that at some point. I will say though, it sounds like John Carpenter made all the right choices by streamlining the story, and distilling it down to its basic elements (kind of like what Spielberg did with JAWS). Although I'm a big fan of movies that get the job done in under two hours, I do think Christine could use about fifteen more minutes showing Arnie's transformation from meek to menacing, though. It happens a little bit too quickly and feels rushed. But I love the movie. Great casting, beautiful cinematography, and a haunting and propulsive score make it one of Carpenter's finest, in my opinion. King built the engine. Carpenter made it purr.
I think Christine is one of the few cases (Jaws, for instance) where the film is better than the book. The structure of the book is interesting -- moving back and forth between first and third-person narration -- and I vastly prefer Will Darnell's death scene in the book. I like the extra background we get on LeBay's past as well. I wasn't a big fan of Ghost LeBay's appearances, however. It's like... we get it. Arnie's being belligerent and dressing like a greaser and calling people "shitters." King didn't have to be mind-numbingly literal about it. Also: "Death to the shitters of the world in 1978!" "I can't drink to that, Arnie."
@WhytheBookWins You definitely pickup on some new things watching it multiple times. Stephen King really writes like you can add and subtract from the story. That's what makes his stories so fun to adapt.
The movie is fine for what it is, but Carpenter just treated it as a paycheck since critics were so pissed at “The Thing” and its visceral violence. The cast is good & has a good Carpenter-Howarth score yet it’s kinda mid compared to the book. The book is unapologetically brutal particularly with the deaths & the supernatural element has more of an explanation compared to the film; King clearly indicates that Roland LeBay’s vengeful spirit inhabits Christine herself due to his own obsession with her and Arnie takes on his behavior/traits as he falls further under Christine’s dark influence
I like both the book and the movie. The movie lacks the book's descriptive death scenes, especially that of Moochie, but the fact that Christine is evil on its own is better. It's kinda what can go wrong when a boy becomes a man but the status (owning a car) turns him into a douchebag. It's your possessions can possess you, and LeBay's ghost kinda ruins it. Still, it's probably my favorite King's novel. As for the change of narratives, check out “The Edible Woman” by Margaret Atwood, if you haven't.
Thanks for commenting! And I have reading The Handmaid's Tale right now and I love her writing style! Definitely want to read more by her so thanks for the recommendation!
Overall I prefer the film. Christine being evil due some malevolent force is more appealing than just being possessed. Him referring to everyone as "shitters" was the films nod to Lebay. Although, I do like the cars behavior more in the book, particularly when she destroys the house
Favorite King novel. I was a bit disappointed with the showdown in Darnells garage at the end in the movie. Then I realized a straight frame 10 wheeler septic truck in real life isn't as maneuverable as it reads on paper. The bulldozer was needed to crush Christine down to disable her.
Oh I hadn't even wondered why they switched to a bulldozer but that makes sense. It's funny in the book though since Arnie calls people shitters and then it's a septic truck in the end 😆
@@WhytheBookWins Hadn't thought of that, however I read the book back in '85 when I was in HS, later rented the movie.
It’s a cracking read - and an OK movie. At 6.27 mins, the bloke who drops the ash on Christine is played by Art Evans (uncredited) who passed this week at age 82 (more famous for his role in ‘Die Hard 2’).
Oh wow I had no idea!
That theme11:40 is also kinda reminiscent of Forbidden Planet and The Brood (assuming your familiar with THOSE movies), with some kind of monster (in this case the possessed car) executing someone's revenge, acting as a kind of assassin.
This is the case that the book wins by a mile. Don't get me wrong i enjoy the movie, it just that the book really gives you more details on the charcters and events. The biggest difference is Christine herself. In the book Christine is possesed by the her original owner Mr. Lebay, who sold his soul in order for Christine to come to life. In the movie its imply that Christine was also alive and evil. Also the book shows that Arnie is being controled by Lebays spirit which i thought was more scary then how the movie shows him. Also the book shows more of Arnie's parents and shows how Christine's influence ruined them as well. In the movie his parents aren't even the movie except for a couple of scenes, one when he moreor less threats them is actually pretty scary. But the thing that i think the book does best is how Christine gets revenge on the bullies that messed her up. Their more graphic in description and also so much more fun. It's like those slasher films where they get the ones that are totally assholes that by the time they get theirs your cheering for the bad guy.
Yeah having it be Lebay's ghost possessing her and Arnie is such a big change!
Oooh! So excited to see you cover Christine after seeing it for my first time this Halloween! I loved the movie more than I expected to, so excited to hear what the books like!
I really enjoy these book vs. movie reviews. Subbed. When I first saw the movie I thought it would be great to have a car like Christine that could fix itself. Minus the possession of course.
Yeah that part would be pretty awesome haha
I love all the practical effects in the movie. And the soundtrack rocks - John Carpenter does most of his own soundtracks for his films
Yeah his music is so good!
Writer/director, Bryan Fuller, recently mentioned on a Stephen King podcast that the Christine reboot is still definitely happening. He intends to make closer to the novel and may even set it in the late 1970s.
😮 I'll definitely be watching it!
2025: monkey shine book vs movie! 😂
I've known plenty of teenagers who look really mature like that 7:11 guy. HE looks a bit like Jim Morison by the way.
Yeah definitely a Morison look
Same, but it might also be a "my generation" thing. Watching older movies, you can see we looked older at a teenage age, while growing up and maturing well outwardly.
When she first talked about him, I immediately picked out one in particular that looked 5-10 years older.
The pick of a 57 Pontiac was perfect as it was considered a terrible car plagued with bad manufacturing and breaking down IRL
car. The 1957 Plymouth models were rushed to market and had many defects, including poor workmanship and a tendency to rust prematurely. Many buyers were disappointed with the quality of their cars, which damaged Chrysler's reputation and led to sales declines in the following years.
Thanks for sharing! I hadn't known that but it makes me like the choice all the more!
@ yeah King is very deliberate in small details that only he knows because writing is such a lonely pursuit that one has to amuse oneself while writing
THANK YOU, Laura! One of my faves!
😁 I hope you liked the video!
Love this film! I never knew until I saw it that the music video for Karma Police by Radiohead seems to reference Christine. Specifically the scene where Christine slowly chases one of the bullies down a dark road.
What a great film!
Shame, I thought that actor looked young enough to pass as a student who had been held back a few years.
Yeah i was too harsh on him lol
I voted for Christine, and am so glad you chose to talk about it! Thank you 😁
Thanks for voting! 😁
John Carpenter said he didn't want to include the scenes with Lebay's corpse because it was too similar to Jack's corpse returning. in An American Wewolf In London . Another great comparison video . Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays .
Interesting! That makes sense. And Merry Christmas 🎄
Love this adaptation; truly one of the authors best. Especially IM0 how the soundtrack/songs played give the car its own pov/perspective. When Arnie is killed you believe the emotion expressed by Christine.
Yeah so true!
Really, you're amazing.
Thank you!
If they remade Christine today, in 2025, Arnie would be obsessed with a 2000 Plymouth Neon, and he would slowly turn into a fan of Nu Metal, dressing like Fred Durst.
All of this is to say that I really hope they remake Christine, and actually set it Pittsburgh this time, like in the book.
This is one of the better movie adaption. Not at the standard of The Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile but it is one one the better early adaption next to the Salem's Lot miniseries and Carrie. John Carpenter being the director help. The car mending scenes are very impressive considering there was no CGI. Carpenter took a question from the ending of Carrie and ran the film in reverse.
Laura,
Thank you for the book vs movie review. For Stephen King's Christine. John Carpenter's movie version. I read the book. It was really good. It explains why Christine is a evil car. Why Arnie changes. The movie is good too. It's like the car is alive. In the book Christine goes for a joy ride with everyone that she has killed. Still with her. I really like both. The movie is the one I like the best. I think the world of Stephen King's Christine and other stories. I like your video. You did a great job. Talking about Christine the book and the movie. I do enjoy your videos. I will watch the one about Carrie. Look forward to your next video.
Glad you like my video and thanks for sharing your thoughts 😊
"The Death of Moochie Welch" I think this was King's finest descriptive writing, so I would like to ask John Carpenter "How the hell did you f that up?" I wish someone would give me the resources to shoot that scene, it's begging to be put on film.
For a bonified scaredy cat, this was my go-to comfort/ training wheels horror movie. It was always on cable tv after school in broad daylight 😅. As for the book, I really preferred the dramatic parts with the parents,school, and the bullies. I'm used to the car just being straight up evil. I never read a ghost/possession book before . I would of appreciated it more if I caught onto it sooner.
In other words I would of bought into the details if I knew that was what he was selling. I still liked better than the movie.
Thanks for sharing! Yeah I saw part of this on TV when I was younger and I thought it was a fun movie, definitely not one of his scarier books or films!
Christine going after the assembly workers was kind of justified if you see it from her POV and as a woman. The guy, who dropped cigar ash on her interior is like getting a drink thrown at her dress. The other one, who looked under her hood and got his hand injured was copping a feel. She was being disrespected and sexually assaulted.
I think you are spot on!
wasnt there another ending to Christine in the book, where Petunia stalls while fighting Christine, he talks to the truck and when he wins, he woke up the next day the truck is in his driveway on its own playing on the radio,,, come on let's go for a ride. also in the book the victims of christine would end up in the car as ghosts and even drive to a gas station told the guy to fill her up
Petunia was in his driveway? Hm I don't recall that.
I prefer the movie. King tends to add too much padding. I like the evil car better than the ghost possessed car.
Dig the movie but never read the book. That said, if you haven't yet, check out Christine (2016). It's based on a true story but as far as I know there isn't a book it's based on. Merry Christmas!
This is one of my favorites!
Fun fact: the way they did the self reconstruction of Christine was they had it crushed through a hydraulic vacuum essentially, then they reversed the footage
So cool!
I really enjoyed both book and movie one of my favorite Stephen king adaptations and john carpenter movie he would had done a great job on directing firestarter unfortunately he was replaced i really hope this film never gets a remake 🚗🚘
Yeah both firestarter movies are just okay, so it's too bad we didn't get to see a Carpenter version
There are movies that surpass the book, like “Jaws”, “Mister Roberts”, “The Agony and the Ecstasy”, or, despite Crichton firing McTiernan and Hollywood Pictures eliminating the 3.5 hour original cut, “The 13th Warrior” versus “Eaters of the Dead”.
What a lot of these “outside influence changes a person” stories gets wrong is what the Travolta movie “Phenomenon” gets right: instead of the outside influence imposing desirable or superhuman traits on the character, the outside influence only ramping up the natural desire and perception of the character to strive for more is not only clever, but it highlights the characters strengths, eliminating the weakness.
It effectively takes a multi-dimensional character, and asks the “what if” question of turning them not into a Mary-Sue, but a slightly less flawed version of themselves.
Then the story becomes more a question of the character looking themself in the mirror, deciding whether what they’ve become is better or worse.
The ending to the book is so sad. Poor Arnie. Dennis and Leigh really tried to save him. They did in the movie too but the book does it in such a way that made it seem even more hopeless. That Arnie was doomed regardless.
Yeah his death was sadder in the book I would say because we see that internal struggle so much more.
Very great analysis. Imho although I enjoyed the movie I always preferred the book. Roland's brother selling Arnie the car -with everything he knew about it- doesn't work. And the concept of someone so inherently evil that their personality bleeds into one of their possessions I always thought was scarier than Christine just being bad from the get-go.
Yeah, well said!
Like a lot of Stephen King, I've seen the movie adaptation and not read the book, so I'll have to remedy that at some point.
I will say though, it sounds like John Carpenter made all the right choices by streamlining the story, and distilling it down to its basic elements (kind of like what Spielberg did with JAWS). Although I'm a big fan of movies that get the job done in under two hours, I do think Christine could use about fifteen more minutes showing Arnie's transformation from meek to menacing, though. It happens a little bit too quickly and feels rushed.
But I love the movie. Great casting, beautiful cinematography, and a haunting and propulsive score make it one of Carpenter's finest, in my opinion. King built the engine. Carpenter made it purr.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Even though i prefer the book this is still a great adaptation!
@WhytheBookWins I'm glad you liked it.
Another solid 80s movie you might consider for a video is The World According to Garp.
Great book. Great movie.
I think Christine is one of the few cases (Jaws, for instance) where the film is better than the book. The structure of the book is interesting -- moving back and forth between first and third-person narration -- and I vastly prefer Will Darnell's death scene in the book. I like the extra background we get on LeBay's past as well.
I wasn't a big fan of Ghost LeBay's appearances, however. It's like... we get it. Arnie's being belligerent and dressing like a greaser and calling people "shitters." King didn't have to be mind-numbingly literal about it.
Also: "Death to the shitters of the world in 1978!" "I can't drink to that, Arnie."
I never cared for the movie, but the book was the first King I ever read, right after within weeks of it coming out. The book is so much better.
Oh that's cool this was your first!
Woo!
"God, I hate rock and roll" was the WORST closing line of any movie, ever.
😆
Mike Flanagan should remake this
Flanagan is the King adaptation king lol. But I am very excited for Oz Perkins adaptation of The Monkey next year!
I always thought that Dennis had Romantic feelings for Arnie in movie.
Oh interesting, I hadn't thought that.
@WhytheBookWins You definitely pickup on some new things watching it multiple times. Stephen King really writes like you can add and subtract from the story. That's what makes his stories so fun to adapt.
The movie is fine for what it is, but Carpenter just treated it as a paycheck since critics were so pissed at “The Thing” and its visceral violence. The cast is good & has a good Carpenter-Howarth score yet it’s kinda mid compared to the book. The book is unapologetically brutal particularly with the deaths & the supernatural element has more of an explanation compared to the film; King clearly indicates that Roland LeBay’s vengeful spirit inhabits Christine herself due to his own obsession with her and Arnie takes on his behavior/traits as he falls further under Christine’s dark influence
I like both the book and the movie. The movie lacks the book's descriptive death scenes, especially that of Moochie, but the fact that Christine is evil on its own is better. It's kinda what can go wrong when a boy becomes a man but the status (owning a car) turns him into a douchebag. It's your possessions can possess you, and LeBay's ghost kinda ruins it. Still, it's probably my favorite King's novel. As for the change of narratives, check out “The Edible Woman” by Margaret Atwood, if you haven't.
Thanks for commenting! And I have reading The Handmaid's Tale right now and I love her writing style! Definitely want to read more by her so thanks for the recommendation!
YES!!! Finally
Overall I prefer the film. Christine being evil due some malevolent force is more appealing than just being possessed. Him referring to everyone as "shitters" was the films nod to Lebay. Although, I do like the cars behavior more in the book, particularly when she destroys the house
Yeah each has its pro's and con's
I think Laura might have the nicest teeth I have ever seen. (She has other great qualities and her videos are interesting, of course!)
Oh wow haha thank you!
I read it 1985.
Great comparison 😊, if you get a chance check out N by Stephen King, it is a short animated movie.
Just N? I'll have to look that up!
@@WhytheBookWins yep, "N By Stephen King" it isn't scary, it just leaves you feeling very uncomfortable.
Please do Sex and the City
There is a book for that?? That would be a fun one to cover.
@ yes! The author is Candace Bushnell