Posted 2013-11-06 9:52 AM (#408814) Subject: Christine. Book vs Movie
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 398 Location: Watertown South Dakota
I'm guessing most here have seen the Christine movie several times, as I have. After reading another Steven King novel 11-22-63, I decided to read Christine and was wondering how many here have read it. I am only a little over half way through, so please, if you are going to respond with info on the book, please start with "spoiler alert" for my sake and others who might want to read it. I sure know how the movie ends, but the book might end differently. The book does stray in quite a few different directions from the movie so far. Fitting a book into a movie always shrinks it down some. Although I didn't really think the movie was scary, (creepy yes, but not scary), the book gives me shivers sometimes. I'm guessing it will get worse near the end. It's hard to imagine written word being more graphic than a movie, but it is. The descriptions of the characters, car and scenes really give me a mental picture that is really strange. Anyway,,it is getting harder and harder to put the book down, so I should be done by next week. After I finish the book, I will watch the movie again. I might get a whole new perspective on the movie.
Posted 2013-11-06 9:56 AM (#408816 - in reply to #408814) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Expert
Posts: 3155 Location: NY & VT
Books are often better than the movie version.. the mind can conjure images far more extreme than anything you can put on a screen. That was the case for the SK book imo.
Posted 2013-11-06 10:06 AM (#408818 - in reply to #408816) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Expert
Posts: 3967 Location: DFW, TX
Christine the book was far more dark and spooky than the movie. Any time you adapt a book to a film, there are going to be subtleties lost, such as inner thoughts and motives.
But the movie sure had a lot of memorable footage of a gorgeous FL car!
They both stand on their own as good (not great) examples of the genre.
Posted 2013-11-06 10:26 AM (#408821 - in reply to #408814) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Expert
Posts: 2788 Location: USA - KY
I read "Christine" when the book was first released.
I used to read all of Steven King's books before his writing eventually changed and became a bit tame...a bit too tame for my taste in "horror stories".
Posted 2013-11-06 3:01 PM (#408896 - in reply to #408825) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Elite Veteran
Posts: 716
I've read most of his stuff, although it's been years since I read Christine.
Saw the movie a few times.
Experience both and enjoy both. Each stands alone.
The book is a decent horror story, with a semi-decent battle between good and evil.
The movie is (to me) a wonderful and tragic love story.
As you've by now discovered, there are some fundamental character differences in the book.
And considering the task of putting a book on film, I believe Carpenter did a pretty fair job.
This is akin to comparing The Shining book and movie - each also stands alone and it's best not to compare.
Note that in 112263, the references to the Red and White Fury match the car in the Christine movie, not the one in the book.
Also note in 112263 the reference to the song Rock and Roll is Here to Stay by Danny and the Juniors....
....the song was Christine's (movie) last loud protest while she was taking her last breath.
There are thousands of SK fans who love to point out his errors and the pros/cons of the differences between books and movies.
I say screw all that and just enjoy 'em.
Oh and by the way Kate says hello and while she is not a Christine, sister or cousin perhaps, she does enjoy these discussions.
Posted 2013-11-11 9:51 AM (#409855 - in reply to #408814) Subject: RE: Christine. Book vs Movie
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 398 Location: Watertown South Dakota
Well,,,I finished the book and was not disappointed. The book ends hinting for a sequel,,just like the movie did. Surprising that neither did have a sequel. Now,,I have to watch the movie again and watch for some little things that I might have previously overlooked. Anyway...thanks everyone for the input.
Posted 2013-11-22 1:34 AM (#412183 - in reply to #408814) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Elite Veteran
Posts: 782 Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Glad you enjoyed the book. I really loved Christine (the book), and despite seeing the movie several times, I'm still disappointed by it when comparing to the book. Though related, I find them so different, they are almost two different stories.
Posted 2013-11-27 2:43 AM (#413252 - in reply to #408814) Subject: RE: Christine. Book vs Movie
Veteran
Posts: 124
I liked the book and the movie, but I cannot stand to watch the end of the movie. I watch it all the way up the the point where Christine is about to die and I have to leave the room.
Posted 2015-09-10 5:28 PM (#489394 - in reply to #489391) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Location: The Mile High City
Book:
Libertyville PA, Roland D. LeBay is the villain and actually meets Arnie and Dennis, the car is trashed at the airport, Repperton and his buddies get it at Squantic Hills, Darnell get his at his house...the book is better because it is a 12 or 16 hour experience.
Movie:
Rockbridge, California, Christine is the villain and Roland is not even a shown character (probably the biggest story line departure from the book), the car is trashed at Darnell's, Repperton and his buddies get theirs at the gas station, Darnell is squished in the front seat...and you miss all the good stories about Roland and George, Roland and his VFW buddies, Rollies wife and kid, getting the car from LeBay's house to the Cunningham's, Rollies funeral, coach Puffer, Arnie and Dennis' summer jobs, Arnie getting busted while running cigarettes for Darnell, Darnell and Mr. Guilder, and how Arnie and his folks meet their bitter ends. You do get to see some stuff not in the book: Christine rolling down the assembly line.
Posted 2023-03-03 9:09 PM (#628021 - in reply to #408814) Subject: RE: Christine. Book vs Movie
Location: The Mile High City
I found a fun reference in the book:
Chapter 45 New Year's Eve
"On Main Street I saw Shipstad's Jewelry Store and the Strand Theater, both of them torn down in 1972 to make way for the new Pennsylvania Merchants Bank. The cars parked along the street - gathered here and there in clumps where New Year's Eve parties were going on - all seemed to be pre-60s ... or pre-1958. Long porholed Buicks. A DeSoto Firelite [sic.] station wagon with a body-long blue inset that looked like a check mark. A '57 Dodge Lancer four-door hardtop."
Seems like it could be a '59 De Soto. That seems to be the one I think of with a "body-long" check mark.
Posted 2023-03-04 11:32 AM (#628034 - in reply to #408814) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Expert 5K+
Posts: 9647 Location: So. Cal
So a standard love story plot then. Did he really kill Arnie's parents? Why? Obviously, I haven't read the book and I've only seen the movie in sections on Youtube about 2 years ago.
Posted 2023-03-04 12:38 PM (#628041 - in reply to #408814) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Member
Posts: 26
I get it...this particular forum is "non-technical," thus, this thread doesn't break any rules of engagement.
Folks may post what they want to post freely, and if the mods say it's OK, then it's OK.
That said, this user tires of the "Christine" reference over and over and over again in connection to our cars.
It's the car equivalent of referring to a first-gen US van as a "Scooby-Doo" van.
Seriously...is this the best you guys can do to honor our FL cars?
Please stop, FFS.
Posted 2023-03-04 11:20 PM (#628062 - in reply to #628041) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Location: The Mile High City
Hi, Kevin.
First and foremost: welcome to the forums! I assume you may be a relatively new member based on your post count, but there are plenty of long-time members who prefer to just observe. Either way, I'm glad you are participating. The old addage is certainly true for the ForwardLook forums: "the more the merrier."
Second, I understand being tired of red and white Plymouths and Christine references, but this is a Christine thread. There are several, but they are a tiny fraction of the whole. If you don't like all the Christine crap, you can easily ignore these types of threads. Plenty of other threads in the forums where there's no mention of Christine at all. The way I read your post, it seems like you want to stifle the dialogue, which is contrary to the intent of the forums.
Posted 2023-03-07 11:01 AM (#628128 - in reply to #628041) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Expert
Posts: 3967 Location: DFW, TX
revvin' kevin - 2023-03-04 11:38 AM
That said, this user tires of the "Christine" reference over and over and over again in connection to our cars.
Seriously...is this the best you guys can do to honor our FL cars?
Please stop, FFS.
Exactly what were you expecting when you clicked on the thread titled, "Christine. Book vs Movie"? If you want to read nuanced discussions about interior trim option codes for '61 300Gs or peculiarities of 1959 Dodge cars built at the various assembly plants, try clicking those threads instead. FFS.
Posted 2023-03-07 11:02 AM (#628129 - in reply to #408814) Subject: RE: Christine. Book vs Movie
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 406 Location: Hilltown, PA
I read the book when new, and saw the movie in the theater. I have both re-read the book and re-watched the movie dozens of times since.
Personally, I think each stands alone, and that their relationship to each other is more like cousins than twins. The book has the opportunity for more detail and development, and takes full advantage of that. The movie stands on its visuals, decent pace, and great cast.
I will say that I feel the movie is one of the best adaptations of a full length novel out there. Short stories typically fall into full length movie format much easier.
I also get that lots of people don't care for Stephen King, or that particular book, or the movie adaptation. It's all good - that's why we have chocolate and vanilla afterall.
Unfortunately, any time a car becomes iconic in a popular movie or TV show there are going to be repercussions. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes just annoying. It's the price of fame, as they say.
I'm surprised that nobody else in this thread made the observation about the end of the book that has always made me chuckle. A fair amount of time is spent laying the background for Christine's Evil. Sure, she was clearly born bad, but it was the festering anger of her original owner, LeBay, that really got her going. The books final line - "His unending fury" undelines and emphasises the Hellish bond between the car and the man, and it also is a terrific play on words, a simple pun on the model name Chrysler chose . . Fury. I've often wondered if the idea for the story formed first, and then Mr. King realized that a Fury was the perfect vehicle (pun intended) for the storyline, or if he happened across a Fury one day, and the story was created working backwards from that simple pun . . .
Posted 2023-03-07 11:27 AM (#628131 - in reply to #628130) Subject: RE: Christine. Book vs Movie
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 406 Location: Hilltown, PA
Eh . . .
In that interview he sidesteps the creative issue. It suggests that the final line was a mere happenstance, a happy accident. I don't buy it.
Especially when he tweeted:
Stephen King
@StephenKing
Best last line from one of my books: A toss-up between CHRISTINE and THE STAND. Best last line from someone else's: EAST OF EDEN.
1:11 PM ยท Aug 13, 2015
I suspect he will never reveal that little tidbit of truth . . . which makes it more interesting.
Posted 2023-03-07 9:18 PM (#628141 - in reply to #628131) Subject: RE: Christine. Book vs Movie
Location: The Mile High City
I loved the assembly line scene in the movie. The interview link above seems to explain that pretty well. I've also heard John Carpenter explain that the choice to make the car the source of evil was in part based on not wanting to do a decomposing animate corpse since American Werewolf in London just came out and did it so well.
Posted 2023-03-08 10:21 AM (#628147 - in reply to #408814) Subject: RE: Christine. Book vs Movie
Expert
Posts: 3967 Location: DFW, TX
Oh, and Stephen King is an idiot.
"Why did you pick a 1958 Fury as your subject?"
"They were the most mundane fifties car that I could remember."
That is ridiculous. I can think of a lot of pejoratives for late '50s Furys (and Forward Look cars in general), but "mundane" is absolutely NOT one of them.
"There is a picture of you with a Plymouth Fury on the book's dust jacket. Do you have a Christine?"
"No, that car actually was loaned to us by a Pennsylvania outfit that handles vintage cars for movies."
Stating the obvious, the car is not a Fury and it's the wrong year. Maybe with the book/movie combo being such a big deal, you'd think they could have flown him out to sit on one of the movie cars.
But, is the car on the dust jacket photo the police car from 'The California Kid'?
Posted 2023-03-11 9:30 PM (#628202 - in reply to #628147) Subject: RE: Christine. Book vs Movie
Location: The Mile High City
The soundtrack of the movie is excellent. The book has great references to songs, but who can forget George Thorogood and the Destroyers growling out Bad to the Bone in the opening credits, Thurston Harris' Little Bitty Pretty One before Moochie gets it, or Little Richard wailing Keep A' Knockin' when Dennis tries to open Christine's door?
Oh, and mundane is definitely not the right word. Underappreciated might be better...
if that's the same car, it is missing the spot lights, siren, and cherry on top.
Posted 2023-03-17 10:10 PM (#628318 - in reply to #628226) Subject: Re: Christine. Book vs Movie
Location: The Mile High City
How true! The high price of fame and fortune! One wonders about how things would have been if the book were never written nor the move made. The 1958 Plymouth would have been just another forwardlook car. Probably not as popular as the '57 Plymouth. How many more colors of '58s would we see now? - yellows and blues, greens and golds...
Edited by Lancer Mike 2023-03-17 10:12 PM
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Christine. Book vs Movie
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So a standard love story plot then. Did he really kill Arnie's parents? Why? Obviously, I haven't read the book and I've only seen the movie in sections on Youtube about 2 years ago.
