The Cars that Ate Paris

[Asfr Tas@aol.com]

I saw THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS in a cinema in Tasmania when it was first released in 1974 and the audience went completely bananas at the first scene.  At that time it was usual to screen a glossy cigarette commercial just before the main movie, so when the "commercial" apparently ended with a car wreck the audience roared with laughter.   I guess Peter Weir knows something about the Australian sense of humour that your reviewer doesn't!  The movie itself?  OK I guess.

This movie fell into my hands, packaged with such brash claims as "They Run On Human Blood..." etc. I could barely keep from choking on my own rage when I realized no people were actually going to be eaten by cars.
   However, this vain hope kept me sane during the 77 minutes of horror, chanting "Eat him, eat him, eat him..." whenever a car and a person appeared in the same shot. Pure hell.

[bear@badmovies.org]

Oh man, I would jump <I>RIGHT ON</I> a movie concerning cars physically eating people.  I'd be all about that.  Sentient cars, bent on rampant human consumption... pure B-movie heaven.

[malcolm kaksois]

This is without any doubt the best film ever made..

[haknort@webtvnet]

Peter Weir has only made one good movie, and this ain't it.
Neither are any of his other films.

I will never forget this movie.  My parents took me to see this in Hawaii when I was in 3rd grade (I'm going to be in 12th in the fall.)  It scared the crap out of me!!!!  However, even back then as a little girl I could tell this movie sucked!  Thanks, though, for the review!  I never really remembered what this movie was about, all I remembered was the cars running off the cliffs and the spiked VW.  I kind of want to find this movie some where and watch it again, just for kicks!

[strodesp@xmission.com]

I saw this horrible movie years ago, but it was called "The Cars that Eat People". The differnet title didn't make it any better. Though the dance hall scene is sort of a classic scene only exceeded in boredom quality by the graduation dance scene in "The Deer Hunter".

[dangrat@hotmail.com]

Before seeing this site i didn't think there would be anything on the net that explored 'cars' so much. I was about to start my own site dedicated to the film, of which one doesn't yet exist.How the hell can you rip into this film so much and then make the effort of providing us with sound and video clips.This film, along with 'picnic', is the only Weir film that contains a hint of real substance.The contrast between peace and intense fear reminds us of a possible Polanski influence, colliding with Weir's own surrealist approach. With such limited resources, as seen with the blatant product placement, I think 'The Cars That Ate Paris' is a commendable debut and is always a great film to watch when you're off your f**king face.

[Thomas Piesbergen]

I loved this movie. Isn't it great that this nice young man is able get rid of his car-phobia and is able do drive again, in the end? One of the greatest films for car-hating people. Just as 'Le Trafic' of Jaques Tati.

[The Eat]

This movie is like a really funny joke, told by a man who stutters and has two bagels in his mouth. Sure there might have been poignant satire and humour, but it was still caked in poor directing and overall feeling of boredom.

[Thanael]

Hey, I'm from Ireland and I get this film. Waken up! It's like the Truman show only darker and not so blatantly satirical. It's brilliant! I saw it twice, ages ago, so I'm not going to bother quoting bits of it cos I'd probably be wrong but I remember being amazed at some of the undertoned messages this film has to offer. The positive reviews above say it all - the negative ones are just from people who concentrate too much on the fact that this film probably cost around 500 dollars to make and cant overcome that.
    But look beyond the uncomfortable acting, the weak props and cheap effects and look at what Wier is really trying to say. In dead poets and truman you had to get over your scepticism of a comic actor playing a serious role and it's the same here - get over your scepticism!

Thanael

[Shawn J]

This movie was recently unleashed to my Friday Night Suck bad movie group, and I must tell you, it was one of the worst movies we've watched.  Boring, stupid, and poorly acted, this movie caused me to raise a few of my votes on imdb.  I challenge anyone to come up with a copy of the script from this piece of crap.  I'm sure it would be only 12 pages long, with six of them filled with "(dramatic pause)"

[Devin]

Ditto on the title change - it was "The Cars That Eat People" when I rented it.  Man...man, what a huge let-down.  You've got a big ol' spiky VW bug on the cover, eating someone, and it never even shows up in the movie.  I think I remember one flash of the spiky car, and that's it.  The rest is a bunch of people standing around bemoaning car-issues.  As for "a loyal fan following"...erm, all I can do is warn you not to wait for a sequel to this "classic piece of film".  And somehow I doubt the DVD re-master is coming out anytime soon...

[Spudrick]

I first saw this film when I was 13 - it was the first film shown on Channel 4 in Britain - and I just fell in love with it. The term "veggie" has stuck with me since. But that copper's uniform: pure YMCA video or what! As a rule I've always hated VW Beetles (we used to have one), but the hedgehog version in the film is definitely the exception to the rule; how, as well, one wouldn't be able to recognise fighting it with just a pole could only end in one result still fascinates me: maybe Neil was some sort of veggie at the time of the confrontation - and when the spikes went through him he became the ultimate vegetable kebab!

[Ulysess]

I think a lot of you people, including the reviewer are missing the point.  The film is not a horror film, but a very sophistocated black comedy, even to the spoof commercial at the beginning.  The title is a joke along with the whole movie.  Weir has an interest in closed communities (Witness - Amish, Dead Poets - Public School and Truman being the ultimate) and the macabre.  Weir says he got the idea after being diverted off a perfectly good road in France by a maintenance crew (hence 'Paris') and wondering why we trust these people.  Every time I see this film I roar with laughter.