In 1992, it was adapted as a musical theatre work by Chamber Made Opera. Into this town come brothers Arthur and George. When a suburban couple go camping for the weekend at a remote beach, they discover that nature isn't in an accommodating mood. This FAQ is empty. Directed by Peter Weir. One hour into this movie and I wasn't exactly sure what kind of movie it was trying to "be". Genres. Guests arrive at an expensive private guest house on a remote island near Sydney. Not only do the Parisians have to be careful of outsiders (such as insurance investigators), but they also have to cope with the young people of the town who are dissatisfied with the status quo. It did so badly that M.C.A., the original distributors, were dropped, and B.E.F. He soon begins to realize that there has been an extremely large number of car accidents in the area and that many of the townspeople are somehow involved. Legendary director Stanley Kubrick included The Cars That Ate Paris on the list of his 93 favourite films. A surprisingly polluted city tries to survive for 24 hours without its Peugeots. Comedy, Horror, Thriller. Directed by. PARIS. Was this review helpful to you? The Cars That Ate Paris The Cars That Ate Paris Directed by Peter Weir • 1974 • Australia The small town of Paris, Australia, deliberately causes car accidents, then salvages and sells all valuables from the wrecks. The town’s feral youth take over the streets at night in souped-up cars. It's surrounded by … A young couple, living in a campus apartment complex, are repeatedly harassed by an eccentric plumber, who subjects them to a series of bizarre mind games while making unnecessary repairs to their bathroom. During a rural summer picnic, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. [citation needed] Piers Davies and Keith Gow also had input. It's like a movie struggling with itself, a cult classic trying to break free from the confines of a forgettable eccentricity. But Paris is not problem free. 30 Tracks. It was his first feature film, and was also based on an original story he had written. ... See full summary ». The Cars that Ate Paris derives its title from the thorny and fanged vehicles of its finale, but the real horror is in the cars that Paris eats. This version was re-edited without Peter Weir's permission. Arthur is spared and looked after by the Mayor of Paris, Len Kelly (John Meillon), who invites Arthur to stay in his home as one of his family; his two young daughters have been "adopted" after being orphaned in motor accidents in the town. It's a complicated satire and a violent and eccentric classic. [1] In 1980, $112,500 had been returned to the producers. The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) PG 06/01/1976 (US) Comedy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller 1h 27m User Score. View production, box office, & company info. The Cars That Ate Paris joins Paris, Texas in the category of movies with Paris in the title that are not about the city in France. PART comedy, part western, part horror, The Cars That Ate Paris is a remarkably assured first feature for writer/director Weir. From these thoughts came the ideas for The Cars That Ate Paris, the tale of Arthur Waldo, a man who finds himself stranded in Paris, Australia after a car accident that killed his brother. [2] It originally started as a comedy to star Grahame Bond but later evolved. [3] He then took the movie to the McElroy brothers, who had previously worked in a large variety of positions on a number of films. George is killed when the Parisians cause their car to crash, but Arthur survives and is brought into the community as an orderly at the hospital. Most of the budget came from the Australian Film Development Corporation with additional funds from Royce Smeal Film Productions in Sydney. Green Valley was a housing commission estate in western Sydney, much maligned by the media of the day. Mayor Len gives Arthur a job at the local hospital as a medical orderly. THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS. Since I have only watched the original version twice, I doubt that I would notice any of the subtle changes between the two films. The Cars That Ate Paris, 1974. Townspeople collect items from the luggage of the deceased passengers whilst survivors are taken to the local hospital where they are given lobotomies with power tools and kept as "veggies" for medical experiments by the earnest town surgeon. 14 of 17 people found this review helpful. ), but it never goes anywhere. The Cars That Ate Paris (9) IMDb 5.6 1 h 27 min ALL The small town of Paris, Australia deliberately causes car accidents, then sells/salvages all valuables from the wrecks as a means of economy. Find out where you can buy, rent, or subscribe to a streaming service to watch The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) on-demand. Mark Thompson . The Cars That Ate Paris is a marvelously chaotic picture that asserts its artistic individuality, but not by belting the viewer across the mouth. Directed by Peter Weir. The Cars That Ate Paris was released in the US under the title The Cars That Eat People. Trailer. With Terry Camilleri, John Meillon, Kevin Miles, Rick Scully. An example of Australian Gothic cinema, the film’s dark humour and onscreen carnage acts as a destabilising rhetorical strategy. We get the vague promise of a subplot about car crash survivors turned vegetables who are kept in the hospital of the small town and who later turn up in a ball masque dressed in hoods and carton boxes (a nod to Shock Corridor? Search for "The Cars That Ate Paris" on Amazon.com, Title: When one of the hoons damages the Mayor's property and breaks a statue of an Aboriginal Australian the older men of the town burn the guilty driver's car as he is held down. The Cars That Ate Paris is both part of that and a carnivalesque reflection of it. It ties in with Homesdale, and is very much part of that post-Vietnam period, he stated. [1], The producers unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate an American release for the film with Roger Corman after it was shown with great success at the Cannes Film Festival. Shot mostly in the rural town of Sofala, New South Wales, the film is set in the fictional town of Paris in which most of the inhabitants appear to be directly, or indirectly, involved in profiting from the results of car accidents. Arthur regains his driving confidence when he repeatedly drives the Mayor's car into his former hospital orderly supervisor who is one of the hoons. A small town in rural Australia (Paris) makes its living by causing car accidents and salvaging any valuables from the wrecks. A small town in rural Australia (Paris) makes its living by causing car accidents and salvaging any valuables from the wrecks. 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