The Cars That Ate Paris

Introduction

George and Arthur Waldo are driving at night along a one-way mountain road and panic when they see headlights in front of them, causing them to swerve and crash through the barriers, killing George. Arthur is brought into the strange outback town of Paris, where the inhabitants deliberately cause car accidents to scavenge the remains and use the survivors for weird medical experiments.

Employed as a hospital orderly and accepted as a member of the community, Arthur discovers that Paris is split between chaos and order, finding himself in the middle.

The Cars That Ate Paris, Peter Weir's 1974 debut feature, is a strange and inventive movie with a cult following who will welcome its release on DVD.

Video

The transfer is very good, with deep blacks and vibrant colours.

Audio

This is a very quiet DVD - I had to turn the volume way up to hear the dialogue and there are no subtitles to help out.

Extra Features

Sadly, nothing.

Conclusion

Peter Weir has come a long way since The Cars That Ate Paris, establishing himself internationally with films like Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

By no means a great film, The Cars That Ate Paris is a true one-off with elements of comedy and horror, bizarre characters and innovative designs that were obviously an influence on Mad Max. The flaws and amateurish feel are part of its charm and I really enjoyed it. No doubt those happiest to see this film's DVD release will be the most disappointed by the audio quality and lack of extras.