John Carpenter's Three Pack (Christine, Vampires, Starman)

As the noted philosopher Meatloaf said, "two out of three ain't bad." One of the better adaptations of a novel from the pen of the prolific Stephen King, 1983's Christine stars Keith Gordon as Arnie Cunningham, a nerdy picked-on 17-year-old whose dreams of revenge make him the perfect vehicle (no pun intended) to escort his new gal--a devilish cherry red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury nicknamed Christine--around town, especially since she's more than willing to make Arnie's enemies kiss her (moving) grille. Creepy and campy (remember Alexandra Paul's memorable line: "I hate rock and roll"?), Christine is not one of Carpenter's favorites, but its tailfins above his 1998 Vampires, in which James Woods leads a band of vampire-busters on a routine stalk and stake full of blood, breasts, and bites. Which leaves the jewel in this particular boxed set crown: 1985's Starman, a gentle, moving tale of an alien's (Jeff Bridges) brief sojourn on Earth, when he assumes the form (and eventually the feelings) of a widow Karen Allen's dead husband. Neither Starman nor Christine sport any DVD extras, though--along with Vampires (which does include a director's commentary)--all are presented in very nice widescreen and full screen transfers, with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Given the fact that there's only about three bucks difference in the boxed set price, I would recommend picking up Christine and Starman (priced at $14.95 each) separately. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review--Sept. 21, 2004--Columbia TriStar, 97 min., PG-13, $19.95--Making its second appearance on DVD, John Carpenter's 1983 Christine: Special Edition sports a fine anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital stereo sound, and a handful of new extras, including a good commentary track with Carpenter and star Keith Gordon, 20 deleted/alternate scenes, and three engaging featurettes totaling approximately 45 minutes and containing new interviews with Carpenter, Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, and others. Bottom line: loaded with production insights and anecdotes, this "special edition" is a fine step up from the bare bones original model and is recommended.][Blu-ray Review—Oct. 6, 2015—Sony, 110 min., R, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1983's Christine sports a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include audio commentary by director John Carpenter and costar Keith Gordon, deleted scenes (25 min.), the production featurettes “Fast and Furious” (29 min.), “Ignition” (12 min.), and “Finish Line” (7 min.), and bonus UltraViolet and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: Carpenter's fine adaptation of King's horror novel makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]