70's horror flick "The Car" if you've seen it, I need your help

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I posted this title under the creepy movie thread in IMHO, but I had a separate issue involving this film, which belongs here.

This applies only to those who have seen the movie, BOTH long ago on tv, and recently. It stars James Brolin

I bought the VHS pan & scan of The Car last year, when it was re-released, after futily searching for it for over 12 years. Something is missing…

I VIVIDLY recall the following currently MISSING scene:

The Car is sitting still on the road and some young woman approaches it, possibly a hitcher or her car broke down. The passenger door pops open, she peers in, and we see the inside of The Car. There are no handles on the doors, there is no steering wheel, the dash is completely soild and blank. The upholstery is white. The window glass is amber. The car sucks the woman inside, slams its door shut, and starts up, revving the engine. The woman panics and tries to get out, but no handles on the doors! She beats on the windows screaming but can’t be heard outside. The glass is soundproof. The Car then commences to get hotter and hotter inside and literally cooks the woman to death as she scrapes and paws at the glass, flesh blistering off, and blood smearing all over the glass, the car filling with steam and smoke.

Does anyone remember this scene? If so, I would love to know why they cut it out on the re-release. I guarantee you I am not confused with any other movie or show e.g. Christine, or Wheels of Terror. This movie, THE CAR, was branded permanently in my brain as a kid and that was one of, if not THE scariest scene in the film.

2

I remember that film well. Jesus, I haven’t thought about it for years. I cannot recall that scene, though, it may have been cut from the version I saw(I saw it on tv).

That was some movie. I remember the end with the devil in flames.

The Car.

Heavy.

3

They’ll probably remake that using a Ford Bronco.

I remember that film, but I dont remember the boiling flesh scene.

4

I remember the scene.

You arent crazy.

That movie really freaked me out, when she is in her house, you hear the car revving, and it flys through her windos to smash her in her living room!

5

I don’t remember that particular scene, but I remember that the movie scared the bejeesus out of me as a kid. The scene where the male hitcher gets run over (repeatedly) made me scared to walk near the street for months.

6

Yup…

I was scared to stand in front of a window too.

7

This movie gets to me too; I saw it at such a young age, and the living room scene freaked me out because it meant I wasn’t even safe in my own home. I caught it on satellite recently and watched it for old time’s sake, and it’s kind of hokey now. Also, I couldn’t believe James Brolin was ever that young.

Anyway, I can very vaguely recall that scene. But elsewhere in the movie, the car does have a steering wheel, they show it in several scenes from inside the car.

8

I found some info on the movie at the Wherehouse Movies Store, including the opinion that this is a howler rather than anything approaching horrifying. I remember it that way myself; I saw it with my mom and dad in the theater one summer afternoon, and we laughed the whole way through.

The site noted above says it’s a combination of Stephen Speilburg’s “Duel” (which it calls “still the ultimate killer vehicle movie”) and “Jaws.”

For $12.97 you can have a collector’s editon VHS.

I have to say when you described the cooked-victim scene, it sounds vaguely familiar, as does the no-doorhandles bit. But I was 14, so who knows?

9

I went out today and bought the WIDESCREEN VHS version of The Car, even though I already had the tape, in pan&scan format. No extra goodies in it except trailer. ::::sigh:::: I also went in the DVD section and snooped around. It is on DVD, but no mention of any deleted scenes.

I may possibly have have been wrong about the no steering wheel part, as the widescreen reveals a portion of it from the driver perspective. However, film enthusiatsts probably know, that sometimes the frame transfer is incorrectly set by projectionists, revealing more in a shot than what the director intends. For more on this type of error look here http://www.suntimes.com/output/answ-man/ebert30.html (Look for the question regarding the movie NETWORK)
Unfortunately, I don’t know if the frame transfer of The Car is in error.

10

I was discussing The Car with my mother this evening, and the missing “easy bake oven scene.” During my explanation of the scene, my mom asked, “but you couldn’t hear the woman screaming from outside of the car, could you?”

CHA CHING!!! I absolutely had NOT yet mentioned to her my recollection of the car’s cabin being soundproof. I would say that according to the number of vague recalls mentioned here, that this scene did/does indeed exist. Why it was ever deleted I will probably never know.

Already been done, my friend, It wasn’t a Ford Bronco, though, it was a black pickup, possibly Chevy. Check out the movie NIGHTMARES. It’s an 80’s anthology horror film. In one of the tales, Lance Henriksen is terrorized by the pickup truck from hell. Very “Car” like scenario, and possibly the only good story in the film. BTW Cheese Alert! Emilio Esteves gets sucked into a video game in one of the stories. LOL

Ellen I agree the film is laughable due to bad dialogue and bad acting. Esp’ in one scene, an angry fat lady yells at The Car: “CAT POO!” while shaking her fist in the air. LMAO… A demon possessed car has just tried to kill you and two dozen other people and all you can curse at it is “CAT POO?” LMAO Hokeyness aside, I think the photography is quite stunning in much of the film, and the base concept of an evil driverless car is pretty frightening. The Car’s look itself, is also quite omninous. With a better script, this movie could be damn good. I still love it anyway.

I don’t know when Stephen King wrote “Christine,” but The Car, predates the film version of King’s story. The novel version of Christine is quite terrifying, but the movie was seriously disappointing, overall. Although some of the fx are quite good, of Christine rebuilding herself. Chrissy wouldn’t stand a chance against The Car though, as The Car, is completely indestructible.

For those who, like me, are still fascinated by The Car as a cult classic, here are some interesting facts I picked up, from my watching the film over many times…

The Car always honks it’s horn when it kills someone. The horn is sort of a morse code. It honks once, pauses for half a second, then honks three times rapidly. What does this mean? The number 13, usually associated with evil, bad luck, and the Devil.

The Car kills 13 victims. Note I said KILLS 13. Some just get injured and do not count.

The Car has the abilty to transpose itself, that is, turn the opposite direction without actually doing a 180 degree turn. (The mountainside road scene where The Car pushes a deputy’s car over the cliff. Theres absolutely no room for that tank to turn itself around)

The Car, allegedly, can pass through solid objects, like a ghost would. (When The Car appears in Sherriff Wade’s garage, the garage door is closed/locked from the outside.)

That’s all for now. :smiley:

11

Here is a blurb from the iMDB…apparently there is another scene missing.

Date: 22 August 1999
Summary: film overview, scene missing from new remaster

                          I love this film...One of my all time favorites. The best part of this movie is the
                          fact that no explanation is given as to where the Car came from. The only
                          negatives are the late 1970's clothes and hair, and the (to me) unnecessary
                          sub-plots involving Ronnie Cox's character's drinking problem, and James
                          Brolin's marrage problems. By the way, I taped this movie off of late night TV
                          about 12 years ago, and this version has a scene that is mysteriously missing
                          from the new remaster. The remaster is missing a short scene in the cemetary
                          part of the film, when the Car has the band trapped between the graves. It does
                          not effect the film much, but I am curious why it was cut out.