The Cars That Ate Paris

I really wish that the cars had hurried up and eaten Paris like 10 minutes in, so I wouldn't have to sit through this boring waste of time. The poor lighting and budget really show here and make this movie painful to watch. This movie is so devoid of any action and is so frustratingly paced that I barely made it through without fast forwarding. In fact I showed this movie to a friend with major parts fast forwarded and he didn't miss any of the plot. Watching this movie in fast forward (my 2nd viewing) shows just how many scenes were totally worthless and just add to the boredom. I have seen other Weir movies before, and understand that his pacing is really slow and doesn't follow conventional plots, but this movie was very unappealing. Picnic At Hanging Rock is a vastly superior Weir film if you are at all interested in the director. That movie creates an interesting mode and the mysterious circumstances are inticing, here there is no inticement. This movie is recommended only to those who are either Austrailian and have an interest in some black humor (which is greatly lost on anyone who isn't austrialian) or those who like to watch MST3k quality movies, minus the commentary. Zoopansick

After enjoying The Plumber by Peter Weir,i hoped that this would be as good (or better) then that movie,sadly it came nowhere near being that. The plot: In Paris (Australia),a man who had a while a go,accidentally run-down an old man,car breaks down in a small town.While there,the memories of his brother (who has died in a crash)come back.The man finds out,while staying in a local hospital that the towns people use the crashed cars in a strange ways... View on the film: While there are some interesting set-pieces (the derby-style crash,the psychiatrist identifying items scene).The rest of the film feels painfully slow,with the third-act feeling a bit rushed.Weir does a very good job with some of the small set-pieces,but makes the rest of the film to slow. Final view on the film: Good to see if nothing else is on,or if you want to see Weires films,by film-to-film.

This is the biggest piece of crap i've ever watched, There's no real story to it and has some of the worst acting i've ever seen....Pity i can't give this shite any lower than a 1. its driving me mad just thinking bout it. The director should be shot for unleashing such a monstrosity upon us. But its not only the directors fault, the dam writers are to blame also. I'd get a better story off my daughter and shes only 4. Now i don't want to be insulting the Australians but they ain't the most talented people wen it comes to movies r acting, except for a few actors. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPP

A man and his brother are involved in an accident deliberately caused by the residents of a hellish little town, Paris, New South Wales. The surviving brother doesn't realize that the accident was deliberate and oddly the town's weirdo residents decide to keep him and make him a part of their community. I have no idea why they didn't just kill him. Regardless, during his stay he begins to see how bizarre this town is, with young people driving around like extras from the Mad Max movies and a lot of mindless violence late in the film--violence that really looked as if the filmmakers didn't quite know what to do with the story. When "The Cars That Ate Paris" debuted, a lot of folks were upset because they found the film so bloody and gross. Well, today you certainly wouldn't think that, as times have certainly changed. Instead, you might be more likely to have folks react as I did-- with a surprising amount of boredom. While the idea is pretty radical and sounds exciting, it somehow isn't due to very slow pacing and a story that fails to capitalize on the great idea. Watch it if you'd like...just don't be too surprised when you find the whole thing a bit ponderous. The only thing I really liked in this film was the spiky VW. Where can I get one of those?!

Weir's first film is hardly a milestone in the history of cinema. The title is misleading inasmuch that it promises or at least suggests light-hearted goofiness. It's supposed to be a satire of some sort, but you won't find any laughs here. There is a weird feel to the whole film. It's about a small town of people who make car accidents happen so that they can loot and what not. For some reason Weir draws a clear line between the town's youth and the town's older folk; the youth is out of control and relishes the violence, while the older citizens are calm, collected, and regard the whole thing as merely business. This distinction between generations is what Weir was trying to get at. Right? But what exactly his point was, I'm not sure. If you want early Weir, ignore this, and watch "Picnic At Hanging Rock" instead: his best movie.

Not a good movie indeed. Far too much talking, and not enough cars eating Paris. Wait, what am I talking about? THERE WERE NO CARS EATING PARIS!!! What kind of a stupid title is that?!? How can you call a movie something it is not?! There was no eating, and there definately was no Paris like I imagined. I did not imagine a rinky dink little town in Australia that ran cars off the road in order to build more cars... This movie had no plot connections, no likeable characters, and where did that growl come from?!?! AUGGHHHH!!! Do not watch this movie, even if it's because people say not to. It's just that bad.

As an avid and self-declared "Car Chase Movie" fanatic, I found this film totally lacking in anything redeeming.

Before Peter Weir got really famous, he made this strange but worth seeing flick about a small town in Australia whose local economy centers on car wrecks, and how they draw an outsider in. "The Cars That Ate Paris" doesn't star anyone whom you would recognize, and there's no big action scenes here, but that actually gives the movie a more realistic feeling. I should identify that this is not a movie for those with short attention spans. It's not likely to stick heavily in your memory the way that most of Peter Weir's movies do (it's certainly not my favorite of his movies). But still, it's something to check out as a historical reference if nothing else. "I can drive!" You'll probably feel like you can too.

Peter Weir's first film and, looking back to when I originally saw this on general release, this could be described as my first exploitation movie. I always had a soft spot for it and later recognised elements from such video treats as, 2000 Maniacs. Not overlong, it still seems a little slow now at times but it's probably because unlike in the mid 70s when this was considered unique , so much else has been seen. Even so it's well worth watching and whilst in my memory this was all about dressed up cars battling it out, this is , in fact, much more a cynical view of the director's homeland. The mayor who at first seems protective and halfway decent turns out to be the 'fascist' for whom this whole enterprise is run. Paris, Australia, of course, not France although the enigmatic finale will have you guessing.

after hearing about this film since the 80s, i finally got the chance to see it and was seriously disappointed. it's only slightly unusual and not at all funny. i was under the impression that mysterious possessed cars attack a town in a campy hysterical "attack of the killer tomatos" style. the cars are just human driven customs and very little actually happens in the film. there's one or two chuckles, but there are many more wierder and/or funnier b-movies out there more deserving of a "rep" than this one. it's like a watered down "present day" version of "the road warrior" without any of that film's charm. it may have been the influence for it though as the "helicopter jockey" plays a small part in this film. worth seeing if you have to see every cult film ever made, but not if you need to stay awake. 4 out of 10 overrated as a classic b-movie.