If the title "The Cars That Ate Paris" doesn't intrigue you, then certainly the film's director, Peter Weir, should.
One of Hollywood's most idiosyncratic directors, and one of Australia's most precious exports, Weir has been responsible for films such as "Dead Poets Society," "Witness" and "The Truman Show," not to mention the upcoming Russell Crowe epic "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World."
Indeed, "The Cars That Ate Paris" feels like the far side of the world for Weir - a film that has collected a cult following, made in 1975 for a pittance of what "Master and Commander" cost. Only Weir's ambition and his keen eye for visuals remain intact with "Cars," which melds different genres such as westerns, black comedy and horror to tell the story of a small community in the Australian countryside, that literally falls prey to the automobiles that enter the town.
Weir certainly shows promise with the film, and it's oddly affecting in its way, but for anyone looking for a more conventional evening of entertainment, they don't need to look further than the new DVD's special features to find "The Plumber," a Hitchcock-inspired thriller that Weir made for Australian TV in 1979. Although the premise is deceptively simple - a young couple who are terrorized by a plumber who comes to their apartment - the film packs an unexpected wallop of suspense and, like "Cars," shares the allusion to the skills Weir would later develop during the 1980s and 1990s. Both films are beautifully presented, with trailers and video interviews with Weir, who still seems to be exasperated from surviving his first feature "Cars," though the film is nearly three decades old.
An unorthodox double feature to be sure, "The Cars That Ate Paris" and "The Plumber" are probably more rewarding if watched apart from each other, but any time a DVD includes a full-length film as a special feature, it's a reward in itself. The fact that "The Plumber" is equally as interesting as "The Cars That Ate Paris" makes the disc a must-have.
- Stephen Saito
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