The Cars That Ate Paris

While travelling across Australia in search of work, two brothers collide with an oncoming car. The sole survivor is taken in by the residents of the nearby small town of Paris, but their strange behaviour - and the alarming number of road accidents in the area - quickly unsettles him. It soon becomes clear that the town's feral youth rule the streets at night in souped-up cars, and the local hospital is overflowing with brain-damaged crash victims. Shot in widescreen on Panavision cameras, Peter Weir's (The Truman Show, Dead Poet's Society) debut feature is a biting satire of small-town life. It was also one of Stanley Kubrick's favourite films and a direct inspiration for George Miller's Mad Max series.