Taking the Scissors to Weir's Work

The Cars That Ate Paris was released in the US under the title The Cars That Eat People. This version was re-edited without Peter Weir's permission. Since I have only watched the original version twice, I doubt that I would notice any of the subtle changes between the two films. However, there are some serious changes at the beginning and end of the films. Here is a brief rundown of the differences between the two versions:

The Cars That Ate Paris
The Cars That Eat People

The movie opens with what a "glamorous" couple driving their fancy car in the country. They stop at an auction to buy some items and we then see them driving, obviously enjoying their Coke and Alpine cigarettes. Suddenly the front right wheel comes off their car and they crash. The movie opens with the final shot from the film: Arthur driving away from Paris into the night. We get the following voiceover (by an obviously different actor):
"You won't believe it, but I just escaped from Paris. It's the weirdest place I've ever been. That's Paris, Australia I'm talking about, not Paris, France. And I'll tell ya, I'm not going back for as long as I live. I mean, what happened in that place - wow, I can't believe it.

With little or no dialog, we see Arthur and his brother looking unsuccessfully for work. Late at night, they see a road sign going to Paris. It mentions that work is available there. They continue down the road and eventually crash after encountering We see Arthur and his brother driving down a road, past the men shoving a calf into their trunk. We get the following voiceover:
"It all started in Brooklyn with my brother George. He says 'Let's drive across Australia.' I say 'what, are you crazy?' And the next thing I know, here I am out in the middle of nowhere. You know sometimes I hear a little voice inside of me says 'Arthur Waldo, don't'. Next time, I listen."

They stop at a set of roadsigns and follow the road to Paris, which mentioned "Work Available". At the set of roadsigns, George actually says a few lines:
"Hey Arthur, Paris. Paris, Australia? Hey Arthur. Ahh shhh."

Arthur sleeps while George continues down the dark road. We see people waving lights in the distance. Then the bright headlights and the crash. Traveling in the dark, George lets out a loud yawn. (It is so dark, we can't see his mouth so they can get away with this and extra dialog.) They have the following brief conversation before the crash:
George: "Hey Arthur"
Arthur: "I'm hungry."
George: "How about a barbecued kangaroo?"
Arthur: "They dry ya up." (just a guess at what he says)
In the middle of the crash, there is a quick shot of the spiked VW (that normally appears towards the end of the original).

... ...

The movie ends with Arthur smiling and driving off into the night. Credits roll. As Arthur drives off, we get the following voiceover:
"So that's the end of my story. Incredible, huh? A whole town living off car crashes. My brother George is dead and buried in Paris, but I can drive again. You win some, you lose some, right?. I'll tell you one thing though, I'm getting the first plane out of this crazy country. It's goodbye Australia. Brooklyn, here I come."
Then the picture fades out, and we hear the sounds of a car crash and lions growling! Credits roll.

BACK

The Cars That Ate Paris	The Cars That Eat People
The movie opens with what a "glamorous" couple driving their fancy car in the country. They stop at an auction to buy some items and we then see them driving, obviously enjoying their Coke and Alpine cigarettes. Suddenly the front right wheel comes off their car and they crash.	The movie opens with the final shot from the film: Arthur driving away from Paris into the night. We get the following voiceover (by an obviously different actor): "You won't believe it, but I just escaped from Paris. It's the weirdest place I've ever been. That's Paris, Australia I'm talking about, not Paris, France. And I'll tell ya, I'm not going back for as long as I live. I mean, what happened in that place - wow, I can't believe it.
With little or no dialog, we see Arthur and his brother looking unsuccessfully for work. Late at night, they see a road sign going to Paris. It mentions that work is available there. They continue down the road and eventually crash after encountering	We see Arthur and his brother driving down a road, past the men shoving a calf into their trunk. We get the following voiceover: "It all started in Brooklyn with my brother George. He says 'Let's drive across Australia.' I say 'what, are you crazy?' And the next thing I know, here I am out in the middle of nowhere. You know sometimes I hear a little voice inside of me says 'Arthur Waldo, don't'. Next time, I listen."
They stop at a set of roadsigns and follow the road to Paris, which mentioned "Work Available".	At the set of roadsigns, George actually says a few lines: "Hey Arthur, Paris. Paris, Australia? Hey Arthur. Ahh shhh."
Arthur sleeps while George continues down the dark road. We see people waving lights in the distance. Then the bright headlights and the crash.	Traveling in the dark, George lets out a loud yawn. (It is so dark, we can't see his mouth so they can get away with this and extra dialog.) They have the following brief conversation before the crash: George: "Hey Arthur" Arthur: "I'm hungry." George: "How about a barbecued kangaroo?" Arthur: "They dry ya up." (just a guess at what he says) In the middle of the crash, there is a quick shot of the spiked VW (that normally appears towards the end of the original).
...	...
The movie ends with Arthur smiling and driving off into the night. Credits roll.	As Arthur drives off, we get the following voiceover: "So that's the end of my story. Incredible, huh? A whole town living off car crashes. My brother George is dead and buried in Paris, but I can drive again. You win some, you lose some, right?. I'll tell you one thing though, I'm getting the first plane out of this crazy country. It's goodbye Australia. Brooklyn, here I come." Then the picture fades out, and we hear the sounds of a car crash and lions growling! Credits roll.