John Carpenter
Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.
Most films in Carpenter's career were initially commercial and critical failures, with the notable exceptions of Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), and Starman (1984).
However, many of Carpenter's films from the 1970s and the 1980s have come to be viewed as cult classics, and he has been acknowledged as an influential filmmaker. Cult classics that Carpenter directed include: Dark Star (1974), Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), The Thing (1982), Christine (1983), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Prince of Darkness (1987), They Live (1988) and In the Mouth of Madness (1995).
His films are characterized by minimalist lighting and photography, static cameras, use of steadicam, and distinctive synthesized scores. Carpenter is also notable for having composed or co-composed most of the music of his films; some of them are now considered cult as well, with the main theme of Halloween being considered a part of popular culture. His music is generally synthesized with accompaniment from piano and atmospherics. He released his first studio album Lost Themes in 2015, and also won a Saturn Award for Best Music for Vampires (1998).
Carpenter is an outspoken proponent of widescreen filming, and all of his theatrical movies (with the exception of Dark Star and The Ward) were filmed anamorphic with a 2.35:1 or greater aspect ratio. The Ward was shot in Super 35, the first time Carpenter has ever used that system. Carpenter has stated he feels that the 35mm Panavision anamorphic format is "the best movie system there is", preferring it over both digital and 3D film. Many of Carpenter's films have been re-released on DVD as special editions with numerous bonus features.
Carpenter has been the subject of the documentary film John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies, and American Cinematheque's 2002 retrospective of his films. Moreover, in 2006, the United States Library of Congress deemed Halloween to be "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
In 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss interviewed Carpenter about his career and films for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror. Carpenter appears in all three episodes of the series. He was also interviewed by Robert Rodriguez for his The Director's Chair series on El Rey Network.
Many filmmakers have been influenced by Carpenter, including James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight was heavily influenced by The Thing), Guillermo del Toro, Robert Rodriguez, Edgar Wright, Danny Boyle, Nicolas Winding Refn, Bong Joon-ho, among others.
The video game Dead Space 3 is said to be influenced by Carpenter's The Thing, The Fog and Halloween, and Carpenter has stated that he would be enthusiastic to adapt that series into a feature film.
Filmography (125 Appearances)
Full Moon Rising: The Charles Band Story
The Debra Hill Story
Carpenter
The Thing Expanded
In Search of Darkness: 1995-1999
I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not
John Carpenter: Live From Los Angeles - Halloween Night
In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994
Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A.
Amityville: An Origin Story
In Search of Darkness: Part III
Halloween in Hollywood
Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow
Studio 666
In Search of Tomorrow
The History of Metal and Horror
In Search of Darkness: Part II
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
The Movies That Made Us
The Rise of the Synths
1982: Hollywood Summer
In Search of Darkness
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
John Carpenter: Live Retrospective
Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions
Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur
John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016
It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned
The Puppet Man
Jean-Michel Jarre: A Journey into Sound
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Track Stories
Carpenter on Quatermass
Why Horror?
The Director's Chair
The Real History of Science Fiction
The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie
The Future of Fear
Scary Girl
Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge
Nightmare Factory
Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star
Halloween: The Inside Story
A History of Horror
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue
Monsterland
Tales from the Script
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators
Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro
Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown
Bloodsucking Cinema
Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo'
Big John
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon
Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror
Working with a Master: John Carpenter
Hollywood's Greatest Villains
The Perfect Scary Movie
Snake Plissken: Man of Honor
Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures
100 Scariest Movie Moments
Christine: Finish Line
Christine: Fast and Furious
Christine: Ignition
John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies
Return to 'Escape from New York'
An Opera of Violence
Something to Do with Death
The Wages of Sin
Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest
Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer?
Scoring "Resident Evil"
Masters of Horror
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'
Through the Night with...
Scoring 'Ghosts of Mars'
Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars
Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties
Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror
Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film
Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre
The American Nightmare
Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven'
Halloween: Unmasked
The Thing: Terror Takes Shape
Unmasking the Horror
100 Years of Horror
After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater
Village of the Damned
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
The Silence of the Hams
Body Bags
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Fear in the Dark
Horror Cafe
First Works
Stephen King's World of Horror
They Live
The Making of 'They Live'
Crossbow
The Boy Who Could Fly
Big Trouble in Little China
Stephen King's World of Horror
Starman
The Thing
The Making of 'The Thing'
Take One: Fear on Film
Escape from New York
The Fog
Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog'
Bringing A Legend To Life
Halloween
Assault on Precinct 13
Dark Star
The Rifleman