John Carpenter
An American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. 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.
Known For
Credits
- 2024 · In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994 as Self - Interviewee
- 2024 · Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters as Self
- 2024 · John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A. as Self
- 2023 · Amityville: An Origin Story as Self
- 2022 · In Search of Darkness: Part III as Self
- 2022 · Halloween in Hollywood as Self
- 2022 · Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow as
- 2022 · Studio 666 as Engineer
- 2022 · In Search of Tomorrow as Self - Interviewee
- 2021 · The History of Metal and Horror as Self
- 2021 · Biography: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper as Self
- 2020 · In Search of Darkness: Part II as Self
- 2020 · AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star as Self
- 2019 · The Movies That Made Us as Self (Archival Footage)
- 2019 · The Rise of the Synths as Narrator (voice)
- 2019 · 1982: Hollywood Summer as Self
- 2019 · In Search of Darkness as Self
- 2018 · Henchman: The Al Leong Story as Self
- 2018 · John Carpenter: Live Retrospective as Self
- 2017 · Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions as Self - Filmmaker
- 2017 · Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur as Self
- 2016 · John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016 as Self - Keyboards
- 2016 · It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned as Self
- 2016 · The Puppet Man as The Taxi Driver
- 2015 · Jean-Michel Jarre: The Rise of Electronic Music as Self
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- 2015 · Track Stories as Self
- 2014 · Why Horror? as Self
- 2014 · The Director's Chair as Self
- 2014 · The Real History of Science Fiction as Self
- 2012 · The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie as Self
- 2011 · The Future of Fear as Self
- 2011 · Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge as Self/Host
- 2011 · Nightmare Factory as Self
- 2011 · The Original Monster Mash as Self
- 2010 · Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star as Himself (voice)
- 2010 · Halloween: The Inside Story as Self
- 2010 · A History of Horror as Self
- 2009 · Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock as Self
- 2009 · The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style as Self
- 2009 · Nightmares in Red, White and Blue as Self
- 2009 · Monsterland as Self
- 2009 · Tales from the Script as Self
- 2008 · Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro as Self
- 2008 · Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock as Self
- 2008 · Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX as Self
- 2008 · In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy as Self
- 2008 · Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown as Self
- 2007 · Bloodsucking Cinema as Self
- 2007 · Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo' as Self
- 2006 · Big John as Self
- 2006 · Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon as Self
- 2006 · Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story as Self
- 2006 · Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet as Self
- 2006 · Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film as Self
- 2006 · Halloween: 25 Years of Terror as Self
- 2006 · Working with a Master: John Carpenter as Self (archive footage)
- 2005 · Hollywood's Greatest Villains as Self
- 2005 · The Perfect Scary Movie as Self
- 2005 · Snake Plissken: Man of Honor as Self
- 2004 · Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures as Self
- 2004 · 100 Scariest Movie Moments as Self
- 2004 · Christine: Finish Line as Self
- 2004 · Christine: Fast and Furious as Self
- 2004 · Christine: Ignition as Self
- 2004 · John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies as Self
- 2003 · The Wages of Sin as Self - Filmmaker
- 2003 · Something to Do with Death as Self - Filmmaker
- 2003 · An Opera of Violence as Self - Filmmaker
- 2003 · Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest as Self
- 2003 · Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer? as Self (voice)
- 2002 · Scoring Resident Evil as Self (archive footage)
- 2002 · Masters of Horror as Self
- 2002 · Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog' as Self
- 2002 · Through the Night with... as Self
- 2001 · Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars as Self
- 2001 · Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties as Self
- 2001 · Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror as Self
- 2000 · Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film as Self
- 2000 · Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre as Self
- 2000 · The American Nightmare as Self
- 2000 · Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' as Self
- 1999 · Halloween: Unmasked as Self
- 1998 · The Thing: Terror Takes Shape as Self
- 1995 · After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater as Self
- 1995 · Village of the Damned as Man at Gas Station Phone
- 1994 · Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects as Self
- 1994 · The Silence of the Hams as Trenchcoat Man / Gimp
- 1993 · Body Bags as Coroner
- 1992 · Memoirs of an Invisible Man as Helicopter Pilot
- 1991 · Fear in the Dark as Self
- 1990 · Horror Cafe as Self
- 1989 · First Works as Self
- 1989 · Stephen King's World of Horror as Self
- 1988 · They Live as Voice That Says 'Sleep'
- 1988 · The Making of 'They Live' as Self
- 1986 · The Boy Who Could Fly as The Coupe de Villes
- 1986 · Big Trouble in Little China as Worker in Chinatown (uncredited)
- 1986 · Stephen King's World of Horror as Self
- 1984 · Starman as Man in Helicopter (uncredited)
- 1982 · The Thing as Norwegian (video footage) (uncredited)
- 1982 · The Making of 'The Thing' as Self
- 1981 · Escape from New York as Secret Service #2 / Helicopter Pilot / Violin Player
- 1980 · The Fog as Bennett
- 1978 · Halloween as Paul (voice) / Michael Myers (uncredited)
- 1976 · Assault on Precinct 13 as Gang Member (uncredited)
- 1974 · Dark Star as Talby Voice
- 1958 · The Rifleman as
- 1955 · Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Self
- Future · The Thing Expanded as Self
- 1980 · Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog' as Self
- Future · The Reality Trip as self
- 1982 · Take One: Fear on Film as Self
- Future · Hollywood Trailblazer: The Debra Hill Story as
- Future · Carpenter on Quatermass as Self