John Carpenter
Biography
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
Paul (voice) / Michael Myers (uncredited)
Halloween
Trenchcoat Man / Gimp
Il silenzio dei prosciutti
Self
The Perfect Scary Movie
Self
The History of Metal and Horror
Self (archive footage)
Scoring Resident Evil
Coroner
Body Bags
Self
Carpenter on Quatermass
Self
In Search of Darkness: Part III
Self
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue
Self
Tales from the Script
Self
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown
Self
Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX
Self
The Making of 'They Live'
Gang Member (uncredited)
Assault on Precinct 13
Self
John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies
Self
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
Self
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film
Self
The Thing: Terror Takes Shape
Himself (voice)
Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star
Self
The Original Monster Mash
Engineer
Studio 666
Self/Host
Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge
Self - Filmmaker
An Opera of Violence
Self
Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest
Self
Bloodsucking Cinema
Self (voice)
Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer?
Self
Halloween: Unmasked
Self
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon
Self
Monsterland
Self
Stephen King's World of Horror
Self
Christine: Fast and Furious
Self
Christine: Finish Line
Self
Christine: Ignition
Self
Nightmare Factory
Self
It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned
Self
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock
The Debra Hill Story
Self
Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo'
Self (archive footage)
Working with a Master: John Carpenter
Self
Why Horror?
Self
The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie
Self
Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro
Self
The American Nightmare
Self
Halloween in Hollywood
Self
Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror
The Coupe de Villes
The Boy Who Could Fly
Self
Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars
Self
Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur
Self
Big John
The Taxi Driver
The Puppet Man
Self
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
Self
Take One: Fear on Film
Self
Fear in the Dark
Self
After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater
Self
Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters
Self
Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre
Self
Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures
Self
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
Self
The Thing Expanded
Self
Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties
Self
Stephen King's World of Horror
Self
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
Self - Filmmaker
Terreur et glamour : montée et déclin du studio Hammer
Self
Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven'
Self
Horror Cafe
Self
Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story
Self
First Works
Self
Jean-Michel Jarre: A Journey into Sound
Self
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror
Self
John Carpenter: Live Retrospective
Self
Masters of Horror
Self
Hollywood's Greatest Villains
Norwegian (video footage) (uncredited)
The Thing
Self
In Search of Darkness
Talby Voice
Dark Star
Man at Gas Station Phone
Village of the Damned
Helicopter Pilot
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Secret Service #2 / Helicopter Pilot / Violin Player
Escape from New York
Worker in Chinatown (uncredited)
Big Trouble in Little China
Man in Helicopter (uncredited)
Starman
Voice That Says 'Sleep' (voice) (uncredited)
They Live
Bennett
The Fog
Self - Keyboards
John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016
Self
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'
Self - Interviewee
In Search of Tomorrow
Self
Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog'
Self
Hollywood 1982 : un été magique au cinéma
Narrator (voice)
The Rise of the Synths
Self - Filmmaker
The Wages of Sin
Self
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star
Self
The Making of 'The Thing'
Self
In Search of Darkness: Part II
Self
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet
Self
Halloween: The Inside Story
Self - Filmmaker
Something to Do with Death
Self
Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film
Self
Snake Plissken: Man of Honor
Self
The Future of Fear
Self
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
Self
In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994
Scary Girl
Self
Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators
(archive footage)
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
Himself
Bringing A Legend To Life
Self
Full Moon Rising: The Charles Band Story
Himself
Return to 'Escape from New York'
Self
In Search of Darkness: 1995-1999
Personal Info
Known For
Directing
Known Credits
107
Gender
Male
Birthday
1948-01-16
Place of Birth
Carthage, New York, USA
Also Known As
Martin Quatermass