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.
Movie | In Search of Darkness: Part III | 2022-11-25 | |
Movie | Halloween in Hollywood | Himself | 2022-10-01 |
Movie | In Search of Tomorrow | Himself | 2022-02-19 |
Movie | The History of Metal and Horror | Self | 2021-09-17 |
Movie | In Search of Darkness: Part II | Himself | 2020-10-06 |
Movie | The Rise of the Synths | Narrator | 2019-11-15 |
Movie | 1982: Hollywood Summer | Himself | 2019-09-06 |
Movie | In Search of Darkness | Himself | 2019-05-01 |
Movie | Henchman: The Al Leong Story | Himself | 2018-12-15 |
Movie | John Carpenter: Live Retrospective | Himself | 2018-10-31 |
Movie | Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions | Himself - Filmmaker | 2017-08-06 |
Movie | The Puppet Man | 2016-01-22 | |
Movie | John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016 | keyboards | 2016-06-02 |
Movie | It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned | Self | 2016-04-12 |
Movie | Jean-Michel Jarre: The Rise of Electronic Music | Himself | 2015-09-19 |
Movie | Why Horror? | Himself | 2014-10-03 |
Series | The Real History of Science Fiction | Himself | 2014-04-19 |
Movie | Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge | Self/Host | 2011-10-31 |
Movie | Nightmare Factory | Himself | 2011-10-27 |
Movie | The Original Monster Mash | self | 2011-10-08 |
Series | A History of Horror | 2010-10-11 | |
Movie | Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star | Himself (voice) | 2010-10-26 |
Movie | Halloween: The Inside Story | Himself | 2010-10-25 |
Movie | Nightmares in Red, White and Blue | Himself | 2009-08-06 |
Movie | Monsterland | Himself | 2009-03-29 |
Movie | Tales from the Script | Himself | 2009-01-10 |
Movie | The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style | Himself | 2009-01-01 |
Movie | Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX | Himself | 2008-10-07 |
Movie | In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy | Himself | 2008-10-07 |
Movie | Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown | Himself | 2008-07-24 |
Movie | Bloodsucking Cinema | 2007-10-26 | |
Movie | Working with a Master: John Carpenter | Self (archive footage) | 2006-03-28 |
Movie | Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story | Himself | 2006-03-03 |
Movie | Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story | Himself | 2006-03-03 |
Movie | Big John | Himself | 2006-12-11 |
Movie | Halloween: 25 Years of Terror | Himself | 2006-07-26 |
Movie | Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film | Himself | 2006-10-13 |
Movie | Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet | Self | 2006-11-14 |
Movie | Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon | Himself | 2006-11-14 |
Movie | Hollywood's Greatest Villains | Himself | 2005-12-01 |
Movie | The Perfect Scary Movie | Himself | 2005-10-29 |
Movie | Broadway's Lost Treasures II | Arvide Abernathy (segment "Guys & Dolls") | 2004-10-26 |
Movie | John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies | Himself | 2004-03-23 |
Movie | Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures | Himself | 2004-10-30 |
Series | 100 Scariest Movie Moments | Himself | 2004-10-27 |
Movie | The Wages of Sin | Himself | 2003-11-18 |
Movie | An Opera of Violence | Himself | 2003-11-18 |
Movie | Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer? | Himself (voice) | 2003-03-07 |
Movie | Masters of Horror | John CARPENTER | 2002-11-06 |
Movie | Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog' | 2002-08-27 | |
Series | Through the Night with... | Unknown | 2002-05-10 |
Movie | Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties | Himself | 2001-09-04 |
Movie | Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror | Himself | 2001-04-15 |
Movie | Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' | Himself | 2000-05-13 |
Movie | Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film | Self | 2000-10-28 |
Movie | The American Nightmare | Himself | 2000-09-11 |
Movie | Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre | Himself | 2000-10-01 |
Movie | Cradle Will Rock | Power - William Randolph Hearst | 1999-12-10 |
Movie | Halloween: Unmasked | Himself | 1999-09-13 |
Movie | The Thing: Terror Takes Shape | Himself | 1998-09-08 |
Movie | After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater | Himself | 1995-09-29 |
Movie | Village of the Damned | Man at Gas Station Phone | 1995-04-28 |
Movie | The Silence of the Hams | Trenchcoat Man / Gimp | 1994-03-11 |
Movie | Body Bags | The Coroner | 1993-08-08 |
Movie | Memoirs of an Invisible Man | Helicopter Pilot | 1992-02-28 |
Movie | Guys And Dolls: Off The Record | Himself / Arvide Abernathy | 1992-12-07 |
Movie | Fear in the Dark | Himself | 1991-10-29 |
Movie | Horror Cafe | Himself | 1990-04-11 |
Movie | First Works | 1989-10-10 | |
Movie | Stephen King's World of Horror | Himself | 1989-01-01 |
Movie | They Live | Voice That Says 'Sleep' | 1988-11-04 |
Movie | The House on Carroll Street | 1988-03-04 | |
Movie | Big Trouble in Little China | Worker in Chinatown | 1986-05-30 |
Movie | Stephen King's World of Horror | Himself | 1986-01-01 |
Movie | Starman | Man in Helicopter | 1984-12-13 |
Movie | Take One: Fear on Film | 1982-01-01 | |
Movie | The Thing | Norwegian (video footage) (uncredited) | 1982-06-25 |
Movie | Escape from New York | Secret Service #2 / Helicopter Pilot / Violin Player | 1981-05-23 |
Movie | Puccini: Manon Lescaut | A lamplighter | 1980-03-29 |
Movie | The Fog | Bennett | 1980-02-08 |
Movie | Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog' | 1980-01-01 | |
Movie | Halloween | Paul, Annie's Boyfriend (voice) (uncredited) | 1978-10-24 |
Movie | Network | George Bosch | 1976-11-14 |
Movie | Assault on Precinct 13 | Gang Member | 1976-10-08 |
Movie | The Silence | Mr. Keene | 1975-11-06 |
Movie | Dark Star | Talby Voice | 1974-04-01 |
Movie | Night of the Ghouls | Capt. Robbins | 1959-05-03 |
Series | The Rifleman | Unknown | 1958-09-30 |