🎬 Movies Mates PEOPLE
John Carpenter
Directing
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), …
Read full 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.
Biography expanded
BODY OF WORK
John Carpenter's Filmography
Select any movie to open its full Movies Mates details page.
Full Moon Rising: The Charles Band Story
as Self
Carpenter
as Self (archive footage)
The Thing Expanded
as Self
In Search of Darkness: 1995-1999
as Self
I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not
as Self (archive footage)
John Carpenter: Live From Los Angeles - Halloween Night
as Self
In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994
as Self
Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters
as Self
In Search of Darkness: Part III
as Self
Halloween in Hollywood
as Self
Studio 666
as Engineer
In Search of Tomorrow
as Self - Interviewee
The History of Metal and Horror
as Self
In Search of Darkness: Part II
as Self
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star
as Self
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
as (archive footage)
The Rise of the Synths
as Narrator (voice)
1982: Hollywood Summer
as Self
In Search of Darkness
as Self
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
as Self
John Carpenter: Live Retrospective
as Self
Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions
as Self - Filmmaker
Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur
as Self
John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016
as Self - Keyboards
It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned
as Self
The Puppet Man
as The Taxi Driver
Jean-Michel Jarre: A Journey into Sound
as Self
No Poster
Carpenter on Quatermass
as Self
Why Horror?
as Self
The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie
as Self
No Poster
The Future of Fear
as Self
Scary Girl
Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge
as Self/Host
Nightmare Factory
as Self
Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star
as Himself (voice)
Halloween: The Inside Story
as Self
No Poster
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock
as Self
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
as Self
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue
as Self
Monsterland
as Self
Tales from the Script
as Self
Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators
as Self
Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro
as Self
Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX
as Self
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
as Self
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
as Self
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown
as Self
Bloodsucking Cinema
as Self
Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo'
as Self
Big John
as Self
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet
as Self
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon
as Self
Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story
as Self
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film
as Self
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror
as Self
Working with a Master: John Carpenter
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood's Greatest Villains
as Self
The Perfect Scary Movie
as Self
Snake Plissken: Man of Honor
as Self
Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures
as Self
Christine: Fast and Furious
as Self
Christine: Finish Line
as Self
Christine: Ignition
as Self
John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies
as Self
No Poster
Return to 'Escape from New York'
as Himself
The Wages of Sin
as Self - Filmmaker
An Opera of Violence
as Self - Filmmaker
Something to Do with Death
as Self - Filmmaker
Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest
as Self
Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer?
as Self (voice)
Scoring "Resident Evil"
as Self (archive footage)
Masters of Horror
as Self
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'
as Self
Scoring 'Ghosts of Mars'
as Self
Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars
as Self
Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties
as Self
Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror
as Self
Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film
as Self
Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre
as Self
The American Nightmare
as Self
Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven'
as Self
Halloween: Unmasked
as Self
The Thing: Terror Takes Shape
as Self
After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater
as Self
Village of the Damned
as Man at Gas Station Phone
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
as Self
The Silence of the Hams
as Trenchcoat Man / Gimp
Body Bags
as Coroner
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
as Helicopter Pilot
Fear in the Dark
as Self
Horror Cafe
as Self
First Works
as Self
Stephen King's World of Horror
as Self
They Live
as Voice That Says 'Sleep' (voice) (uncredited)
The Making of 'They Live'
as Self
The Boy Who Could Fly
as The Coupe de Villes
Big Trouble in Little China
as Worker in Chinatown (uncredited)
Stephen King's World of Horror
as Self
Starman
as Man in Helicopter (uncredited)
The Thing
as Norwegian (video footage) (uncredited)
The Making of 'The Thing'
as Self
Take One: Fear on Film
as Self
Escape from New York
as Secret Service #2 / Helicopter Pilot / Violin Player
The Fog
as Bennett
No Poster
Bringing A Legend To Life
as Himself
Halloween
as Paul (voice) / Michael Myers (uncredited)
Assault on Precinct 13
as Gang Member (uncredited)
Dark Star
as Talby Voice
No Poster
The Debra Hill Story
as Self