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John Carpenter

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.

Personal information

Birthday

1948-01-16

Birth Place

Carthage, New York, USA

Movies and TV shows :

poster

100 Scariest Movie Moments

2004

7.9

TV
1982: Hollywood Summer

1982: Hollywood Summer

2019

6.0

Movie
poster

A History of Horror

2010

7.5

TV
After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater

After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater

1995

5.2

Movie
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star

AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star

2020

0.0

Movie
poster

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

7.7

TV
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet

Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet

2006

4.5

Movie
poster

Amityville: An Origin Story

2023

7.4

TV
An Opera of Violence

An Opera of Violence

2003

6.0

Movie
Assault on Precinct 13

Assault on Precinct 13

1976

7.3

Movie
Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro

Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro

2008

0.0

Movie
Big John

Big John

2006

7.8

Movie
Big Trouble in Little China

Big Trouble in Little China

1986

7.2

Movie
Biography: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper

Biography: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper

2021

7.7

Movie
Bloodsucking Cinema

Bloodsucking Cinema

2007

5.0

Movie
Body Bags

Body Bags

1993

6.1

Movie
Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story

Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story

2006

7.5

Movie
Carpenter on Quatermass

Carpenter on Quatermass

0.0

Movie
poster

Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow

2022

6.0

TV
Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge

Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge

2011

6.7

Movie
Christine: Fast and Furious

Christine: Fast and Furious

2004

7.8

Movie
Christine: Finish Line

Christine: Finish Line

2004

7.8

Movie
Christine: Ignition

Christine: Ignition

2004

7.6

Movie
Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo'

Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo'

2007

0.0

Movie
Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror

Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror

2001

6.6

Movie
Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions

Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions

2017

6.0

Movie
Dark Star

Dark Star

1974

5.9

Movie
Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer?

Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer?

2003

7.0

Movie
Escape from New York

Escape from New York

1981

7.1

Movie
Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX

Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX

2008

7.0

Movie
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock

Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock

2009

0.0

Movie
Fear in the Dark

Fear in the Dark

1991

10.0

Movie
Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog'

Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog'

1980

4.8

Movie
First Works

First Works

1989

0.0

Movie
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film

Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film

2006

6.7

Movie
Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven'

Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven'

2000

6.8

Movie
Halloween

Halloween

1978

7.6

Movie
Halloween in Hollywood

Halloween in Hollywood

2022

0.0

Movie
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror

Halloween: 25 Years of Terror

2006

6.8

Movie
Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest

Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest

2003

8.0

Movie
Halloween: The Inside Story

Halloween: The Inside Story

2010

7.4

Movie
Halloween: Unmasked

Halloween: Unmasked

1999

5.7

Movie
Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters

Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters

2024

0.0

Movie
Henchman: The Al Leong Story

Henchman: The Al Leong Story

2018

0.0

Movie
Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties

Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties

2001

0.0

Movie
Hollywood Trailblazer: The Debra Hill Story

Hollywood Trailblazer: The Debra Hill Story

0.0

Movie
Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures

Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures

2004

10.0

Movie
Hollywood's Greatest Villains

Hollywood's Greatest Villains

2005

10.0

Movie
Horror Cafe

Horror Cafe

1990

8.5

Movie
In Search of Darkness

In Search of Darkness

2019

7.8

Movie
In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994

In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994

2024

8.0

Movie
In Search of Darkness: Part II

In Search of Darkness: Part II

2020

7.7

Movie
In Search of Darkness: Part III

In Search of Darkness: Part III

2022

7.2

Movie
In Search of Tomorrow

In Search of Tomorrow

2022

6.4

Movie
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy

In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy

2008

7.0

Movie
It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned

It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned

2016

0.0

Movie
Jean-Michel Jarre: The Rise of Electronic Music

Jean-Michel Jarre: The Rise of Electronic Music

2015

8.0

Movie
John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016

John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016

2016

0.0

Movie
John Carpenter: Live Retrospective

John Carpenter: Live Retrospective

2018

10.0

Movie
John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies

John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies

2004

5.5

Movie
poster

John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A.

2024

6.6

TV
Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star

Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star

2010

4.6

Movie
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

2008

7.2

Movie
Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre

Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre

2000

5.9

Movie
Masters of Horror

Masters of Horror

2002

7.7

Movie
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects

Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects

1994

0.0

Movie
Memoirs of an Invisible Man

Memoirs of an Invisible Man

1992

5.9

Movie
Monsterland

Monsterland

2009

6.5

Movie
Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur

Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur

2017

0.0

Movie
Nightmare Factory

Nightmare Factory

2011

7.3

Movie
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue

Nightmares in Red, White and Blue

2009

6.6

Movie
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock

Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock

2008

0.0

Movie
Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars

Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars

2001

5.5

Movie
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon

Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon

2006

7.0

Movie
Scary Girl

Scary Girl

2011

0.0

Movie
Scoring Resident Evil

Scoring Resident Evil

2002

5.5

Movie
Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film

Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film

2000

6.0

Movie
Snake Plissken: Man of Honor

Snake Plissken: Man of Honor

2005

0.0

Movie
Something to Do with Death

Something to Do with Death

2003

6.0

Movie
Starman

Starman

1984

6.9

Movie
Stephen King's World of Horror

Stephen King's World of Horror

1986

5.9

Movie
Stephen King's World of Horror

Stephen King's World of Horror

1989

8.0

Movie
Studio 666

Studio 666

2022

6.0

Movie
Take One: Fear on Film

Take One: Fear on Film

1982

7.0

Movie
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'

Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'

2002

5.8

Movie
Tales from the Script

Tales from the Script

2009

6.7

Movie
The American Nightmare

The American Nightmare

2000

6.9

Movie
The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie

The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie

2012

0.0

Movie
The Boy Who Could Fly

The Boy Who Could Fly

1986

6.3

Movie
poster

The Director's Chair

2014

8.0

TV
The Fog

The Fog

1980

6.7

Movie
The Future of Fear

The Future of Fear

2011

0.0

Movie
The History of Metal and Horror

The History of Metal and Horror

2021

5.0

Movie
poster

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015

6.6

TV
The Making of 'The Thing'

The Making of 'The Thing'

1982

7.3

Movie
The Making of 'They Live'

The Making of 'They Live'

1988

0.0

Movie
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style

The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style

2009

6.8

Movie
poster

The Movies That Made Us

2019

7.2

TV
The Original Monster Mash

The Original Monster Mash

2011

0.0

Movie
The Perfect Scary Movie

The Perfect Scary Movie

2005

7.5

Movie
The Puppet Man

The Puppet Man

2016

7.0

Movie
poster

The Real History of Science Fiction

2014

6.9

TV
The Reality Trip

The Reality Trip

0.0

Movie
poster

The Rifleman

1958

7.0

TV
The Rise of the Synths

The Rise of the Synths

2019

7.7

Movie
The Silence of the Hams

The Silence of the Hams

1994

4.9

Movie
The Thing

The Thing

1982

8.1

Movie
The Thing Expanded

The Thing Expanded

0.0

Movie
The Thing: Terror Takes Shape

The Thing: Terror Takes Shape

1998

7.5

Movie
The Wages of Sin

The Wages of Sin

2003

7.4

Movie
They Live

They Live

1988

7.3

Movie
poster

Through the Night with...

2002

8.0

TV
poster

Track Stories

2015

0.0

TV
Village of the Damned

Village of the Damned

1995

6.1

Movie
Why Horror?

Why Horror?

2014

6.1

Movie
Working with a Master: John Carpenter

Working with a Master: John Carpenter

2006

6.0

Movie