John Carpenter

All of his stuff is good. I love it all. Don't forget The Thing and of course Halloween.

Oh, and Christine.

I love The Thing but it's such a gory movie.

Halloween, The Fog, Someone's Watching Me (TV movie), Escape from New York, The Thing and Starman are all terrific films.

For Starman, I think Karen Allen deserved an Oscar nomination. She was just as good as Jeff and their chemistry held the film together.

Watching The Fog again, I am surprised at how little gore is in it. Definitely a film that plays with your fears. The remake is an abomination.

Lauren Hutton is very good in Someone's Watching Me. Creepy TV film.

Love seeing his music get the appreciation it deserves as well.

I've never watched "Halloween" all the way through. Slasher movies are not my type of entertainment.

I liked his "Thing" remake much better than the original (which, to give it credit, was much better than the average SF film of that era, though that's not saying much.) "Dark Star" is my favorite though.

I've watched Halloween and i don't find it scary but that could change if i watched it with the lights out. I'll take it over the Rob Zombie version.

We just re-watched The Thing last week. Still holds up remarkably well.

Wish I had known about this tour. Damn.

Just saw They Live last week and at the time it came out I saw it and thought it was quite brilliant. It's still a fun campy movie, but it really comes off cheesy now

The London show on Halloween is sold out and will no doubt be mental.

I have a soft spot for The Fog, too. It's a cult.

Halloween

Halloween, too.

Christine and The Fog have been playing on TV frequently in the past two weeks. Watch them every time I catch them on.

There are a few gay characters in his films. There definitely seems to be a homoerotic subtext going on between Arnie and Dennis in CHRISTINE. Carpenter's future wife, Adrienne Barbeau, plays a strong lesbian character in SOMEONE'S WATCHING ME!; there's a brief shot of a gay couple in THEY LIVE (Meg Foster's neighbors); there's sort of a gay joke (some might say homophobic) in STARMAN when Jeff Bridges first goes into the men's toilet and just stands near the door smiling at the truck driver taking a piss, who then shakes his head and says "Every goddamn place you go." I can't remember now if there's a lesbian character in THE WARD. One of the things I love about BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA is how Carpenter constantly uses Kurt Russell's character to undercut the macho action movie hero stereotype: he's totally ineffectual (Dennis Dun is basically the real hero of the film) and he has him in make-up and women's clothing at one point; it's such a joy to watch.

I also think it's noteworthy how "modern" Jamie Lee Curtis's character is in THE FOG. She hitchhikes, picking up random men to screw and it's just treated as a perfectly natural and equal thing for her to do (which it is, of course). In fact, most Carpenter films have strong female characters in them, don't they? I think he gets that from Howard Hawks. Lots of strong black characters in his films, too.

[quote] For Starman, I think Karen Allen deserved an Oscar nomination. She was just as good as Jeff and their chemistry held the film together.

I completely agree. Her performance is so moving and it's really the emotional center of the film. I think the ending is extremely brave, because most directors would end such a film on a big SFX shot of the spaceship leaving and so on, but Carpenter ends the film with that beautiful close-up of Karen's face as she watches the spaceship leave. The camera tracks up so she is looking straight into the lens the whole time and the lights illuminate her eyes as the music reaches a crescendo and then it goes to black. It's so economical but it serves the emotional underpinnings of the story perfectly. It's the second best shot in the film after Jeff's miraculous ass at the start. And everyone who's seen the film remembers the scene where he brings the deer back to life.

Amazing film. It's so often ignored when others discuss Carpenter's movies, though. I think that's because it's seen as a chick flick and just a film that Carpenter did for the studio after THE THING lost money (like CHRISTINE), but it's absolutely a Carpenter film.

r15 Brilliantly stated.

Starman really surprised me. Honestly, I thought it was just going to be some lame ET rip-off but was surprised at its intelligence and humour. Definitely showed Carpenter's versatility as a director.

And, yes, the ending shot is the best shot after Jeff's ass. In 1984, Jeff was so hot in this and Against All Odds.

Hasn't been mentioned yet, but Assault on Precinct 13 is a really effective suspense/action film, made on a micro-budget. Christine is also one of the better Stephen King adaptations, even though it never gets the attention of Carrie or The Shining.

Just finished watching ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. I never noticed when I was younger how unlike New York it looks. It was mostly filmed in St. Louis, apparently. It's brilliant what they do on such a low budget, though. James Cameron worked on some of the special effects and matte paintings for the film. The scenes of Kurt Russell landing a glider on top of the World Trade Center and then emerging on to the street later on to see the wreckage of Air Force One raises obvious parallels post-9/11, I guess. I think the ending is one of the blackest jokes in all of cinema. The whole film is kind of dark though, isn't it? Kurt Russell looks gorgeous, but you don't see him in many close-ups. I think he looks more beautiful in THE THING--with his eyes framed by the hair and beard--and sexier in BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA.

Next up: CHRISTINE.

"Chritsine" is one of the few films he's made which takes place over an extended period. Most of his films take place over a single night or two, which is one of the things I love about his films. They feel very intense.

"Christine", obviously.

The only flaw in the premise of CHRISTINE is that lovely, sexy Dennis (played by John Stockwell) is clearly hot for Arnie, but Arnie is more interested in an evil, possessed car than sampling the D.

Would. Never. Happen.

Any word on Carpenter's new HALLOWEEN?

A young and gorgeous John Stockwell with Andy Warhol:

[quote]Any word on Carpenter's new HALLOWEEN?

I think he just has an executive producer credit on it, which probably means he got a paycheck but otherwise has no other input. I wish he would direct a new film, though; even if it's just another Halloween!

What do you guys think of his 90s movies? I know IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS is generally considered his last classic and I think VAMPIRES is pretty well thought of. I do love both but I fucking hate James Woods, which affects my enjoyment of the latter. His post-VAMPIRES films are all flawed, to say the least, but I still enjoy them. I think the matriarchal society in GHOSTS OF MARS is pretty radical. He's said that he burned himself out making that film and that's why he gave up film-making for a decade. I even enjoy MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN, which even Carpenter distances himself from.

I have enjoyed every Kurt Russell/Carpenter film. I now own DVDs of each.

I grew up having preteen "funny feelings" about Kurt's early Disney films.

To then see him grown up and so hot! His beard was such an incredible turn-on.

I actually snuck into a matinee to beat off to Kurt's scenes in "The Thing."

Halloween is in a week...time to get into the mood.

So much of the success of Carpenter's films is the brillaint and atmospheric music. He doesn't get enough credit for his composing talent.

"In the Mouth of Madness" has a 14 year old Hayden Christensen in his film debut. He's only in it for about 20 seconds, as a paper boy.

Snake Plisskin!!

I also liked "The Prince of Darkness".

I heard he was dead, R29.

Was he married to Adrienne Barbeau?

Gawker's Rich interviewed him a while back. Good interview.

As is the De Palma interview linked within.

I found both interviews to be unbelievably poignant. Rich did a good job tenderly letting them both talk about accepting they are at the ends of their careers. Genuinely moving.

I adore them both, but I think I like The Fog a little better than Halloween.

The setting and atmosphere that Carpenter created in The Fog is sublime. The scenes with Adrienne Barbeau in the lighthouse overlooking that vast, lonely sea are so hypnotic. I've always wanted to drive up the CA coast and visit that lighthouse.

[quote]Was he married to Adrienne Barbeau?

Yes, they were married for five years. She published an autobiography about 10 years ago, which I would love to read. She's had an interesting life. She's the only female in THE THING (she plays the voice of the chess program at the start of the film).

[quote]The setting and atmosphere that Carpenter created in The Fog is sublime. The scenes with Adrienne Barbeau in the lighthouse overlooking that vast, lonely sea are so hypnotic. I've always wanted to drive up the CA coast and visit that lighthouse.

I couldn't agree more. I love that film so much and all the things you describe about it. Apparently, their original plan was to do a somber and cerebral ghost story that would have been completely different to the violence of HALLOWEEN, but when Carpenter finished he went on vacation and when he came back the editor told him the film was in trouble. When Carpenter saw the first cut he realized the film didn't work. It wasn't scary. So he went back and did some re-shoots, adding all those gory violent scenes, like the fight on top of the lighthouse and so on. I would LOVE to see that original cut of the film! I think the score for that one is Carpenter's favorite of his own scores, too. Such a great film.

r33 Thank you very much for that x

Adrienne has never looked hotter than when she was in THE FOG. Such a great heroine. Count me as another FOG fan.

Is Prince of Darkness worth checking out? Lots of people seem to hate that movie.

Love love love The Thing. It works on so many levels - I could actually imagine it as a really scary stage play because it's all about human interaction and lack of trust/knowledge. The actors in the movie are all really great too.

There was a fascinating analysis of the final scene that argued that both men had likely been assimilated ... scary.

[quote]Is Prince of Darkness worth checking out? Lots of people seem to hate that movie.

I was reading this piece last night, which is a fair appraisal of the film (see link below).

[quote]Why a film about evil green goo is one of John Carpenter's best

[quote]Pure evil exists in physical form. It’s trapped in a container under a church in the City of Angels. It’s re-emerging tonight, 2000 years after the only force fit to fight has gone. It’s green goo. That’s 1987’s Prince of Darkness, equal parts absurd and insidious, a high-concept horror of theology and theoretical physics.

[quote]The second instalment in John Carpenter’s Apocalypse trilogy (with The Thing and In the Mouth of Madness), Prince of Darkness was released and forgotten between cult favourites Big Trouble in Little China and They Live. While They Live has undergone a critical reappraisal and popular resurgence, not least in the face of this current US election cycle, the unfortunate positioning of Prince of Darkness means it remains an overlooked gem in Carpenter’s filmography.

No love for Carpenter's "Elvis!"?

As mentioned in the article at r40, Carpenter had to go back to his low budget independent roots after the failure of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, so he couldn't afford any major stars for PRINCE OF DARKNESS or THEY LIVE. I think the former maybe suffers a little for the absence of any star, but I must confess to having a thing for Jameson Parker and his 70s porn star 'stache....

[quote] Was he married to Adrienne Barbeau?

Yes, and their son Cody Carpenter, also a musician, is on tour with John right now.

I saw his concert here in NY, it was great. I loved when he played the score from The Fog, and the stage filled with fog, so good.

Mixed record.

He's made one truly great film, "The Thing," one of my favorite films. Then there's just a lot of mediocre stuff. And there's some real shit too.

Frankly many of his movies that get praised the most are potboilers like They Live, Assault on Precinct 13, The Fog and Escape from New York ... not great or even particularly good movies, but selling tickets and keeping us munching popcorn because of the lurid subject matter.

But he runs around acting like an auteur.

Here's a lovely appraisal of Carpenter by Martin Scorsese:

[quote]John Carpenter is a filmmaker who is unashamed to stay within the genres he loves (horror and science fiction) and who practices his trade like a master craftsman. His pictures always have a handmade quality—every cut, every move, every choice of framing and camera movement, not to mention every note of music (he composes his own scores) feels like it has been composed or placed by the filmmaker himself. His sense of composition (nearly all of his pictures are shot in ‘Scope) is quite exacting and precise, and his control of movement inside and outside the frame can be hair-raising. There are so many moments in his films that are absolutely startling—the murder of the little girl with the ice-cream cone in Assault on Precinct 13; the appearances of Michael Myers on the very edge of the frame in Halloween; the appearances of the creature in his truly terrifying remake of The Thing. And the mood of his pictures is so carefully crafted and sustained. I’m a great admirer of The Fog, the mood of it, the sense of mystery. But I also love They Live, in which an alien invasion of America is uncovered by people living on the ragged edge of society in Los Angeles. This movie was Carpenter’s commentary on what he saw as the excesses of the Reagan era, and the movie shares many qualities with pictures made during the Depression, such as Heroes for Sale and Wild Boys of the Road. It’s lyrical and tough at the same time, with a strong sense of community among the displaced people living in makeshift homes on the outskirts of L.A. (interestingly, the picture dovetails with Mel Brooks’ comedy Life Stinks, made a couple of years later), and the mood is unusually sad and bitter. The science-fiction element reveals itself as the story goes on: The “beautiful people” on TV and walking down Rodeo Drive are actually aliens, transmitting subliminal messages to the hypnotized masses, their true images visible through special glasses that are being handed out at a mission for the poor. I like the humor of the picture, the hilariously long fight scene between “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Keith David, and the sense of outrage. They Live is one of the best films of a fine American director.

I was struck recently by how Tarantino was being all dramatic about how he's going to give up film-making after his 10th movie. "The Hateful Eight" was his ninth film and his first was made 24 years ago, so it may well take him close to 30 years before he's made 10. And most people seem to agree that his best films were his first three and the rest have been shit on a stick. I couldn't help thinking about how Carpenter made 10 films in 10 years, from 1978 to 1988 (Halloween, The Fog, Elvis, Escape from New York, The Thing, Christine, Starman, Big Trouble in Little China, Prince of Darkness and They Live) and how much more impressive in style and scope and how varied those films were. No wonder he slowed down in the '90s.

Carpenter is so overrated. His films are mediocre at best. He had some early successes with "Halloween", which he plagiarized, and a few others (i.e. "The Fog") which would be considered "B" films today.

r48 From where did he plagiarize "Halloween"?

r49 From 1974's "Black Christmas."

r50 So Carpenter plagiarized a film which has absolutely no similarities of tone or style and a story which is only alike in the most superficial sense? Okay.

"Black Christmas" is good, but as a film it doesn't look that different from many made for TV women-in-peril thrillers which came out every week back then. It's very good in that style, though. There's a reason why "Halloween" was incredibly successful and influential, by comparison.

Except for one small detail -- Halloween and Black Christmas have basically nothing in common except that there's a guy killing people.

PS - you'll notice that that wiki page cites no sources for its assertion that the film "served as an influence for Halloween".

Actually I'd argue that Black Christmas is a better picture than Halloween, but because there's something supernatural about Michael Myers, that movie was more thrilling and a bigger success.

John Carpenter is my favorite director too OP. I watched Carpenter's movies back in the day without any filters or feedback. Being young at that time I'd just show up at the theater to watch a good horror flick.

Like Halloween, The Fog, Escape From New York...I didn't know Carpenter from Carradine. It wasn't long before I became very aware and well-versed on this talented filmmaker. Christine, Big Trouble...by this time Blockbuster and video were the preferred option.

Very few Carpenter films disappointed me. Some are on my favorites of all-time list. They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, Prince if Darkness...terrified me, and by this time for some of the mentioned,^ I was well into my 20's-30's and affected.

AIKC you are one of my favorites at the DL and it must be mentioned, that for those of us whom you never disappoint, you are still, always, terrified and affected. Kisses, dear.

'Big Trouble in Little China' and 'They Live' remain cult classics. They get big audiences at repertory/revival nights.

And on 'Big Trouble,' Kurty was once again manly '80s perfection.

John married Adrienne Barbeau in 1978

Bea Arthur, Adrienne 's Mom on MAUDE, was at the wedding!

John also wrote the screenplay for the Faye Dunaway camp classic The Eyes of Laura Mars.

R58, that's three points for his honorary Fag Stag status.

I'm just watching "Big Trouble in Little China" again. Seriously, how much fun is this film?! And Kurt Russell never looked more gorgeous...

with costar Kim Kattral! (more fag stag points)

"Don't panic, it's only me, Gracie Law!"

I'm just watching ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and I'm up to the scene where the father is driving his daughter to his mother's place, just before the gruesome scene at the ice cream van, and he's coaching her on what to say to get her grandmother to come and live with them. I'm sure there's a subtle suggestion that the father is gay because he says to tell his mother that they have a spare room now that his male roommate is gone.

Wow; never noticed that! AoP13 is a classic!

OP please report back about the performance in London. If it had not been sold out I would have booked a flight without hesitation.

Finally watched The Thing for the first time last night. Even when working with a relatively high budget, there's always something likeable and grubby about Carpenter's films. He never caved in to slickness. The special effects reminded me of Cronenberg at his "body horror" best. Genuinely unnerving.

Also - great ensemble cast.

Hi, r65. The show was amazing. I must confess that I wasn't expecting the music to be all that great on the night. I assumed it was going to be an alright show, but nothing special. I read a glowing review of an earlier show where the reviewer had said that above all it was an opportunity for everyone in the audience to show their love and gratitude to John Carpenter and that was basically the main reason I was going to the London show. But honestly the music and performance of the band was astonishingly good. Every piece of music sounded exactly as it did in the films but even better, as though every piece was originally written to be played by that band.

There was no support band/artists and the gig started around 8pm. The band walked out to a sustained applause and John came out last to a huge roar from the crowd. There was a big screen behind them which played clips from each of the films they were playing the music to. The first image on the screen was the digitized New York skyline as ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK began. It sounded incredible and was basically overwhelming. After that, they went straight into ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13. By the end of which everyone roared with approval and I was on the verge of tears, which surprised me. I know I'm being a MARY, but there we are. I decided to pull myself together at that point. They played two songs from John's first solo album, both of which sounded absolutely incredible live.

Then John said "Throughout my career I've directed horror movies, slasher tales, science fiction and ghost stories..." to huge applause and then THE FOG began. I think that's Carpenter's favorite of his own soundtracks and I've grown to rate as his best, too. It's such a beautiful and haunting score. As before, clips from the film played as the music progressed. The clips of each film were put together chronologically, so you get a good idea of the progression of the film over its course.

Next up the screen went black and then "OBEY!" flashed up, as they began to play the opening bars of the THEY LIVE theme. Then "MONEY IS YOUR GOD!", then "NO THOUGHT!", etc. Then, again, as they played the whole piece we got clips from the film (the bank "chew bubblegum" scene, the famous very long fight, lots of clips of black and white scenes of the aliens going about their business etc). That got a huge cheer from the crowd at the end.

Then John said "In 1982, I made a film called 'The Thing'," huge cheer from the audience, "The score was composed by Ennio Morricone, one of the greatest composers in cinema history. We;d like to play the theme in his honor." Which they did. As with all of these pieces of music from his films, it sounded exactly as it does in the film, only more overwhelming and immersive. The bass was so loud and shook the room.

After that he introduced the band. The whole band was superb but the two most notable members were Cody Carpenter, John's son, on lead synth, and Daniel Davies (his father is Dave Davies' of The Kinks and John Carpenter is his godfather, he and his wife raised Davies in the '90s, I think) on lead guitar, who was absolutely incredible. They played a great piece from John's second solo album, then John said "I have a friend and we made five films together. I think the time we had the most fun was when we were searching for a girl with green eyes." This was the best part of the night, for me. I still maintain that BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA is the most fun you can ever have watching a movie, and the way the clips of the film showed how great the imagery from that film is and how the peaks of the music were matched by the imagery onscreen was just exhilarating to watch and hear. Superb.

[cont...]

[cont...]

They played another two pieces from John's solo albums and then he said "In my career I direct horror movies. I LOVE horror movies. Horror movies will live FOREVER!" and they played HALLOWEEN. Huge roar from the crowd as you would expect. Again, the music was perfect and it was such a joy to watch the film on the huge screen, as I had watched the whole film earlier that day and it was still fresh in my mind.

Next up they played IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS and then PRINCE OF DARKNESS. Two more pieces from John's solo albums and finally John thanked the crowd, said they'd had a great time onstage and then said "I only have one thing to leave you with. Drive carefully on the way home. Christine is out there!" and they played the theme to that, which was a surprisingly melancholy end to the night but seemed fitting, in a way. John and the band bowed to the audience and got a huge sustained applause and that was it. I was walking on air as I left the venue and I'm so glad I got a chance to see John in person at least once in my life and thank him for all the great movies he's made. I'm really hoping these shows and the crowd feedback will reinvigorate his creative juices and he'll start making films again. By the way, before the band came out I'm sure I saw someone with a camera on stage recording the set up and then the audience so I wouldn't be surprised if a DVD of the tour will eventually come out.

That performance description is great. Thanks for posting it.

Sounds thrilling.

It's Adrienne 'tits' Barbeau. She took the cannonballs out for the movie The Cannonball Run - 1981 though.

Thanks r67 for the details of what sounds like an incredible show! Your vivid description is much appreciated.

I love that he embraced genre films and boldly stated that he loved making them, unlike Wes Craven, who stated he wasn't a horror director.

JC has the type of films that if I'm channel surfing and they are on, I get sucked into watching it, no matter how many times I've seen them. They're almost comfort/rainy day films for me.

So sad that he was in L.A. twice to perform (both sold out) and I wasn't aware of it... r67 you made me really want to see him.

That concert sounds amazing.

I love that Carpenter recognizes the significance of his films and talents as a storyteller and musician but isn't the least bit arrogant and appreciates his fans.

I just a bought a ticket for an all-night John Carpenter marathon in London in three weeks time. They're showing Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, They Live! and Big Trouble in Little China. It starts at 9:15 in the evening and ends at 10am. Exciting!!!