person

John Carpenter

Personal Info

Known For

Directing

Gender

Male

Birthday

1948-01-16

Place of Birth

Carthage, New York, USA

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.

Also Known For

poster

75

Halloween

Oct 24, 1978

poster

49

The Silence of the Hams

Mar 11, 1994

poster

75

The Perfect Scary Movie

Oct 29, 2005

poster

50

The History of Metal and Horror

Sep 17, 2021

poster

55

Scoring Resident Evil

Nov 15, 2002

poster

61

Body Bags

Aug 08, 1993

poster

NA

Carpenter on Quatermass

poster

74

In Search of Darkness: Part III

Nov 25, 2022

poster

66

Nightmares in Red, White and Blue

Aug 06, 2009

poster

64

Tales from the Script

Jan 10, 2009

poster

72

Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown

Jul 24, 2008

poster

70

Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX

Oct 07, 2008

poster

NA

The Making of 'They Live'

Jan 01, 1988

poster

72

Assault on Precinct 13

Oct 08, 1976

poster

55

John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies

Mar 23, 2004

poster

NA

Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock

Oct 07, 2008

poster

68

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

Oct 13, 2006

poster

74

The Thing: Terror Takes Shape

Sep 08, 1998

poster

46

Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star

Oct 26, 2010

poster

NA

The Original Monster Mash

Oct 08, 2011

poster

59

Studio 666

Feb 24, 2022

poster

67

Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge

Oct 31, 2011

poster

60

An Opera of Violence

Nov 18, 2003

poster

80

Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest

Aug 05, 2003

poster

50

Bloodsucking Cinema

Oct 26, 2007

poster

70

Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer?

Mar 07, 2003

poster

56

Halloween: Unmasked

Sep 13, 1999

poster

70

Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon

Nov 14, 2006

poster

65

Monsterland

Mar 29, 2009

poster

59

Stephen King's World of Horror

Jan 01, 1986

poster

78

Christine: Fast and Furious

Sep 28, 2004

poster

76

Christine: Ignition

Sep 28, 2004

poster

78

Christine: Finish Line

Sep 28, 2004

poster

73

Nightmare Factory

Oct 27, 2011

poster

NA

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

Apr 12, 2016

poster

NA

Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock

Nov 24, 2009

poster

NA

Hollywood Trailblazer: The Debra Hill Story

poster

NA

Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo'

Jan 01, 2007

poster

60

Working with a Master: John Carpenter

Mar 28, 2006

poster

59

Why Horror?

Oct 03, 2014

poster

NA

The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie

Nov 06, 2012

poster

NA

Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro

Oct 07, 2008

poster

70

The American Nightmare

Sep 11, 2000

poster

NA

Halloween in Hollywood

Oct 01, 2022

poster

66

Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror

Apr 15, 2001

poster

NA

The Reality Trip

poster

63

The Boy Who Could Fly

Aug 15, 1986

poster

70

Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars

Dec 04, 2001

poster

NA

Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur

May 12, 2017

poster

78

Big John

Dec 11, 2006

poster

70

The Puppet Man

Jan 22, 2016

poster

NA

Henchman: The Al Leong Story

Dec 15, 2018

poster

70

Take One: Fear on Film

Jan 01, 1982

poster

100

Fear in the Dark

Oct 29, 1991

poster

52

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

Sep 29, 1995

poster

85

Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters

Oct 31, 2024

poster

59

Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre

Oct 01, 2000

poster

100

Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures

Oct 30, 2004

poster

68

The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style

Nov 03, 2009

poster

NA

The Thing Expanded

poster

NA

Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties

Sep 04, 2001

poster

80

Stephen King's World of Horror

Jan 01, 1989

poster

70

In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy

Oct 07, 2008

poster

60

Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions

Aug 06, 2017

poster

68

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

May 13, 2000

poster

85

Horror Cafe

Apr 11, 1990

poster

75

Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story

Nov 14, 2006

poster

NA

First Works

Oct 10, 1989

poster

80

Jean-Michel Jarre: A Journey into Sound

Sep 19, 2015

poster

68

Halloween: 25 Years of Terror

Jul 26, 2006

poster

100

John Carpenter: Live Retrospective

Oct 31, 2018

poster

77

Masters of Horror

Nov 06, 2002

poster

100

Hollywood's Greatest Villains

Dec 01, 2005

poster

81

The Thing

Jun 25, 1982

poster

77

In Search of Darkness

May 01, 2019

poster

73

They Live

Nov 04, 1988

poster

69

Starman

Dec 13, 1984

poster

70

Escape from New York

May 23, 1981

poster

72

Big Trouble in Little China

May 30, 1986

poster

59

Memoirs of an Invisible Man

Feb 28, 1992

poster

59

Dark Star

Mar 30, 1974

poster

67

The Fog

Feb 07, 1980

poster

61

Village of the Damned

Apr 28, 1995

poster

NA

John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016

Jun 02, 2016

poster

58

Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'

Aug 27, 2002

poster

65

In Search of Tomorrow

Feb 19, 2022

poster

48

Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog'

Jan 01, 1980

poster

60

1982: Hollywood Summer

Sep 06, 2019

poster

76

The Rise of the Synths

Nov 15, 2019

poster

74

The Wages of Sin

Nov 18, 2003

poster

80

AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star

Jul 14, 2020

poster

73

The Making of 'The Thing'

Jun 09, 1982

poster

77

In Search of Darkness: Part II

Oct 06, 2020

poster

45

Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet

Nov 14, 2006

poster

72

Halloween: The Inside Story

Oct 25, 2010

poster

60

Something to Do with Death

Nov 18, 2003

poster

60

Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film

Oct 28, 2000

poster

NA

Snake Plissken: Man of Honor

Jun 06, 2005

poster

77

Biography: 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper

Apr 25, 2021

poster

NA

The Future of Fear

Nov 25, 2011

poster

NA

Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects

May 22, 1994

poster

73

In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994

Nov 24, 2024

poster

NA

Scary Girl

Oct 31, 2011

poster

NA

Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators

Oct 07, 2008

poster

NA

The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault

Mar 25, 2025

poster

70

The Director's Chair

May 10, 2014

poster

71

The Rifleman

Sep 30, 1958

poster

80

Through the Night with...

May 10, 2002

poster

63

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Sep 08, 2015

poster

75

A History of Horror

Oct 11, 2010

poster

80

100 Scariest Movie Moments

Oct 27, 2004

poster

74

Amityville: An Origin Story

Apr 23, 2023

poster

72

The Movies That Made Us

Nov 29, 2019

poster

60

Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow

May 24, 2022

poster

67

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

May 03, 2024

poster

69

The Real History of Science Fiction

Apr 19, 2014

poster

NA

Track Stories

May 15, 2015