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.
Filmography
all 173
Movies 158
self 94
Writer 27
Director 24
TV Shows 15
Producer 6
Narrator 2
Halloween: The Boogeyman (2023)
John Carpenter's Suburban Screams (2023)
Amityville: An Origin Story (2023)
In Search of Darkness: Part III (2022)
Halloween Ends (2022)
Blumhouse's Compendium of Horror (2022)
Halloween in Hollywood (2022)
Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow (2022)
Firestarter (2022)
Studio 666 (2022)
In Search of Tomorrow (2022)
Halloween Kills (2021)
The History of Metal and Horror (2021)
Prince of Darkness (2021)
In Search of Darkness: Part II (2020)
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star (2020)
The Movies That Made Us (2019)
The Rise of the Synths (2019)
1982: Hollywood Summer (2019)
Myers: The Evil of Haddonfield (2019)
In Search of Darkness (2019)
Back in Haddonfield: Making Halloween (2019)
The Original Scream Queen (2019)
The Legacy of Halloween (2019)
Journey of the Mask (2019)
The Sound of Fear (2019)
Henchman: The Al Leong Story (2018)
Purgatory: Entering John Carpenter's 'Escape From New York' (2018)
John Carpenter: Live Retrospective (2018)
Halloween (2018)
Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions (2017)
Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur (2017)
John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016 (2016)
It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned (2016)
The Puppet Man (2016)
Jean-Michel Jarre: The Rise of Electronic Music (2015)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015)
Track Stories (2015)
Why Horror? (2014)
The Director's Chair (2014)
The Real History of Science Fiction (2014)
Halloween: Harvest of Souls, 1985 (2013)
The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie (2012)
Halloween Awakening: The Legacy of Michael Myers (2012)
Halloween: Resurgence (2012)
The Nightmare Isn't Over! The Making of Halloween II (2012)
Stand Alone: The Making of Halloween III: Season of the Witch (2012)
Lockout (2012)
Plaga zombie: zona mutante: revolución tóxica (2012)
Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge (2011)
Nightmare Factory (2011)
The Original Monster Mash (2011)
Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star (2010)
Halloween: The Inside Story (2010)
A History of Horror (2010)
The Ward (2010)
Nunca más asistas a este tipo de fiestas (2010)
Halloween: Black Eyes (2010)
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock (2009)
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009)
Monsterland (2009)
Tales from the Script (2009)
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style (2009)
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy (2008)
Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX (2008)
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock (2008)
Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro (2008)
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008)
Bloodsucking Cinema (2007)
Halloween (2007)
Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo' (2007)
Big John (2006)
Pro-Life (2006)
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet (2006)
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon (2006)
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006)
Working with a Master: John Carpenter (2006)
Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story (2006)
Cigarette Burns (2005)
Hollywood's Greatest Villains (2005)
The Perfect Scary Movie (2005)
Masters of Horror (2005)
The Fog (2005)
Snake Plissken: Man of Honor (2005)
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures (2004)
100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004)
Christine: Ignition (2004)
Christine: Fast and Furious (2004)
Christine: Finish Line (2004)
John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies (2004)
Something to Do with Death (2003)
The Wages of Sin (2003)
An Opera of Violence (2003)
Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest (2003)
Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer? (2003)
Halloween: Resurrection - Web Cam Special (2002)
Scoring Resident Evil (2002)
Masters of Horror (2002)
Vampires: Los Muertos (2002)
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog' (2002)
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Through the Night with... (2002)
Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars (2001)
Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties (2001)
Ghosts of Mars (2001)
Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (2001)
Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film (2000)
Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre (2000)
The American Nightmare (2000)
Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' (2000)
Nunca asistas a este tipo de fiestas (2000)
Halloween: Unmasked (1999)
Silent Predators (1999)
Vampires (1998)
The Thing: Terror Takes Shape (1998)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Escape from L.A. (1996)
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater (1995)
Village of the Damned (1995)
In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
The Silence of the Hams (1994)
Body Bags (1993)
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
Fear in the Dark (1991)
Blood River (1991)
El Diablo (1990)
Horror Cafe (1990)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
First Works (1989)
Stephen King's World of Horror (1989)
They Live (1988)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
The Making of 'They Live' (1988)
Prince of Darkness (1987)
The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Black Moon Rising (1986)
Stephen King's World of Horror (1986)
Starman (1984)
The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)
Christine (1983)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
The Thing (1982)
The Making of 'The Thing' (1982)
Take One: Fear on Film (1982)
Halloween II (1981)
Escape from New York (1981)
The Fog (1980)
Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog' (1980)
Better Late Than Never (1979)
Elvis (1979)
Someone's Watching Me! (1978)
Halloween (1978)
Zuma Beach (1978)
Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
Dark Star (1974)
Last Foxtrot in Burbank (1973)
The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970)
Captain Voyeur (1969)
Good Morning, Dan (1968)
The Rifleman (1958)
Clive Barker: A to Z of Horror
Escape from New York
The Reality Trip
Death of a Unicorn
Hollywood Trailblazer: The Debra Hill Story
Untitled "Halloween" Reboot
Blumhouse's The Thing
Carpenter on Quatermass
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForDirecting
GenderMale
Birthday1948-01-16 (76 years old)
Birth NameJohn Howard Carpenter
Birth PlaceCarthage, United States of America
Religionatheism
RelationshipsAdrienne Barbeau (1979-01-01 - 1984-01-01)
SpouseSandy King
ChildrenCody Carpenter
RelativesDaniel Davies
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
ResidencesLos Angeles, United States of America
Also Known AsMartin Quatermass, Frank Armitage, John T. Chance, Rip Haight, John Howard Carpenter, ジョン・カーペンター, ジョン・ハワード・カーペンター, 존 카펜터, 约翰·卡朋特
AwardsThe George Pal Memorial Award
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