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.
Halloween
(Paul (voice) / Michael Myers (uncredited))
The Silence of the Hams
(Trenchcoat Man / Gimp)
The Perfect Scary Movie
(Self)
The History of Metal and Horror
(Self)
Scoring Resident Evil
(Self (archive footage))
Body Bags
(Coroner)
Carpenter on Quatermass
(Self)
In Search of Darkness: Part III
(Self)
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue
(Self)
Tales from the Script
(Self)
Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown
(Self)
Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX
(Self)
The Making of 'They Live'
(Self)
Assault on Precinct 13
(Gang Member (uncredited))
John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies
(Self)
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock
(Self)
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film
(Self)
The Thing: Terror Takes Shape
(Self)
Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star
(Himself (voice))
The Original Monster Mash
(Self)
Studio 666
(Engineer)
Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge
(Self/Host)
An Opera of Violence
(Self - Filmmaker)
Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest
(Self)
Bloodsucking Cinema
(Self)
Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer?
(Self (voice))
Halloween: Unmasked
(Self)
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon
(Self)
Monsterland
(Self)
Stephen King's World of Horror
(Self)
Christine: Fast and Furious
(Self)
Christine: Ignition
(Self)
Christine: Finish Line
(Self)
Nightmare Factory
(Self)
It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned
(Self)
Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock
(Self)
Hollywood Trailblazer: The Debra Hill Story
Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo'
(Self)
Working with a Master: John Carpenter
(Self (archive footage))
Why Horror?
(Self)
The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie
(Self)
Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro
(Self)
The American Nightmare
(Self)
Halloween in Hollywood
(Self)
Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror
(Self)
The Reality Trip
(self)
The Boy Who Could Fly
(The Coupe de Villes)
Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars
(Self)
Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur
(Self)
Big John
(Self)
The Puppet Man
(The Taxi Driver)
Henchman: The Al Leong Story
(Self)
Take One: Fear on Film
(Self)
Fear in the Dark
(Self)
After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater
(Self)
Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters
(Self)
Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre
(Self)
Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures
(Self)
The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style
(Self)
The Thing Expanded
(Self)
Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties
(Self)
Stephen King's World of Horror
(Self)
In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy
(Self)
Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions
(Self - Filmmaker)
Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven'
(Self)
Horror Cafe
(Self)
Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story
(Self)
First Works
(Self)
Jean-Michel Jarre: The Rise of Electronic Music
(Self)
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror
(Self)
John Carpenter: Live Retrospective
(Self)
Masters of Horror
(Self)
Hollywood's Greatest Villains
(Self)
The Thing
(Norwegian (video footage) (uncredited))
In Search of Darkness
(Self)
They Live
(Voice That Says 'Sleep')
Starman
(Man in Helicopter (uncredited))
Escape from New York
(Secret Service #2 / Helicopter Pilot / Violin Player)
Big Trouble in Little China
(Worker in Chinatown (uncredited))
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
(Helicopter Pilot)
Dark Star
(Talby Voice)
The Fog
(Bennett)
Village of the Damned
(Man at Gas Station Phone)
John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016
(Self - Keyboards)
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'
(Self)
In Search of Tomorrow
(Self - Interviewee)
Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog'
(Self)
1982: Hollywood Summer
(Self)
The Rise of the Synths
(Narrator (voice))
The Wages of Sin
(Self - Filmmaker)
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star
(Self)
The Making of 'The Thing'
(Self)
In Search of Darkness: Part II
(Self)
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet
(Self)
Halloween: The Inside Story
(Self)
Something to Do with Death
(Self - Filmmaker)
Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film
(Self)
Snake Plissken: Man of Honor
(Self)
Biography: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
(Self)
The Future of Fear
(Self)
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
(Self)
In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994
(Self - Interviewee)
The Director's Chair
(Self)
The Rifleman
Through the Night with...
(Self)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
(Self)
A History of Horror
( Self)
100 Scariest Movie Moments
(Self)
Amityville: An Origin Story
(Self)
The Movies That Made Us
(Self (Archival Footage))
Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A.
(Self)
The Real History of Science Fiction
(Self)
Track Stories
(Self)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(Self)
Escape from New York
(Director)
The Thing
(Director)
Escape from New York
(Screenplay)
Escape from New York
(Original Music Composer)
Dark Star
(Director)
Dark Star
(Original Music Composer)
Dark Star
(Screenplay)
Dark Star
(Producer)
Ghosts of Mars
(Original Music Composer)
Ghosts of Mars
(Director)
Escape from L.A.
(Original Music Composer)
Escape from L.A.
(Characters)
Escape from L.A.
(Screenplay)
Escape from L.A.
(Director)
The Fog
(Director)
The Fog
(Screenplay)
The Fog
(Original Music Composer)
In the Mouth of Madness
(Original Music Composer)
In the Mouth of Madness
(Director)
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
(Director)
Halloween
(Screenplay)
Halloween
(Original Music Composer)
Halloween
(Director)
The Philadelphia Experiment
(Executive Producer)
Vampires: Los Muertos
(Music)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
(Producer)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
(Original Music Composer)
Halloween II
(Screenplay)
Halloween II
(Producer)
Halloween II
(Original Music Composer)
Big Trouble in Little China
(Original Music Composer)
Big Trouble in Little China
(Director)
They Live
(Original Music Composer)
They Live
(Director)
They Live
(Screenplay)
Someone's Watching Me!
(Writer)
Someone's Watching Me!
(Director)
Body Bags
(Original Music Composer)
Body Bags
(Director)
Body Bags
(Executive Producer)
Christine
(Original Music Composer)
Christine
(Director)
Village of the Damned
(Director)
Starman
(Director)
Prince of Darkness
(Original Music Composer)
Prince of Darkness
(Director)
Prince of Darkness
(Screenplay)
Elvis
(Director)
Vampires
(Director)
Studio 666
(Music)
The Ward
(Director)
Assault on Precinct 13
(Director)
Prince of Darkness
(Original Film Writer)
Zuma Beach
(Writer)
The Resurrection of Broncho Billy
(Writer)
The Resurrection of Broncho Billy
(Music)
Nunca asistas a este tipo de fiestas
(Thanks)
Silent Predators
(Teleplay)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
(Main Title Theme Composer)
Blood River
(Writer)
Halloween Ends
(Original Music Composer)
Ghosts of Mars
(Writer)
Nunca más asistas a este tipo de fiestas
(Thanks)
Pro-Life
(Director)
Death of a Unicorn
(Original Music Composer)
Assault on Precinct 13
(Editor)
Assault on Precinct 13
(Writer)
Assault on Precinct 13
(Original Music Composer)
Cigarette Burns
(Director)
Black Moon Rising
(Story)
Black Moon Rising
(Executive Producer)
Black Moon Rising
(Screenplay)
The Fog
(Producer)
The Puppet Man
(Music)
Firestarter
(Original Music Composer)
Plaga zombie: zona mutante: revolución tóxica
(Thanks)
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
(Characters)
Halloween
(Original Music Composer)
Halloween
(Characters)
Halloween
(Executive Producer)
Captain Voyeur
(Director)
Captain Voyeur
(Writer)
Village of the Damned
(Original Music Composer)
Halloween Kills
(Original Music Composer)
Vampires
(Original Music Composer)
The Thing
(Original Music Composer)
Halloween: Harvest of Souls, 1985
(Characters)
High Impact
(Music)
Halloween
(Producer)
Vampires: Los Muertos
(Executive Producer)
El Diablo
(Writer)
The Nightmare Ends on Halloween
(Thanks)
Captain Voyeur
(Producer)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
(Characters)
Eyes of Laura Mars
(Screenplay)
Eyes of Laura Mars
(Story)
Halloween: Resurrection
(Characters)
Halloween
(Original Film Writer)
The Fog
(Original Film Writer)
Assault on Precinct 13
(Original Film Writer)
Halloween Kills
(Characters)
Halloween Ends
(Characters)
Last Foxtrot in Burbank
(Editor)
Better Late Than Never
(Writer)
Good Morning, Dan
(Camera Operator)
Halloween Ends
(Executive Producer)
Halloween Kills
(Executive Producer)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
(Main Title Theme Composer)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
(Characters)
The Resurrection of Broncho Billy
(Editor)
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
(Main Title Theme Composer)
Dark Star
(Original Story)
Looking for Michael
(Music)
Masters of Horror
(Director)
John Carpenter's Suburban Screams
(Executive Producer)
John Carpenter's Suburban Screams
(Main Title Theme Composer)
John Carpenter's Suburban Screams
(Director)
John Carpenter's Suburban Screams
(Creator)