credits of
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.
Release Date | Title | Character Name | Rating | Your Lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
October 31st, 2024 | Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters | Self | 8.2 | |
November 25th, 2022 | In Search of Darkness: Part III | Self | 7.5 | |
October 1st, 2022 | Halloween in Hollywood | Self | 1 | |
February 24th, 2022 | Studio 666 | Engineer | 5.9 | |
September 17th, 2021 | The History of Metal and Horror | Self | 4.5 | |
December 15th, 2018 | Henchman: The Al Leong Story | Self | 9.5 | |
May 12th, 2017 | Monstres, l'ennemi de l'intérieur | Self | TBD | |
April 12th, 2016 | It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned | Self | TBD | |
January 22nd, 2016 | The Puppet Man | The Taxi Driver | 7 | |
December 4th, 2014 | Carpenter on Quatermass | Self | TBD | |
October 3rd, 2014 | Why Horror? | Self | 5.9 | |
November 6th, 2012 | The Birds: Hitchcock's Monster Movie | Self | TBD | |
October 31st, 2011 | Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge | Self/Host | 6.2 | |
October 27th, 2011 | Nightmare Factory | Self | 7.2 | |
October 8th, 2011 | The Original Monster Mash | Self | TBD | |
October 26th, 2010 | Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star | Himself (voice) | 4.8 | |
November 24th, 2009 | Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock | Self | TBD | |
August 6th, 2009 | Nightmares in Red, White and Blue | Self | 6.6 | |
March 29th, 2009 | Monsterland | Self | 6.5 | |
January 10th, 2009 | Tales from the Script | Self | 6.5 | |
October 7th, 2008 | Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX | Self | 6.6 | |
October 7th, 2008 | Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of Hitchcock | Self | TBD | |
October 7th, 2008 | Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro | Self | 7 | |
July 24th, 2008 | Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown | Self | 7.3 | |
October 26th, 2007 | Bloodsucking Cinema | Self | 5 | |
January 1st, 2007 | Commemoration: Howard Hawks' 'Rio Bravo' | Self | TBD | |
December 11th, 2006 | Big John | Self | 7.8 | |
November 14th, 2006 | Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon | Self | 7 | |
October 13th, 2006 | Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film | Self | 6.8 | |
March 28th, 2006 | Working with a Master: John Carpenter | Self (archive footage) | 6 | |
October 29th, 2005 | The Perfect Scary Movie | Self | 7.7 | |
September 28th, 2004 | Christine: Fast and Furious | Self | 8 | |
September 28th, 2004 | Christine: Ignition | Self | 8 | |
September 28th, 2004 | Christine: Finish Line | Self | 7.6 | |
March 23rd, 2004 | John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies | Self | 5.5 | |
November 18th, 2003 | An Opera of Violence | Self - Filmmaker | 6.8 | |
August 5th, 2003 | Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest | Self | 8 | |
March 7th, 2003 | Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer? | Self (voice) | 7.5 | |
November 15th, 2002 | Scoring Resident Evil | Self (archive footage) | 4.9 | |
December 4th, 2001 | Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars | Self | 7.6 | |
April 15th, 2001 | Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror | Self | 6.8 | |
October 1st, 2000 | Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre | Self | 6.1 | |
September 11th, 2000 | The American Nightmare | Self | 6.8 | |
September 13th, 1999 | Halloween: Unmasked | Self | 5.8 | |
September 8th, 1998 | The Thing: Terror Takes Shape | Self | 7.4 | |
September 29th, 1995 | After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater | Self | 5.8 | |
March 11th, 1994 | The Silence of the Hams | Trenchcoat Man / Gimp | 4.9 | |
August 8th, 1993 | Body Bags | Coroner | 6.1 | |
October 29th, 1991 | Fear in the Dark | Self | 9 | |
January 1st, 1988 | The Making of 'They Live' | Self | TBD | |
August 15th, 1986 | The Boy Who Could Fly | The Coupe de Villes | 6.3 | |
January 1st, 1986 | Stephen King's World of Horror | Self | 6.1 | |
January 1st, 1982 | Take One: Fear on Film | Self | 7 | |
October 24th, 1978 | Halloween | Paul (voice) / Michael Myers (uncredited) | 7.6 | |
October 8th, 1976 | Assault on Precinct 13 | Gang Member (uncredited) | 7.3 | |
TBD | The Debra Hill Story | Self | TBD | |
August 2nd, 2026 | Carpenter | Self (archive footage) | TBD | |
April 23rd, 2026 | The Thing Expanded | Self | TBD | |
December 19th, 2025 | In Search of Darkness: 1995-1999 | Self | 7 | |
December 4th, 2025 | I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not | Self (archive footage) | 7.3 | |
November 24th, 2024 | In Search of Darkness: 1990-1994 | Self | 7.9 | |
February 19th, 2022 | In Search of Tomorrow | Self - Interviewee | 6.6 | |
October 6th, 2020 | In Search of Darkness: Part II | Self | 7.7 | |
July 14th, 2020 | AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star | Self | 8 | |
April 8th, 2020 | The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault | (archive footage) | TBD | |
November 15th, 2019 | The Rise of the Synths | Narrator (voice) | 7.6 | |
September 6th, 2019 | 1982: Hollywood Summer | Self | 6 | |
May 1st, 2019 | In Search of Darkness | Self | 7.5 | |
October 31st, 2018 | John Carpenter: Live Retrospective | Self | 9.3 | |
August 6th, 2017 | Dark Glamour: The Blood and Guts of Hammer Productions | Self - Filmmaker | 6 | |
June 2nd, 2016 | John Carpenter: Live At Primavera Sound 2016 | Self - Keyboards | TBD | |
September 19th, 2015 | Jean-Michel Jarre: A Journey into Sound | Self | 8 | |
November 25th, 2011 | The Future of Fear | Self | TBD | |
October 31st, 2011 | Scary Girl | TBD | 6 | |
October 25th, 2010 | Halloween: The Inside Story | Self | 7.3 | |
November 3rd, 2009 | The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style | Self | 6.8 | |
October 7th, 2008 | In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy | Self | 6.8 | |
October 7th, 2008 | Partners in Crime: Hitchcock's Collaborators | Self | TBD | |
November 14th, 2006 | Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story | Self | 7.5 | |
November 14th, 2006 | Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet | Self | 4.5 | |
July 26th, 2006 | Halloween: 25 Years of Terror | Self | 6.9 | |
December 1st, 2005 | Hollywood's Greatest Villains | Self | 9.5 | |
June 6th, 2005 | Snake Plissken: Man of Honor | Self | 10 | |
October 30th, 2004 | Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures | Self | 7 | |
December 16th, 2003 | Return to 'Escape from New York' | Himself | 8 | |
November 18th, 2003 | The Wages of Sin | Self - Filmmaker | 7.5 | |
November 18th, 2003 | Something to Do with Death | Self - Filmmaker | 6.3 | |
November 6th, 2002 | Masters of Horror | Self | 7.8 | |
August 27th, 2002 | Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog' | Self | 6.3 | |
September 4th, 2001 | Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties | Self | 7 | |
October 28th, 2000 | Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film | Self | 7 | |
May 13th, 2000 | Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' | Self | 7 | |
June 21st, 1998 | Unmasking the Horror | TBD | 10 | |
April 28th, 1995 | Village of the Damned | Man at Gas Station Phone | 6.1 | |
May 22nd, 1994 | Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects | Self | 9 | |
February 28th, 1992 | Memoirs of an Invisible Man | Helicopter Pilot | 5.9 | |
April 11th, 1990 | Horror Cafe | Self | 8.5 | |
October 10th, 1989 | First Works | Self | 7 | |
January 1st, 1989 | Stephen King's World of Horror | Self | 8 | |
November 4th, 1988 | They Live | Voice That Says 'Sleep' (voice) (uncredited) | 7.3 | |
May 30th, 1986 | Big Trouble in Little China | Worker in Chinatown (uncredited) | 7.2 | |
December 13th, 1984 | Starman | Man in Helicopter (uncredited) | 6.9 | |
June 25th, 1982 | The Thing | Norwegian (video footage) (uncredited) | 8.1 | |
June 9th, 1982 | The Making of 'The Thing' | Self | 7.3 | |
May 23rd, 1981 | Escape from New York | Secret Service #2 / Helicopter Pilot / Violin Player | 7 | |
February 1st, 1980 | The Fog | Bennett | 6.7 | |
January 1st, 1980 | Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog' | Self | 5.8 | |
March 10th, 1979 | Bringing A Legend To Life | Himself | TBD | |
March 30th, 1974 | Dark Star | Talby Voice | 6 | |
TBD | Full Moon Rising: The Charles Band Story | Self | TBD | |
TBD | John Carpenter: Live From Los Angeles - Halloween Night | Self | TBD |