John Carpenter [Archive] - Horror.com Forums

PPC

08-15-2005, 01:33 PM

I think a lot of his work suffers from being way too drawn-out and boring.

I can't sit thru Halloween without FF'ing half of it. Same for the Fog, and even Big Trouble in Little China. The thing is, they're great to watch the first time around, but there's so much down-time, it's tough to watch them more then once.

That being said, The Thing is fucking awesome... one of my favorite flics of all time. I also like the other 3 I just mentioned, but I always feel let down whenever I try to watch them again.

The_Return

08-15-2005, 05:26 PM

Wouldnt call him "the greatest"...but ya, I think he's a damn good filmaker.

pinkfloyd45769

08-15-2005, 07:43 PM

[FONT=century gothic][COLOR=purple]ARE YOU KIDDING HALLOWEEN IS THE BEST! I HAVE WATCHED THE FOG AND I DIDNT REALLY LIKE IT EITHER. THE OTHER ONE YOU SAID, BIG TIME IN LITTLE CHINA I THINK I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF CAN YOU TELL ME MORE?

pinkfloyd45769

08-15-2005, 07:46 PM

Originally posted by pinkfloyd45769
[FONT=century gothic][COLOR=purple]ARE YOU KIDDING HALLOWEEN IS THE BEST! I HAVE WATCHED THE FOG AND I DIDNT REALLY LIKE IT EITHER. THE OTHER ONE YOU SAID, BIG TIME IN LITTLE CHINA I THINK I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF CAN YOU TELL ME MORE? OOPS! I TRIED TO CHANGE FONT AND COLOR. DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED:confused:

AUSTIN316426808

08-15-2005, 08:29 PM

Damn good- yes

greatest- no

If you're talking greatest horror directors his name definately deserves to be thrown in the mix, imo he's not.

If you're talking overall greatest directors then he's not even on the honorable mentions list.

zwoti

08-15-2005, 11:37 PM

Originally posted by pinkfloyd45769
OOPS! I TRIED TO CHANGE FONT AND COLOR. DONT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED:confused:

need to add

[/COLOR][/FONT] at the end

slasherman

08-16-2005, 02:32 AM

Originally posted by zwoti
not so recently
...about 20 years ago....

PPC

08-16-2005, 02:34 PM

Originally posted by pinkfloyd45769
BIG TIME IN LITTLE CHINA I THINK I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF CAN YOU TELL ME MORE?

Dude... release the caps-lock button! ;)

Big Trouble in Little China is a pretty cool flic. Stars Kurt Russell who plays a big-mouthed truck driver who turns into an action hero in order to save his friend's fiance from a chinese cult/gang.

I love Halloween too. Well, I did the first time I saw it. On further viewings, its too slow to hold up.

Assault on Precinct 13 was pretty cool too... you should check that out (the original, not the new one).

pinkfloyd45769

08-17-2005, 07:26 AM

Sorry about the caps, i have a 1 yr. old that likes to help me type. Also, im not a dude im a girl and both of those movies sound good im going to look for them.

The_Return

08-17-2005, 07:39 AM

Keep an eye out for Escape from New York too, if you havnt seen it already. Definatly my favourite non horror from Carpenter.

pinkfloyd45769

08-17-2005, 01:03 PM

I didnt realize John Carpenter wrote non horror. Thanks i will check these out!

The_Return

08-17-2005, 02:36 PM

Originally posted by pinkfloyd45769
I didnt realize John Carpenter wrote non horror. Thanks i will check these out!

Escape from NY and Assault on Prescint 13 spring to mind...they're both awesome.

noctuary

08-29-2005, 08:09 PM

Carpenter is good, but definitely not the best. He's made some great ones in the past, but he's made some real crap too. All the same though, the man deserves a lot of respect for those aforementioned classics. If only he'd continued in that vein.

GeekLove

08-29-2005, 09:14 PM

This is so random...
John Carpenter's great-great-great uncle invented the elevator.

murder 101

09-21-2005, 06:55 PM

He made more good than bad,he's damn good,not the greatest.

Maerlyn

09-30-2005, 01:13 PM

He may not be among "the greatest" but, his films such as "In The Mouth Of Madness" and "Halloween" are splendid.

When i was a child(in a certain period), "Big Trouble In Little China" was my favourite movie :)

Nachtmahr

10-15-2005, 03:41 PM

I don't think he's the single greatest horror flm maker but he's one of the big ones and one of my favorites for sure.

scouse mac

10-15-2005, 04:38 PM

Originally posted by Maerlyn
When i was a child(in a certain period), "Big Trouble In Little China" was my favourite movie :)

You dont have to be a kid to love Big Trouble in Little China!

JC is one the better horror directors eg Mouth of Madness and (obv.!) Halloween, but he has lost his way a little in recent years, just try watching Ghosts of Mars its rubbish.
Having said that the original Assault on Precinct 13 is one of my all time fav films, a prime example of less is more

slasherman

10-15-2005, 05:12 PM

Originally posted by scouse mac
but he has lost his way a little in recent years, just try watching Ghosts of Mars its rubbish.

hasnt tried.....looks awful

Zero

10-18-2005, 01:47 PM

For me - its a toss up between Romero and Carpenter for the two horror directors who have been continuously challenging even if not always successful. At the moment, my nod would go to Romero - but mainly because I thought Land of the Dead was a masterpiece. I thought Carpenter's They Live was fabulous - but can't say the later stuff (vampires or ghosts of mars) were anything to write home about (although, on Romero's count - Bruiser left me totally baffled).

no mulier

11-06-2005, 03:50 AM

I've never really considered Vampires or Ghosts of Mars to be horror films. Rather they exude the feel of a western, which is a theme that John Carpenter has always wanted to use. On that note, I don't agree that he has "lost his way". I think he's just trying out different approaches to his films and he has succeeded considerably, in my opinion. These two films albeit somewhat modern, sit comfortably beside The Thing, They Live, and In the Mouth of Madness.

RavageRitual

11-06-2005, 10:30 AM

I didnt like Prince Of Darkness at all, I was expecting it to be really good because so many people told me it was really good. But i just didnt care for it.

giallobelly

11-06-2005, 10:45 AM

Halloween is good, but overrated. Halloween III is where it's at! The Thing is amazing. I liked Prince of Darkness, was kinda disappointed. But come on, They Live!

Not the best director ever, but his great stuff definitely makes up crap like Ghosts of Mars.

jesus1.0

11-07-2005, 10:02 AM

omg you freaking noobs i mean damnit you havent seen a horror movie before have you freaking noobs get a life you noobs i mean damn. clearly the best horror movie director is George A. Ramero..... woot woot night of the living dead woot woot :D :D :D

zwoti

11-07-2005, 10:22 AM

Originally posted by jesus1.0
omg you freaking noobs i mean damnit you havent seen a horror movie before have you freaking noobs get a life you noobs i mean damn. clearly the best horror movie director is George A. Ramero..... woot woot night of the living dead woot woot :D :D :D

and who the fook is george a ramero

:rolleyes:

no mulier

11-08-2005, 02:43 AM

excellent point there, zwoti.

Elvis_Christ

11-15-2005, 04:59 PM

Easily one of my favorite directors. So many classic films that have already been mentioned in this thread (suprised no one mentioned Dark Star or Starman). He gets a lot of shit these days but I still enjoy his films and I thought Vampires was a return to form.... James Woods was great in this film and his character was the solid, gruff bad ass tuff guy Carpenter's films have become known for (something that the remake of his Assault on Precinct 13 lacked). I have faith in him and will continue to watch his films as he is one of the more interesting American filmakers and his films will always be a good antedote to the bullshit feed to us by the Tom Hanks/Russel Crowe/ Tom Crusie driven Speilberg/Ritchie Cunningham vechicles that Hollywood churns out endlessly and that always top dipshit critic and "movie lovers" lists.

p.s I've said it before on threads on him and I'll say it again Escape From L.A was MEANT to be that BAD.... it was a tongue n' cheek pisstake showing his distain for sequels :)

Snake

04-14-2006, 07:37 PM

John Carpenter IMHO is one of the best directors out there. He has a great sense of vision and brings some unique styles to films. He has also written some of the best scripts out there. I do think that most people only really know him from Halloween and The Thing, and I wish they would look at some of his other work as well.

I also see a lot of people who bash his work for various reasons, but it seems to be that they do not get the idea of what the film is about or how it was portrayed. Eg. Escape From L.A. and Ghosts Of Mars.

The one film I really feel is not his best is Memoirs Of An Invisible Man which really lacks some of his best qualities.

MisterSadistro

04-14-2006, 11:05 PM

The reason any of John Carpenter's films work is simple: he adds some tension. It's easy to suddenly have something jump into frame at any given time and scare people. Every horror movie on the planet has done that. The secret is to let them know something is going to happen and drag it out. Until it does, you will have people on the edge of their seats and biting their nails. He's not as brilliant as everyone thinks. Just very clever with his shots.
CK

urgeok

04-18-2006, 07:57 AM

Originally posted by MisterSadistro
The reason any of John Carpenter's films work is simple: he adds some tension. It's easy to suddenly have something jump into frame at any given time and scare people. Every horror movie on the planet has done that. The secret is to let them know something is going to happen and drag it out. Until it does, you will have people on the edge of their seats and biting their nails. He's not as brilliant as everyone thinks. Just very clever with his shots.
CK

this is what Hitchock called 'the bomb under the table'
tension heightened by anticipation and the frustration that you know what is going to happen but you are unable to warn the characters in the movie ..

Zero

04-27-2006, 04:09 AM

i always think of JC as making westerns - there always seems to be some kind of 'frontier' and also some kind of 'fortress' and the characters end up under seige most of the time. . .so, hitchcock is an obvious influence, but so are Hawks and Ford

Suspiria 666

08-25-2006, 01:00 PM

he's o.k.

voorhees92

08-28-2006, 12:06 PM

I have yet to see The Thing, but Escape from New York and Big Trouble In Little China were pure masterpieces.

noctuary

08-28-2006, 01:45 PM

Originally posted by voorhees92
I have yet to see The Thing, but Escape from New York and Big Trouble In Little China were pure masterpieces.
You should definitely watch The Thing ASAP. It (along with Halloween) is generally regarded as one of his highest achievements. I still think that In the Mouth of Madness is better, though.

voorhees92

08-29-2006, 05:05 AM

got it! The Thing is actually on the IMDB top 250! So obviously this one's a must. PLUS Kurt Russell is one of my favorite actors, so that's a total-high.

Burning in Hell

08-29-2006, 10:02 AM

Originally posted by noctuary
You should definitely watch The Thing ASAP. It (along with Halloween) is generally regarded as one of his highest achievements. I still think that In the Mouth of Madness is better, though.

Yeah, In the Mouth of Madness deservies its place right alongside Halloween and The Thing! Very good and eerie movie.

urgeok

08-29-2006, 10:09 AM

Originally posted by Burning in Hell
Yeah, In the Mouth of Madness deservies its place right alongside Halloween and The Thing! Very good and eerie movie.

i'll never understand why people like this movie so much ..
i thought it was his first miss ... soon to be followed by more.

best thing about it was the commentary .. if you want to learn a bit about lighting techniques.

Vodstok

08-29-2006, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by urgeok
i'll never understand why people like this movie so much ..
i thought it was his first miss ... soon to be followed by more.

best thing about it was the commentary .. if you want to learn a bit about lighting techniques. I think people like it because it is clever and unexpected. The main thing i couldnt stand about it was Jurgen Prochnow spouting poorly written attempts at lovecraft-style knockoff "literature"

Burning in Hell

08-29-2006, 11:57 AM

Originally posted by urgeok
i'll never understand why people like this movie so much ..
i thought it was his first miss ... soon to be followed by more.

best thing about it was the commentary .. if you want to learn a bit about lighting techniques.

Well, to each his own I guess! To me, In the Mouth of Madness represents one of Carpenter's finest hours, and THEN he started going downhill with Village of the Damned and Escape from LA...

urgeok

08-29-2006, 12:00 PM

Originally posted by Burning in Hell
Well, to each his own I guess! To me, In the Mouth of Madness represents one of Carpenter's finest hours, and THEN he started going downhill with Village of the Damned and Escape from LA...

yeah - a lot of people here like it ..

i just didnt think it meshed ... had a real direct to video feel to it (to me)... despite the good cast.

Burning in Hell

08-29-2006, 12:08 PM

Originally posted by urgeok
yeah - a lot of people here like it ..

i just didnt think it meshed ... had a real direct to video feel to it (to me)... despite the good cast.

Thing is, I am a total Lovecraft freak, so when the movie came out I rushed to see it and was totally blown away by the whole tone of the movie who is very reminniscent of it all.

noctuary

08-29-2006, 04:46 PM

Originally posted by Burning in Hell
Thing is, I am a total Lovecraft freak, so when the movie came out I rushed to see it and was totally blown away by the whole tone of the movie who is very reminniscent of it all.
Same here. I liked very much that the film had the whole Lovecraftian mood and atmosphere without being a slavish knock-off. Very few filmmakers have managed to make a decent film based on HPL's ideas, but I think that Carpenter delivered in spades with this one. On the other hand, I can understand why some may not like it. If you're not inclined to enjoy Lovecraft's works in general, you probably wouldn't get nearly as much from it as a fan would.

urgeok

08-30-2006, 07:43 AM

i've been reading quite a bit of lovecraft recently and i can only see the faintest of connections ..

it wasnt the theme as much as the execution that bothered me ..
it just felt sloppy to me ..no where near as deft as his previous films ..it just didnt ... flow well.

and i couldnt get the 'ode to stephen king' feel out of my head either.

the 'coup de gras' was no fault of the film .... but as i mentioned before - the film was shot all around where i live ... and i was far too familiar with the sets ... for a fantasy film..

Vodstok

08-30-2006, 07:47 AM

I think the only lovecraft references in the film were the excerpts from the book, which were really painful to listen to. that writing there was just awful... "yawned blackly"... barf. Just baaad.

Thats like "Slimed Oozily".... kind of lovecraftian, but shitty at the same time, and nothing he would have put to paper, even as a joke. he was to anal for that.

urgeok

08-30-2006, 07:48 AM

Originally posted by Vodstok
he was to anal for that.

you mean "too anal"

ha that was irony kids.

Vodstok

08-30-2006, 07:54 AM

Originally posted by urgeok
you mean "too anal"

ha that was irony kids. inadvertant double-entendre. Does it still count?

urgeok

08-30-2006, 07:57 AM

Originally posted by Vodstok
inadvertant double-entendre. Does it still count?

no, you are clearly bullshitting.

Vodstok

08-30-2006, 08:47 AM

i admitted it was not on purpose. Way to kick a guy when he's down...

halloweenfreak1

09-06-2006, 04:53 PM

Originally posted by pinkfloyd45769
Anyone else think hes the greatest?

hell yeah. halloween did it for me . you would have to be an apsolute geinius to think that up.

Zero

09-12-2006, 03:44 AM

i think in general i prefer romero - though carpenter's films are more imaginative

Disease

09-14-2006, 09:22 AM

Snake

11-20-2006, 03:08 AM

as good as romero is, he didn't do the music that john did, thats what realy made him, he had such a pleasence in his films. when will he do something new. Ghosts of Mars is the last thing I remember, that was a way back?

To....well.....somewhat answer your question check this interview we recently conducted with John Carpenter. The questions were put forward by our members and the 10 best were picked and sent to John. You can view the questions and the answers here

http://www.johncarpenterforum.com/index.php?page=38

the_real_linda

11-20-2006, 03:22 AM

"JC: Dream projects are a dangerous sort of thing to contemplate. An unlimited budget is also problematic to creativity."

thanks for this....and thats so damn true!!

crabapple

12-01-2006, 08:05 PM

I'll never forget what Carpenter said to me the day I barged onto one of the "Big Trouble In Little China" locations with a friend. I was in the midst of taking his picture but I was taking too long focusing the camera and he said,

"Hurry up, boys, you're stealing my lunch!!"

tcardenas

12-04-2006, 03:20 PM

haha, thats hilarious.

The Mothman

12-11-2006, 07:47 AM

has anyone seen Escape From New York? how is it? good action or what?

urgeok

12-11-2006, 07:55 AM

has anyone seen Escape From New York? how is it? good action or what?

are you kidding me ?

has anyone NOT seen Escape From New York ?

if you honestly havent seen it - go get it

The Mothman

12-11-2006, 10:59 AM

tight. its next on my list.

Vodstok

12-11-2006, 11:28 AM

Wait, isnt john carpenter english?

:)

Prince-Of-Horror

12-18-2006, 09:09 AM

I Love John Carpenter . This mister is fanstastic !!!! Halloween and The Thing are magic !!!
This episod of the masters of horror series "cigarette burns" is exellent too .