John Carpenter: Did He Fail?

[matthieuxdetoux]

I don't think he failed at anything. He's had some misses (Mainly Escape from LA) but all in all he has a solid body of work that most people would be incredibly proud of and he's one of those directors that puts his stamp on a film so everyone is familiar with what are John Carpenter films. It would be like saying "Did Francis Ford Coppola fail because he made Dracula?"

Classic:
Halloween
Big Trouble in Little China
The Thing
Escape from New York
Christine
The Fog
The Live

Worth Your Time:
Prince of Darkness
In the Mouth of Madness
Vampires
Assault on Precinct 13

Watch If On Cable:
Ghosts of Mars
Village of the Damned
Starman


Avoid:
Escape from LA
Memoirs of an Invisible Man


Wow that's alot better than most directors.... Jeeze.

[bruce_pullen]

Originally Posted by matthieuxdetoux

I don't think he failed at anything. He's had some misses (Mainly Escape from LA) but all in all he has a solid body of work that most people would be incredibly proud of and he's one of those directors that puts his stamp on a film so everyone is familiar with what are John Carpenter films. It would be like saying "Did Francis Ford Coppola fail because he made Dracula?"

Classic:
Halloween
Big Trouble in Little China
The Thing
Escape from New York
Christine
The Fog
The Live

Worth Your Time:
Prince of Darkness
In the Mouth of Madness
Vampires
Assault on Precinct 13

Watch If On Cable:
Ghosts of Mars
Village of the Damned
Starman


Avoid:
Escape from LA
Memoirs of an Invisible Man


Wow that's alot better than most directors.... Jeeze.

Only three or four of his films stand with other great directors though.

The rest seem subpar.

I'm sorry. After the Thing (1982), he became less than he was.

[nick1091]

Originally Posted by bruce_pullen

Only three or four of his films stand with other great directors though.

The rest seem subpar.

I'm sorry. After the Thing (1982), he became less than he was.

The question is, subpar compared to what?

If you stand his body of work against other successful directors within the horror/action genre he built his career on, I'd say he comes up favorably compared to Tobe Hooper, George Romero, and even Craven, IMO.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by nick1091

The question is, subpar compared to what?

If you stand his body of work against other successful directors within the horror/action genre he built his career on, I'd say he comes up favorably compared to Tobe Hooper, George Romero, and even Craven, IMO.

I would agree with your assessment. Carpenter has made movie with great replay value. Maybe not the greates of films, but very entertaining.

[nycomet]

Definitely The Happening. After that one: game over, man.

[nick1091]

Originally Posted by nycomet

Definitely The Happening. After that one: game over, man.

[Elandyll]

Originally Posted by nick1091

The question is, subpar compared to what?

If you stand his body of work against other successful directors within the horror/action genre he built his career on, I'd say he comes up favorably compared to Tobe Hooper, George Romero, and even Craven, IMO.

Definitely.

Even his Ghost of Mars (that I actually find reminiscent of Final Fantasy, the Spirits Within - obviously no link though, released the same year) I find watchable (admitedly his weakest film by far).

Compare that to over hyped directors like Craven or Romero who have at best 2 or 3 genuine good films under their belt in their entire career, it's a no contest.

Imo:

Classics of Cinema (unmissables):
- The Fog
- Christine
- Assault on precinct 13
- Halloween
- Escape from New York

Classics you can live without:
- They Live
- StarMan

Classics of Horror (I couldn't live without):
- The Thing (maybe -the- best horror movie ever made, along with Evil Dead, suspiria, Dawn of the Dead, and The Exorcist)
- Prince of Darkness (Horror movie for the thinking man)
- In The Mouth of Madness (Horror movie for the literary)

Cult (unclassable - you either love it or hate it):
- Big Trouble in Little China (Love it)
- Memoirs of an Invisible Man (I do love this film for weird reasons, I generally hate Chase)


Cable/ cheap DVD but entertaining:
- Village of the Damned
- Vampires
- Escape From LA (I personally love this film, but admit there are quite a few problems with it)

Bad but Watchable:
- Ghosts of Mars

Give Mr Carpenter a limited budget, time constraints, a real good scripts, and I am quite sure he can still deliver.

Cf "cigarette Burns" in The Masters of Horror (Showtime Series).

[bruce_pullen]

Originally Posted by nick1091

The question is, subpar compared to what?

If you stand his body of work against other successful directors within the horror/action genre he built his career on, I'd say he comes up favorably compared to Tobe Hooper, George Romero, and even Craven, IMO.

Carpenter started as a premier director. Assault, Halloween, Escape From New York, The Thing. The Thing bombed...Then, he became a competent talent (with some style).

He could have been up there: with Spielberg or Scorsese. Rather than be known: as a horror director.

That was my point. It doesn't mean: the later stuff has no value.

It just means: he was Mozart, and now he's a wiff above Salleri. A sad waste... of such great promise.

[nick1091]

Originally Posted by bruce_pullen

Carpenter started as a premier director. Assault, Halloween, Escape From New York, The Thing. The Thing bombed...Then, he became a competent talent (with some style).

He could have been up there: with Spielberg or Scorsese. Rather than be known: as a horror director.

That was my point. It doesn't mean: the later stuff has no value.

It just means: he was Mozart, and now he's a wiff above Salleri. A sad waste... of such great promise.

I don't know that he could've had the career you're thinking of. Or, for that matter, if that was what he even wanted. This was a guy who turned down both Fatal Attraction and Top Gun, two enormously successful mainstream films.

Also I think it's pretty hard to make a career for yourself as a mainstream director when you've built the start of your career on the horror/hard action drama. If you look at successful horror directors, they've been pretty unsuccessful in more mainstream fare (Craven bombed with Vampire in Brooklyn & Music of the Heart, for example.)

[fletchlives]

Originally Posted by Elandyll

Definitely.

Even his Ghost of Mars (that I actually find reminiscent of Final Fantasy, the Spirits Within - obviously no link though, released the same year) I find watchable (admitedly his weakest film by far).

Compare that to over hyped directors like Craven or Romero who have at best 2 or 3 genuine good films under their belt in their entire career, it's a no contest.

Imo:

Classics of Cinema (unmissables):
- The Fog
- Christine
- Assault on precinct 13
- Halloween
- Escape from New York

Classics you can live without:
- They Live
- StarMan

Classics of Horror (I couldn't live without):
- The Thing (maybe -the- best horror movie ever made, along with Evil Dead, suspiria, Dawn of the Dead, and The Exorcist)
- Prince of Darkness (Horror movie for the thinking man)
- In The Mouth of Madness (Horror movie for the literary)

Cult (unclassable - you either love it or hate it):
- Big Trouble in Little China (Love it)
- Memoirs of an Invisible Man (I do love this film for weird reasons, I generally hate Chase)


Cable/ cheap DVD but entertaining:
- Village of the Damned
- Vampires
- Escape From LA (I personally love this film, but admit there are quite a few problems with it)

Bad but Watchable:
- Ghosts of Mars

Give Mr Carpenter a limited budget, time constraints, a real good scripts, and I am quite sure he can still deliver.

Cf "cigarette Burns" in The Masters of Horror (Showtime Series).

+1 with the exception of Vampires. I have a soft spot for that one because I love James Woods so I'd move it to your cult list.