Ant_1971
Posts: 104
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: England
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My constant complaint about post-80s Carpenter, which I like to scream to the rafters every chance I get, is that the reason JC's body of work has become has so bad lately, is that many of his simpatico collaboraters of his early era have left him, or moved on to bigger and better things. While JC is in every way an auteur, filmmaking is still a collaborative process, and it seems like Carpenter has been working with a B-level crew over the last decade. The most devastating loss was the switch from Dean Cundey as his DP (Director of Photography) to the very bland, TV-movie-ish Gary Kibbe, who, while competent, is awfully uninspired, making little use out of JC's trademark Panavision, and instead settling for a flat look that looks, as I like to say, Made for USA Network.
Think about it. In his salad days, from 1976 with ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, through roughly THEY LIVE, Carpenter was a prolific cause celebre among genre filmmakers. He cranked out a solid, gritty, cynical, edgy B-movie about once a year, and even showed signs of maturing with the more ambitious THE THING, STARMAN, and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. Unfortunately, at least two of those three were, at the time, pretty conspicuous bombs at the Box Office, and he retreated to B pictures with the one-two punch of PRINCE OF DARKNESS and THEY LIVE. No shame in those two at all, but something funny happened around this time.
After THEY LIVE, the prolific director retreated and didn't make a movie again for over three years, not unusual for others, maybe, but certainly for Carpenter, who returned with a hired-gun job on MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN. I actually like this movie, especially Sam Neil's villain, but the JC trademarks were all missing -- the synth score, the white on black credits, the cool supporting turns from, say, Tom Atkins and Charles Cyphers.
He then returned (sort of) to form with IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, which is sadly beginning to look more and more like the last really competent JC film. Good cast, good concept. My only complaint, again, was that his style seemed a little watered down here -- the old moody synth drones replaced by wah-wah guitar straight out of the hair metal era, the somewhat flat compositions by Kibbe.
Unfortunately, it's been pretty down hill since then. VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED is watchable, but icy and mean-spirited; compare VILLAGE with ESCAPE FROM NY or THE THING, and you'll be shocked by the drop in quality in virtually every aspect of filmmaking.
ESCAPE FROM L.A. is a fun romp, and Russell is a riot in his second go at Snake Plissken, but as has been said ad nauseum, it's basically a lighter remake of the original, with shitty special effects and a bland visual style that does nothing to hide them. Whereas the earlier film was all black-and-blue murk and grit, this one's chintzy and flat, with some of the clunkiest production design to ever grace a $50 million film.
VAMPIRES and GHOSTS OF MARS -- the less said, the better. Excepting James Woods' hilarious performance in the former, these both seem like JC doing an imitation of Robert Rodriguez doing an imitation of Carpenter. Bland red-tinted lensing, dull compositions, and annoying use of dissolves which look like they're merely covering for JC not shooting enough coverage. It's weird; To hear JC on his commentary tracks, even for these films, he's still sharp as a tack. It's not like he's feeble, just maybe bored. Sadly, that boredom, or simple not caring, is showing through more and more in the films themselves.
My take on John Carpenter's early Feature Films (1976-1982):
Dark Star is definitley one to watch to say you've seen all of his films. It was childishly amatuer, little more than an exercise to see what he could do
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) - Again is very early, and Carpenter really doesn't have his groove, but you can see it forming in every shot. Decent cast with acceptable acting, and the start of his signature panovision. A dark and surprisingly suspenseful action picture, which really got the ball rolling for Carpenter's reputation as a director. He integrates action, western and horror elements into a basic story of survival. It has gained a cult following among fans of the director's work and low-budget action movies in general.
Halloween (1978) - The movie that would put Carpenter on the map, and become a classic horror film of the "slasher" subgenre that it started. Not to mention, it gave birth to a very successful franchise that still continues today (thanks to the original's financer, Moustapha Akkad). If one was forced to choose a favorite from the director's body of work, it would have to be this one. The "shape" remains scarier than Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees combined. He is an unstoppable force without a soul or motives of any kind.
The Fog (1980) - A film that has been praised on many occasions for its "atmosphere", which Carpenter is known for already, but here he truly makes a film that is creepy from start to finish. Every element that is used in it manages to add a layer of atmosphere to the story (such as its music, cinematography, location, mise-en-scene and even acting). You might say it did for fog what Psycho (1960) did for showers and Jaws (1975) did for water. It is definitely one of Carpenter's less well-known classics.
Escape From New York (1981) - The character of Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is considered one of the great anti-heroes of our time, and that's mostly because he's a stone cold bad ass who doesn't take shit from anybody. It should also be noted that he's a criminal, who is forced into taking a mission to save the President. Russell's performance carries this movie, plus it has enough thrills and campy dialogue to make the whole ride worth taking. Also, just like in 'Assault', Carpenter blends multiple storytelling elements into the film, so it ends up being more than just another action movie. This film is not to be confused with its inferior sequel, Escape From L.A. (1995).
The Thing (1982) - Still one of the scariest movies ever made. This is maybe my favourite Carpenter film. The gross out effects are some of the best ever, and acting is top knotch. My absolute favorite "trust no one" movie. It was obvious in Halloween that Carpenter admired the original 'Thing' movie, since it was playing on the T.V. in the background, while Jamie Lee Curtis was babysitting. His remake is rather well-regarded, and is considered to be another one of his classics. This movie has an ensemble cast, but isn't too character driven. The actors deliver convincing performances and the direction is completely solid. The creative special effects and boiling tension are what highlight this entertaining science fiction movie. This marked the second feature film collaboration between Carpenter and Russell (who would later work together on Big Trouble in Little China (1985) and Escape From L.A. as well).
IMHO, John Carpenter is second to none in his field of moviemaking. Good or bad, you always end up with some form of entertainment. And for that I truly tip my hat
< Message edited by Ant_1971 -- 14/2/2006 7:43:34 PM >
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Printable Version
RE: JOHN CARPENTER - 
As soon as W/S vhs came out it became the only way to go.....for so long the only option was pan & scan, and it was like seeing the same film I'd watched for years for the first time again. (Halloween being a good point in question) 
Nasty!
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