Favorite John Carpenter Films?

[Harvey]

I've liked every film of his I've seen, although I admit I haven't seen any of the ones viewed as misfires.

Of those films, The Thing is his masterpiece. They Live, Escape From New York, Dark Star, and Halloween were all fun. Escape from L.A. is a guilty pleasure. His two episodes of Masters of Horror were good for what they were, too.

 

[lurok]

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I am all out of bubblegum."

Come on, how can you not love that?

Indeed . Ridiculously-long-alley-fight+B&W b-movie tribute+Reaganomics/consumerism/class satire. What's not to love? Even in these cg times, I still love these scenes...

 

[Amasov]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LKLGyeyHD4[/yt]

"I've got this plan, it's called Save Ass!"

 

[Pingfah]

Wow, that list is a good reminder of how many great films Carpenter has directed, but also sadly how few of them are recent efforts.

I went for The Thing, as that is one of the best sci-fi horrors ever made.

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

Halloween is my absolute favorite film of his with The Thing being a close second. John Carpenter is one of my favorite directors of all time. I've seen almost all his movies except for Dark Star, Prince of Darkness and Vampires.

I really enjoyed his most recent film The Ward and thought it was a return to form for him. I have heard that the plot is similar to a few other movies, but that didn't bother me. I hadn't seen any of those first so the film totally worked for me and I wasn't disappointed.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I am all out of bubblegum."

Come on, how can you not love that?

Indeed . Ridiculously-long-alley-fight+B&W b-movie tribute+Reaganomics/consumerism/class satire. What's not to love? Even in these cg times, I still love these scenes...

I admit I laughed at one of the hidden messages which said MARRY AND REPRODUCE. I'm thinking, well, DUH! How exactly the hell is the human race supposed to perpetuate itself if people don't do that?!?

 

[Noddy]

My top Carpenter movie will always be The Thing, although I also love Escape from New York, Starman, Prince of Darkness, and In the Mouth of Madness.

 

[Set Harth]

I admit I laughed at one of the hidden messages which said MARRY AND REPRODUCE. I'm thinking, well, DUH! How exactly the hell is the human race supposed to perpetuate itself if people don't do that?!?

And it's not like people need subliminal messages from aliens to tell them to "CONFORM". There's enough incentive to do that as it is.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I am all out of bubblegum."

Come on, how can you not love that?

Indeed . Ridiculously-long-alley-fight+B&W b-movie tribute+Reaganomics/consumerism/class satire. What's not to love? Even in these cg times, I still love these scenes...

I admit I laughed at one of the hidden messages which said MARRY AND REPRODUCE. I'm thinking, well, DUH! How exactly the hell is the human race supposed to perpetuate itself if people don't do that?!?

How the hell is the human race supposed to perpetuate itself, if people don't marry? I wouldn't have any idea!

Plus, on a more serious note, lest the point be lost, the subtext here is that aliens are exploiting the human race. So, the subliminal message MARRY AND REPRODUCE is in context actually intended to help maintain that status quo, which is not for the sake of humanity at all.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ But if humanity DOESN'T marry and reproduce, then logically speaking, it will die out, since no new humans will be born.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

^ But if humanity DOESN'T marry and reproduce, then logically speaking, it will die out, since no new humans will be born.

OK, I'm not trying to be pedantic here, and I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but I think what you mean is:

If humanity DOESN'T reproduce, then logically speaking, it will die out, since no new humans will be born.​

The marriage part is about conformity, is what the film is getting at. I mean, taking a big huge swipe at conformity is largely the point of the film, and in how conformity supports the status quo.

In context with its subtext, MARRY AND REPRODUCE means KEEP OUR MACHINE GOING, which incidentally in-universe is intended ultimately to render humanity extinct.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ What's wrong with marriage? There's nothing sinister about that.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

^ What's wrong with marriage? There's nothing sinister about that.

In the real world? Nothing is wrong with marriage. If two people freely want to marry each other, my hat's off to them! May they have many years of happiness!

But, it's not necessary for procreation, first of all. It appeared that you were conflating marriage with reproduction. I'd say it's safe to say that one thing the film is taking a jab at is that conflation.

And, another thing the film is taking a jab at is that people are expected to live their lives according to some kind of program, in which marriage is seen as an essential component.

The viewing of marriage as an essential aspiration in people's lives is I think what the film is critiquing.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

And, another thing the film is taking a jab at is that people are expected to live their lives according to some kind of program

Uh huh. Well, the way I see it, people like Carpenter are expecting us to live our lives according to THEIR program, and so I don't see any effective difference there.

 

[Tosk]

Huh?!

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Huh?!

Yeah, I was trying to think of an appropriate response, and I think this is it.

Exactly what sort of program are people like John Carpenter expecting people to live their lives by?

And, another thing the film is taking a jab at is that people are expected to live their lives according to some kind of program

Uh huh. Well, the way I see it, people like Carpenter are expecting us to live our lives according to THEIR program, and so I don't see any effective difference there.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

All filmmakers have a message to propound whenever they make a film. This is hardly unusual and is entirely normal. The specific message of They Live is clearly anti-authority and anti-capitalism (the fact that it's "really" aliens is unimportant, that's just the sci-fi hook) - that is the program that such films and their makers expect us to live by.

This is not, in and of itself, objectionable. Of course, Carpenter has every right to make his films as he sees fit, it's just a message that I don't happen to agree with. But it is still a message. Carpenter's film rejects one message, and proposes another in its place. That's what I was referring to. And again, I'm not complaining that he's doing this - hell, I've long since grown used to the fact that most films aren't going to agree with my own views.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

No, of course you don't have to accept any message presented in media just because it's there in the commercial pipeline. Heck, doing so, with respect to a commercial film like They Live, would be to CONSUME. So, Carpenter's "message" in this film, to the degree that it is there at all, is automatically tempered by that. I think he's just encouraging people to think, is all.

And, by the way, there's nothing authoritative in subliminal advertising. Subliminal advertising is purely manipulative, and to conflate television commercials and billboards with suggestions or commands from legitimate authority would be a mistake, in my opinion.

This whole little sidebar grew out of my taking issue with what I read as your assertion that marriage is essential to the survival of the human race on a biological level. I mean, you're not really saying that marriage is biologically necessary are you? Do you see what I was trying to say with respect to that issue, or not?

^ But if humanity DOESN'T marry and reproduce, then logically speaking, it will die out, since no new humans will be born.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Dark Star, Escape From NY, Big Trouble in Little China are probably my faves. However, The Thing and They Live are classics as well but I haven't rewatched them as much as the previous movies. I respect Halloween and Starman and I think any of his pre-90s work is of some merit. I have not been a big fan of his later works.

 

[Set Harth]

Exactly what sort of program are people like John Carpenter expecting people to live their lives by?

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