Question:
Non John Carpenter fans need not post. :D
Many of you might go for Halloween, but for me, it has to be The Thing. I regard it to be one of the best Sci Fi horror films I have ever seen (even better than Alien). Carpenter is at his very best here with the way he builds up the atmosphere. The blood test scene is a classic, and the special effects (excellent job by Rob Bottin) still hold up brilliantly today. I have seen it several times, and it never loses its power. Great rewatch value. Last but not least, it has the best quote from any sci fi horror movie:
"You've gotta be EDIT kidding!"
On top of that, the dvd release is excellent. The only thing lacking is an anamorphic transfer. The John and Kurt commentary is the best I have heard out all the ones I have listened to.
Answer:

Definitely a good thumbs up for The Thing :thumbs:
My absolute favourites are The Fog and also Escape From New York (Oi! Where the hell has the SE DVD for this got to?)
:clap:
Subsequently editied for cruddy spelling......
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A toss up between 'The Thing' & 'Big Trouble In Little China'.
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i honestly couldn't pick one. carpenter has made so many great films (generally sooo long ago now)
Halloween
Assault on Precinct 13
The Thing
Escape From New York
Big Trouble in Little China
The Fog
and with the exception of EFNY (which i am waiting for an SE of as well) i have them all on nice dvds.
as well as a number that are a bit crappy but still enjoyable like They Live, Dark Star and In the Mouth of Madness, but i stopped looking forward to a new john carpenter film long ago - and ghosts of mars didn't help. it was just the fog meets precinct 13, in space, and nowhere near as good as either.
Answer:

Another vote for The Thing, though I love Escape From New York :)
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Well, I generally like them all too, even the recent crappier ones. :nuts: However, I saw Assault On Precinct 13 for the first time last week, but *shock horror* didn't like it so much. :eek: I don't know if the ultra low budget or the slightly dodgy acting put me off, or the fact that the gang members are all mutes. :lol: :suspect: ;)
Assault On Precinct 13 spoiler:
The killing of the little blonde girl is shocking though, and completely took me by surprise. :eek: I thought that was the best part of the movie. Not the killing of the girl of the course, but in the context of the way the sequence was put together.
Answer:

"The Thing" and "Halloween" are just about perfect films in their respective genres and I couldn't choose between them.
I do have soft spots for "Prince of Darkness", "The Fog" and the much-maligned "Vampires"
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I liked Vampires too. The main weakness is the seemingly very abrupt ending.
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Very true, but James Woods is just fantastic in it.
"Did you get wood ?", "I got mahogany".
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There's quite a few J.C. films I like but my favourite 6 are (in order):
1) The Thing
2) Halloween
3) The Fog
4) They Live
5) Big Trouble in Little China
6) Christine
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Dark Star, make no mistake. After that, where did it all go wrong?
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While I also have the Thing and Halloween on DVD, my fave would have to be Big Trouble in Little China since it's the only one I've seen
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The Thing walks away with this one, but honourable mentions for Halloween, Assault On Precinct 13, Big Trouble In Little China, and Escape From New York.
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For me it has to be Halloween as it was my first Carpenter film many moons ago. However, this is closely followed by (in no particular order) The Thing, The Fog, Escape from NY & Assault on Precinct 13 . I'm just suprised no one's voted for the 1993 TV movie Body Bags . Just love the tale of the guy with the hair transplant:D
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Assault on Precinct 13 - the ice cream van scene - John Carpenter's finest moment.
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The Thing - excellent film, saw this first on pirate vhs which was surprisingly good quality and in widescreen.
Assault on Precinct 13 - excellent film, saw this first on BBC1 in the late 70s.
Escape from New York - excellent film, saw this at the cinema rated AA.
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Lots of classics but <b>Prince Of Darkness</b> beats the lot IMHO!
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I'll agree with whatever Pork Chop Express says if he ever get round to posting in this thread :D
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on the new precinct 13 dvd there's an interview with carpenter where he talks about that 'shocking' ice cream van scene. the MPAA wanted it removed, and he agreed so he could get the rating he wanted, then they put it right back into the release prints.
class.
Answer:

The Thing
best quote from the movie, at the blood test sence:
Great, now would someone untie me from this EDIT couch!!
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Another vote for the Thing.
First saw it as a double bill with Poltergeist, and me and a mate just sat there flabbergasted. Such a bleak film, aided by the documentary like feel (especially the slow dissolves to back.)
But also honourable mentions to Starman, Escape from New York (and -guilty pleasure - Escape from LA), Halloween and the Fog.
Answer:

having only seen the following:-
Assault on Precinct 13
The Thing
Escape From New York
Big Trouble in Little China
i would have to say The Thing easily wins
Would like to see They Live, Halloween and The Fog
Answer:

Originally posted by Scoob
having only seen the following:-
Assault on Precinct 13
The Thing
Escape From New York
Big Trouble in Little China
Starman
i would have to say The Thing easily wins
Would like to see They Live, Halloween and The Fog
Answer:

Assault is just devastating, one of the finest indie movies ever made, and IMO is still Carpenter's best film. The pacing is perfect, the editing tight, and the production design is economical and yet so effective. But it's the intense music score that pushes the movie into greatness. God, I love Assault on Precinct 13.
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I would probably go for Halloween (unmatched creation of a disturbing/scary athmosphere) with Assault being a close second (the Synthesizer Score under the opening of Assault just makes my skin crawl - in a positive sense)
But like so many of you, I like almost all the "old" ones. And it's like there's one for every taste:
Ghoststory: The Fog
SF/Action: Escape from NY
Action/Comedy: Big Trouble in LC
Supernatural: Prince of Darkness
Visceral Horror: The Thing
Probably The Thing is the one that stands the test of time best somehow. Apart from the dodgy chess computer the rest is mostly "timeless" deco.
I think the absolute degradation came after "In the Mouth of Madness"
Answer:

Originally posted by Roberto
The Thing
best quote from the movie, at the blood test sence:
Great, now would someone untie me from this EDIT couch!!
Donald Moffat's delivery is timeless:
"...I'd rather not spend the rest of this winter, tied to this EDIT chair!!"
:thumbs: :clap:
Answer:

Halloween would be my first choice. Saw it when it first came out and it made a big impression on me. I like it's pared down simpicity, it may just be the most "pure" of all horror films and nobody ever captured nighttime on camera the way Dean Cundey did. Jamie Lee Curtis always was the best and most likable of all slasher film heroines.
Second would be The Thing, one of the best ever monster movies and then comes The Fog, Assault on Precinct 13, Escape From New York, Star Man, Prince of Darkness, Dark Star and In The Mouth of Madness.
Another film of his which I really like is Someone Is Watching Me, a tv movie in the vein of Hitchcock's Rear Window starring Lauren Hutton and Adrienne Barbeau. It was made around the same time as Halloween and is still considered to be one of the finest thrillers made for television. Unfortunately the studio wouldn't let him do the music for it himself, which makes it feel a bit less of a typical Carpenter film of the period.
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Assault on Precicnt 13 for me.
the low budgetness gives the movie its charm. And the ice cream scene, it is shocking !!
my dad reckons John Woo was inspired by this movie with the use of action and music. Not sure, but an interesting comment.
it also has that 'hazy summer' atmosphere i really love.
behind Assault, would be The Thing and Escape from New York (hurry up with the DVD).
Special mention for Big Trouble as it was a childhood fav.
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<b>Halloween would be my first choice. Saw it when it first came out and it made a big impression on me. I like it's pared down simpicity, it may just be the most "pure" of all horror films and nobody ever captured nighttime on camera the way Dean Cundey did. Jamie Lee Curtis always was the best and most likable of all slasher film heroines.</b>
Very well put. It's the elegance of the film which has always impressed me. Not a single shot wasted, not a single moment of unnecessary gore, just pure cinema. The characterisation of Curtis's character is done with subtle strokes as well as broad ones and while the other two girls are more stereotypical, they're both given little character moments to give them individual personality.
The opening five minutes of the film are an object lesson to all filmmakers in how to establish time, place and motivation with barely any dialogue.
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I watched Vampires again yesterday. James Woods is pure class in it! :clap:
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The Thing seems to be getting a pretty big thumbs up on here and I have to agree: for me it is Carpenter's greatest achievement and also one of the most perfect paranoid horror movies ever made. And Morricone's score is just superb.
I also love Halloween and Assault on Precinct 13. Both films are perfectly crafted little horror movies that do everything they set out to do, and maintain their suspense through to the very end (something Carpenter seems to have had a problem with for sometime now).
Dark Star rarely gets mentioned but I have huge admiration for this film: you name me any other student film that is this daring and inventive?
However, if we're going to talk about Carpenter's greatest achievement as a COMPOSER, well I think Escape From New York is top of a very good pile.
Answer:

Originally posted by danielzavitz
on the new precinct 13 dvd there's an interview with carpenter where he talks about that 'shocking' ice cream van scene. the MPAA wanted it removed, and he agreed so he could get the rating he wanted, then they put it right back into the release prints.
class.
LOL
I heard about that as well, total genius.
hmmm my fave carpenter flick.... theres so many i love.
big trouble in little china is up there, thats class. The Thing is brilliant, Halloweenis great as well.
I have avoided Ghosts Of Mars, so can't comment on that
Answer:

I have a strange admiration for They Live - the fight scene in the alley was so OTT it was great!:thumbs:
The score in The Thing is superbly placed - adds so much to the film.
It's the bad one's for me - Ghosts of Mars was poor, as was Prince of Darkness (although I haven't seen that one for over 10 years) that I seem to stand out and let Carpenter down.
Answer:

Took a chance on Prince of Darkness and was very surprised by it after reading many negative comments.
I thought it was quite good, and very John Carpenter!
Carpenter seemed at his best when he didn't have a big budget to play around with, but then again, that could be said about so many directors.
---
So many films, so little time...
Answer:

Originally posted by John Hodson
Took a chance on Prince of Darkness and was very surprised by it after reading many negative comments.
I thought it was quite good, and very John Carpenter!
Carpenter seemed at his best when he didn't have a big budget to play around with, but then again, that could be said about so many directors.
---
So many films, so little time...
i really enjoyed 'prince of darkness' and don't really understand the negative comments about it.
Answer:

I really couldn't pick one.
The Thing is magnificent on so many levels, but it isn't really fair to compare it to things like Halloween and Precinct 13, due to the size of the cast and the budget.
I will quite happily watch any John Carpenter movie, because you know something in it wil be worth watching. Even Ghosts of Mars is enjoyable in places, and could have been truley awesome were it handled slightly differently (told in a different order, without the silly bookend's and voice over).
Personally, while the "I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter tied to this fluffing couch" line from The Thing is particularly memorable, I quite like the immortal "I have come here to chew bubblegum, and kick ass....and I'm all out of bubblegum".
Oh, and how come nobody voted for The Invisible Man? ;)
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Memoirs of an Invisible Man is pretty good, but average in comparison to his other work. I think Prince of Darkness is a very effective horror movie. I've only recently seen it for the first time (several months ago) and was very pleasantly surprised at how good it actually is.
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Prince of Darkness does creeping dread like few other films. And the special FX for the street creeper. Oh, that's right, it's Alice Cooper. No SFX required. :D
The only other thing I can think of that's vaguely similar is "The Keep". There are bits in this that have a very similar feel.
I also really like Christine. It follows the book fairly well and the actor picked to play Roland D Lebay was perfectly cast. The music is classic Carpenter too. Every time it gets shown on TV it's always butchered though. I remember watching it once on TV and the swearing was edited so mercilessly it turned Buddy Reperton into quite a nice guy IMHO. :oh-hum:
Answer:

I would pick the Thing as well followed by the Fog. Although I think the Fog is a good example of how horror films have moved away from focusing on suspense and even the extra stuff that was included before release is relatively mild by today's standards. The Thing and the Fog both have some memorable spooky music which is like a character on its own.
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"Prince of Darkness" is much underrated. It was intended as a tribute to Nigel Kneale and it has the nice mix of science and superstition that Kneale did so well.
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Originally posted by Mike
"Prince of Darkness" is much underrated. It was intended as a tribute to Nigel Kneale and it has the nice mix of science and superstition that Kneale did so well.
Its only drawback was its excruciating slow pace...
Answer:

Difficult toss up between The Thing & Halloween - has
to be The Thing though really, Just a better story/movie for me,
although Halloween was why I got into horror films and (along with star wars) the reason I got into films (although I'm sure if I think there are others)
So, The Thing just over Halloween
Kudos also to:
Escape From New York, The Fog, Christine, They Live, Big Trouble
Answer:

1. Prince of Darkness for me - One of the few films that REALLY made me jump. I was a bit younger though.
At the end when he rolls over in bed!!
2. Big Trouble in Little China
3. The Thing
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Big Trouble in Little China, I just love the fantasy stuff, comedy and martial arts! It holds up so well now, top notch film! :thumbs:
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Originally posted by Tiffany Bradford
Its only drawback was its excruciating slow pace...
I thought the pacing was spot on. :)
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Originally posted by bruce-leroy
I thought the pacing was spot on. :)
It's a brilliant horror film and one of my favourites, but... it... dragged :)
Answer:

My favourite will always be The Thing,but someone else touched upon an interesting point a bit earlier.
One of the main reasons I love Carpenters early films is because of their "look"-great visual style,roaming steadicams,effortless set-ups...
After seeing some of his later stuff especially Ghosts of Mars,all the style is sadly lacking,or even worse appears to be a parody of Carpenters ealrlier works.
Now in my book,Dean Cundey is responsible for a lot of Carpenters early success,and it was a sad day indeed when they had their minor "falling out",and Cundey moved on to work on bigger budget Hollywood fare,while Carpenter was criminally ignored by Hollywood after the box office failure of The Thing.
So,my question is,was Carpenter lucky to hook up with Cundey when he did,and was their subsequent break-up the reason behind Carpenter not quite "cutting the mustard" anymore?
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I think probably The Thing is the most entertaining of the Carpenter movies I've seen. I quite like Big Trouble, but am not a fan of Escape from NY (or LA!)
Is an anamorphic version of The Thing likely, or should I buy the current R2 in one of the many sales that it turns up in?