Assault on the System: The Nonconformist Cinema of John Carpenter: Standard Edition

by Troy Howarth, Jolyon Yates (Illustrator), Tony Strauss (Editor)

[STANDARD EDITION - SAME CONTENT AS THE COLOR EDITION, BUT WITH BLACK & WHITE INTERIOR] THERE'S MORE TO THE MASTER OF HORROR THAN MEETS THE EYE! His name is synonymous with horror thanks to the landmark hit HALLOWEEN (1978), but there’s a lot more to John Carpenter than just that.Like so many, Carpenter found a much-needed escape from reality at the movies—and his love of the medium inspired him to start up his own fanzines when he was just a kid. He initially aspired to make westerns, but fate had other ideas in mind. Sooner than resist being typecast as a horror filmmaker, Carpenter embraced the moniker of “master of horror,” all the while dipping in and out of the genre as he tried his hand at everything from sci-fi romps like THEY LIVE (1988) to gritty action thrillers like ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) and romantic fantasies like STARMAN (1984). Carpenter’s love of old school Hollywood, embodied in his passion for the films of Howard Hawks, inspired him to create a persona which eschews arthouse pretentions in favor of classical storytelling and craftsmanship. Working with budgets low and high, he always saw to it that his films looked and sounded as slick and professional as possible—and his use of anamorphic Panavision in virtually all of his theatrical features gives even the smallest of his films a larger-than-life pictorial allure. Carpenter doesn’t specialize in real he specializes in movies—and all the artifice that entails. Then there’s the music—that distinctive minimalist approach to synthesizer scoring which gives his films an even more unmistakable personality. As the son of an accomplished musician and music historian, Carpenter brought his flair for music, as well as his sense of timing, to bear on a variety of subjects. One of the constant themes running through Carpenter’s work is a deep distrust of authority in its various forms. Early hopes of finding acceptance within the Hollywood system soon gave way to an understanding that he preferred being his own boss, working outside of the system in order to preserve the integrity of his vision. ASSAULT ON THE THE NONCONFORMIST CINEMA OF JOHN CARPENTER charts Carpenter’s trajectory from screenwriter-for-hire to director of low-budget oddities like DARK STAR (1974) to his meteoric rise and fall within the very system he came to distrust. All of Carpenter’s films are analyzed in detail, including his forays into made-for-TV fare, and his various sideline projects as a writer, a composer, and a producer are also examined. Brand new interviews with Carpenter, his wife Sandy King-Carpenter, and actor Keith Gordon also help to provide a glimpse into the man, his methods, and what makes him tick.In addition, there are hundreds of eye-catching images, including theatrical posters, stills, behind the scenes shots, and more.The end result is a comprehensive celebration of one of America’s great, yet oft-unsung auteurs, and a true independent spirit in his chosen medium. Guest essays Matty Budrewicz & Dave Wain, Lee Gambin, John Harrison, Randall D. Larson, Robert Russell LaVigne, Francesco Massaccesi, Paul Poet, and Nick Smith. Published by WK Books, publishers of Weng's Chop Cinema Megazine and Monster! Digest.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

463 pages, Paperback

Published September 25, 2020

Reviews

[Mark Tolch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Troy Howarth's Assault On The System: The Nonconformist Cinema of John Carpenter is a must-read for John Carpenter fans. Howarth takes us on a trip from Carpenter's childhood in Kentucky to his schooling out west, where the seeds of his unique approach to filmmaking began to germinate. From his earliest attempts to create within the confines of the medium of the moving picture to his successful involvement with 2018's revisit to HALLOWEEN and his career as a touring musician, its' safe to say that Howarth has left no stone unturned in Carpenter's career.

Drawing on other resources that came before him, as well as his own knowledge and recent interviews with Keith Gordon, Sandy King Carpenter, and the Man himself, the book also features a number of photos and lobby cards (black and white in this Standard edition) that accentuate the tale and pad the book out to a substantial weight and size.

No complaints here, but it is worth noting that Howarth's descriptions of Carpenter's film can not be defined as synopses; for readers who haven't seen some of the films detailed within, there are sure to be spoilers galore. To be fair, Howarth does often interject relevant information specific to spoilerific plot points, though a little light discretion where explicit plot detail isn't required would have been welcome. THAT being said, it's fair to say that purchasers of this book are likely to be intimately familiar with most, if not all of Carpenter's work.

A handful of guest essays at the end of the book will likely be met with reactions from mildly interested to indifference, but the real treat follows with the aforementioned interviews between the author and John Carpenter, his wife and producer Sandy King Carpenter, and actor/Director Keith Gordon, as well as a previous interview with composer Alan Howarth.

[Daniel DeLappe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history on Directors career. I am a huge Carpenter mark. Well written and very interesting. Would love to find same type of book on Wes Craven. Even if you are not a Carpenter fan the way the author writes and presents this history is amazing.

[Sam DeWald · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for movie fans, and especially for Carpenter fans