John Carpenter

The Pocket Essentials: Film

by Michelle Le Blanc, Colin Odell

Of all the directors in commercial American film-making, John Carpenter remains the industry's most consistent storyteller. His films, like Halloween, The Thing, Escape From New York and Assault on Precinct 13 spark enthusiasm in those who know them and his name alone will draw people into the cinemas. Ultimately, John Carpenter's reputation is built on his ability to tell a story and tell it well. He excites, thrills and scares audiences the world over. He has set trends and influenced many other directors in the Science Fiction and Horror fields. In the Pocket Essential John Carpenter you will discover his films, his scripts and his music.

Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are short, snappy, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, politics, and more. In addition to an introduction to the subject, each topic is individually analyzed and reviewed, examining its impact on popular culture or history. There s also a reference section that lists related web sites and weightier (and more expensive) books on the subject. For media buffs and students, these are great entry-level books that build into an essential library.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

78 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

Reviews

[Irwin Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not awful or anything but a kind of pointless book. It just sort of lists Carpenter's films with a short summary of each and a few paragraphs of thoughts about it. Feels kind of like reading somebody's blog after they decided to watch all of Carpenter's movies and write a little article on each. There's nothing too in-depth either about the director or any of the films with maybe 4-5 pages being the longest entries. You're not going to get any interesting behind-the-scenes info or anything you probably didn't know. Either you've seen these films and you already know most of this or you haven't and you probably shouldn't be reading this.

Still I give it three stars, the author writes in a pretty entertaining way sometimes, makes some valid observations and it's about my favorite director's films. So even though it wasn't what I hoped for I didn't have a bad time reading it.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally speaking, this is a good dive into the work one of the big American auteurs to have been working since the 1970s. It gives some information on his work as a writer as well as a director, composer, and (executive) producer. That said, it could've been extended a bit, just to flesh out some of the opinions that are dropped throughout.

[Joe Noir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Handy, cool reference. For fans of Carpenter only. No real depth or insight for non fans.

[Julesreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little guidebook, nothing too crazy. For the fans, best left on top the toilet tank.