Knights & Knaves Alehouse

I really liked The Thing for it’s isolated feel and for the way it made the characters turn inward on themselves. You could trust no one. Maybe not even yourself!

The Thing is a masterpiece because of the way they made do with mechanical special effects to depict what is really a very difficult monster. Remember, this film was made in the days before CGI, but the creature looks amazing. Add that to the outright horror and terror the characters are feeling (yes, horror and terror are two different things) and you have a great scary movie.

I've always loved Escape from New York. Being a New Yorker, it was a lot of fun to see what Carpenter did with various NY landmarks. And the soundtrack to the film is great.

Wheggi wrote:I'm surprised to hear that you prefer the original The Thing over JC's version. This was one of those rare instances where the remake was actually truer to the source material (John Campbell's excellent novelette "Who Goes There?") than the original. I just could never get into the Carrot Man . . .

I've never read the original story (though I believe I do have a copy of it in a "Best of John W. Campbell" anthology -- about 3/4 of my sf/fantasy/horror books are still boxed up from my move last year, including this one) so I'm not using that as a basis of judgment. I'm a huge fan of Howard Hawks, and the relationships and interplay between the characters in the original are very "Hawksian" (along the same lines of such Hawks classics as Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday, and Rio Bravo) which is why, even though he's only credited as producer, it's widely believed that Hawks must have also had a hand in the screenplay and maybe the direction and it's generally considered a "Howard Hawks movie." The characters and dialogue in the remake aren't nearly as engaging (at least to me). Plus, I prefer the cautious optimism of the original's ending (1950s, Cold War) to the unremitting bleakness of the remake (1970s, post-Vietnam/Watergate).

Wow, tough one but I had to go for The Thing. That movie has inspired me to create some truely horrific creatures. It also helped recast doppelgangers in my campaigns.

Big Trouble in Little China is my favorite because it is so campy and fun. They Live I love because it is so anti-establishment.

Surprising to see Halloween rate that poorly...maybe its reputation was tarnished by too many sequels!

I've only seen three John Carpenter movies...

Memoirs of an Invisible Man (bad)
Starman (pretty good)
They Live (awsome)

I'm actually kind of surprised that They Live hasn't gotten a little more love in this thread. It's got Rowdy Roddy Piper in it for gosh sakes!!!

I've seen the original The Thing, and love it. Haven't seen the remake. I have seen the X-Files episode that was based on the remake, though.

R.A.

I didn't like They Live simply for the fact that I thought the fight between Rowdy Roddy and his construction buddy was too much like a wrestling match -- didn't one suplex the other? -- and also that Rowdy Roddy had nary a scratch after being pushed out of a very high window. I just can't get past that kind of silliness sometimes.

I would have to say that Starman is probably my favorite. Prince of Darkness was kind of neat, too, and I also enjoyed Halloween and Christine. I've actually never seen The Thing.

dcs wrote:I didn't like They Live simply for the fact that I thought the fight between Rowdy Roddy and his construction buddy was too much like a wrestling match -- didn't one suplex the other?

I thought that was one of the most endearing moments! LOL

--Ghul

dcs wrote:I didn't like They Live simply for the fact that I thought the fight between Rowdy Roddy and his construction buddy was too much like a wrestling match -- didn't one suplex the other? -- and also that Rowdy Roddy had nary a scratch after being pushed out of a very high window. I just can't get past that kind of silliness sometimes.

Yeah, but that entire scene was in color, and hence wasn't the true reality. If you had the proper glasses on, you would have seen Rowdy Roddy all cut up and bleeding... or perhaps he hadn't jumped out of a window at all. The movie's deep, man. Way deep. Like Repo Man.

R.A.

rogatny wrote:Yeah, but that entire scene was in color, and hence wasn't the true reality. If you had the proper glasses on, you would have seen Rowdy Roddy all cut up and bleeding... or perhaps he hadn't jumped out of a window at all. The movie's deep, man. Way deep. Like Repo Man.

I thought we were talking about They Live, not The Matrix. Which reminds me -- I liked the premise of TL, but I wasn't crazy about the execution. Rowdy Roddy Piper is not an actor. And speaking of The Matrix, I think that TL deals with some of the very same questions, only in a more interesting (and plausible?) way.

rogatny wrote:I've only seen three John Carpenter movies...

Memoirs of an Invisible Man (bad)
Starman (pretty good)
They Live (awsome)

I'm actually kind of surprised that They Live hasn't gotten a little more love in this thread. It's got Rowdy Roddy Piper in it for gosh sakes!!!

I've seen the original The Thing, and love it. Haven't seen the remake. I have seen the X-Files episode that was based on the remake, though.

R.A.

Time out here, this would mean you never saw BTiLC!!!! That is just soooooo wrong. On another note I actually thought They Live was one of his best movies (even with RRP in it).

As much as I love Escape from NY (and the TSR game's not too shabby either!), I voted for The Thing, which is my favorite among those listed that I've seen.

Rog: "I'm actually kind of surprised that They Live hasn't gotten a little more love in this thread. It's got Rowdy Roddy Piper in it for gosh sakes!!!"

Sorry there Rog, guess I should have posted it as a choice, but I figured (given that it came and went at the theaters in the blink of an eye, and its low budget feel) few would know it. I believe that was the first of Carpenters low low budget flicks after a falling out with the studio(s)? A creative disagreement of some sort I think. Around that time, I believe, he got divorced from Maude's daughter (Brains chick on Escape from Newyork, Adrian Belbea..blablabludea,,bigboob something or other). Man, he went from making block busters to ultra low budgets.

Adrienne Barbeau.