John Carpenter

"Vertigo is a perfect nightmare. Perfect. It’s a dream, and it’s stunning. It’s so dark and obsessive, and it came from this director who claimed to only want to entertain the audiences. But that’s not true; it’s a masterpiece."

"Now, my favorite films as a more mature person, when I was learning about what the director is and does, probably a lot of them were Howard Hawks movies, like Only Angels Have Wings and Rio Bravo. In Hawks’ world, Only Angels Have Wings and Rio Bravo are his visions of adventure stories with male groups, and men and women’s relationships, and life and death and danger. He’s developed that idea throughout his career. Those are just his beliefs."

"Now, my favorite films as a more mature person, when I was learning about what the director is and does, probably a lot of them were Howard Hawks movies, like Only Angels Have Wings and Rio Bravo. In Hawks’ world, Only Angels Have Wings and Rio Bravo are his visions of adventure stories with male groups, and men and women’s relationships, and life and death and danger. He’s developed that idea throughout his career. Those are just his beliefs."

"I’d have to say, jeez… Citizen Kane is a great film. Like Hawks, this movie is a vision, primarily the director’s vision, of something that is whole and complete."

"And let me throw in an oddball here: Blow-Up. That is a brilliant film. It’s kind of a perfect enigmatic example of a film. I just love that movie. I can’t get enough of it. It’s so strange! [laughs]"