However, while the screenplay by Gary Goldman, David Weinstein and W.D. Richter offers originality and humor, the film comes across as overwrought at times, especially after the midway point. One gets the feeling there are simply a few too many chase scenes, some of which go on much longer than necessary. Cinematographer Dean Cundey, who has worked with Carpenter at least half a dozen times, got to use a more colorful and radiant palette than with any other project he and Carpenter collaborated on. Vibrant greens, yellows and reds that are traditionally prevalent in Asian culture were used to great effect by Cundey in this film. Most of the settings either take place at night or indoors and Cundey has vast experience working in the dark by virtue of his long association with Carpenter which means he knows how to get the most out of these difficult scenes.
Some directors are truly auteur in that they write, direct and star in their movies.
Many more just write and direct, but Carpenter is probably the only one who directs and composes the music for many of his films and Big Trouble in Little China is one of them. There s nothing distinctive about any of Carpenter s scores, but they seem to do the job quite nicely and since his father was a University level music director and Carpenter himself once played in a band, his musical background is adequate enough to formulate the right mood piece for his own films. It s also probably cheaper for the producers and the studio that way as well. Kurt Russell made his way into films as a Disney contract player. It wasn t until 1979 when he mesmerized a whole nation of TV viewers with his uncanny resemblance to Elvis Presley in the TV movie Elvis that he became a household name.