Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
Starring: Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer
Writer & Director: John Carpenter
Synopsis:
The staff of a soon to be closing police station must join forces with convicts to defend themselves against a gang
called Street Thunder, who have taken a blood oath to exact revenge
for some of their fallen brothers.
Review:
John Carpenter channels Rio Bravo and
Night of the Living Dead and creates a seriously badass piece action cinema that pulls no punches. You know you're in
for a hell of a ride once a gang member guns down a little girl next
to an ice cream truck. The girl's father takes revenge on the
assailant and afterward is chased until he winds up at a police station in its last night of operation. From there, Assault on Precinct 13 builds
up to what can best be described as an absolutely bonkers showdown.
The gang begins firing a spray of bullets inside, leaving the
building in a mess of snowing paperwork, broken glass, and death.
This sequence can only matched in its intensity by what follows. The members of Street Thunder start
coming in the windows, only to be blown right the hell back out by an unlikely team consisting of a lieutenant and two convicts. Uh-oh! They're coming in through the back, too! Never mind them, Leigh the secretary is there to mow 'em down! If you don't find yourself cheering and throwing your
fists up in a “HELL YEAH!” type manner, then something
might be wrong with you.
Assault on Precinct 13 is a bit basic
on a visual level, but by no means looks bad. This is before the
powerhouse duo of Carpenter and Dean Cundey as director of
photography, but it has the feel of John's later work. The action
scenes are shot and edited extremely well, and I love all the early on dolly work that displays the somewhat desolate locale. One
sequence that really caught my eye is during a car chase, where the
camera is front and center with a headlight, but gives you just
enough of a side glimpse to see that another car is in pursuit. It's
probably the most visually stimulating moment in the film.
As with most Carpenter movies, Assault
is filled with incredible characters and they're all from different walks of
life. The gang members come at us with zero dialogue, but a couple of
them have unforgettable body language and faces. Ultimately it's the
crew inside the police station that are chewing up their roles. The late Darwin Joston plays our lead convict, Napoleon
Wilson, who's described in commentaries as a precursor to Snake
Plissken. This guy is the type of badass that all of us have longed
to be at one point or another. Appealing to the ladies in that “bad
boy” type sense, full of great one-liners, and totally lethal with
a weapon. Joston was Carpenter's neighbor at the time and he takes
the part and just runs with it. Another fantastic character is
Leigh, a police station secretary, played by Laurie Zimmer.
Completely gorgeous and when shit gets real, so does she. It's a real
shame that Zimmer didn't do a whole lot else; she would have been
nice to see in future Carpenter films. Then we got Austin Stoker
Lieutenant Bishop. What an awesome character and a fine performance from Stoker.
But what really makes these actors shine is how they pair up together
in their roles. They're an amazing trio. Nancy Loomis, Charles
Cyphers and Tony Burton also star.
You can't talk about a John Carpenter
movie without bringing up the music. Here, he was
influenced by Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song and the Dirty Harry
score. The result is a simplistic, yet awesome theme that has a
“Don't mess with me, man” type vibe to it. It's the kind of song
you want playing while you're walking down the street, to guarantee
people that you are every bit as tough as you seem. Seriously, it's
that good. I let the Blu-ray menu run for a good hour just so the
music would be stuck in my head for days.
Final Word:
There's not really a whole lot else to
say; Assault on Precinct 13 is a damn good action film, and very
large for having such a small budget. While Dark Star came first,
it's right here where I feel John Carpenter's career kicked off, and
he came out of the doors running and didn't slow up for many years to
come. Definitely one of the most consistently awesome directors ever.
If you've never seen Assault, do so as soon as you get the chance.
Blu-ray:
The Scream Factory release of Assault on Precinct 13 comes at us in 1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1), with an audio choice of DTS Master 5.1 or 2.0 Mono. I never got around to picking up the Image Blu-ray, so I can't do a comparison. All I previously owned was the Image DVD release, and this is obviously quite a step up in picture quality and sound. I love the graininess of the nighttime sequences and the daytime shots are crystal clear. The 5.1 audio makes the theme song thump your chest and the gun blasts will have you ducking for cover! For what my word is worth, this is another great release from Scream Factory.
Special Features
John Carpenter & Austin Stoker Q & A at the Egyptian Theatre - This was on the previous Image releases, but it's well worth a watch. Carpenter and Stoker give some insight on the filming aspects of Assault and answer several questions from the crowd.
Bishop Under Siege With Austin Stoker - All new interview with Austin Stoker which consists of what made him want to be an actor and how he got involved with Assault on Precinct 13.
The Sassy One With Nancy Loomis - All new interview with Nancy Loomis with her reflecting back on the production of Assault on Precinct 13.
Original Theatrical Trailer
Radio Spots
Stills Gallery - Black & White Publicity Stills and Lobby Cards
Isolated Film Score
Audio Commentary with John Carpenter - This was on the previous Image releases. If you've never listened to it, give it a go. Carpenter does a good solo commentary, and if it's not already apparent, the man knows his stuff.
Audio Commentary with Tommy Lee Wallace and Michael Felsher - All new commentary and a totally fun listen. Tommy Lee Wallace has every bit as much to say as Carpenter on the aforementioned commentary, and comes off as a super humble and laid back guy. Felsher and Wallace touch on many things to do with Assault, as well as all kinds of other films. I might even prefer this to the Carpenter commentary.
Final Word:
While I've not seen the Image Blu as previously mentioned, I am more than happy with this release of Assault on Precinct 13. Loaded with features and it's a good presentation of the film. I'm glad it's in my collection. Scream Factory blows me away once again, and I didn't even ask for a Vanilla Twist.
The release date for Assault on Precinct 13 is November 19th, 2013. If you order directly from ShoutFactory.com the release comes with an exclusive 18 X 24 poster of the newly commissioned art. They're limited to 250, so they'll only be available while supplies last. Get to it!
- Eric (Brobocop)
