Director:
Studio: Image Entertainment
Genre: Action & Adventure
Theatrical: 1976 Starring: Henry Brandon, Peter Bruni, Tony Burton, Charles Cyphers, Gilbert De la Pena
Rated: R
Summary: John Carpenter's cult classic is a fine example of this director's genius, that has been evidenced only strongly in two later movies: HALLOWEEN and his remake of THE THING. In this tense and brutal film, a soon to be shutdown police station is attacked by a bunch of ruthless gang members. Carpenter takes his time (using his hypnotic musical score) to set up the confrontation, with teasing bits of impending doom, the most noteable being the scene with the little girl and the ice cream man. That scene alone will blow your socks off. The movie's "stars" were unknowns at the time, and this lack of familiarity helps make them more convincing. Austin Stoker as the besieged lieutenant and Darwin Joston as convicted killer Napoleon Wilson have a credible chemistry, and Carpenter regulars Nancy Loomis and Charles Cyphers round out the cast. The movie is like Halloween in its shadowy depiction of the gang members and the violence is almost Western-like in its relentless brutality. I haven't seen the recent remake, but they'd be hard pressed to capture the stark ruthlessness of this well done thriller.
Studio: Image Entertainment
Genre: Action & Adventure
Theatrical: 1976 Starring: Henry Brandon, Peter Bruni, Tony Burton, Charles Cyphers, Gilbert De la Pena
Rated: R
Summary: John Carpenter's cult classic is a fine example of this director's genius, that has been evidenced only strongly in two later movies: HALLOWEEN and his remake of THE THING. In this tense and brutal film, a soon to be shutdown police station is attacked by a bunch of ruthless gang members. Carpenter takes his time (using his hypnotic musical score) to set up the confrontation, with teasing bits of impending doom, the most noteable being the scene with the little girl and the ice cream man. That scene alone will blow your socks off. The movie's "stars" were unknowns at the time, and this lack of familiarity helps make them more convincing. Austin Stoker as the besieged lieutenant and Darwin Joston as convicted killer Napoleon Wilson have a credible chemistry, and Carpenter regulars Nancy Loomis and Charles Cyphers round out the cast. The movie is like Halloween in its shadowy depiction of the gang members and the violence is almost Western-like in its relentless brutality. I haven't seen the recent remake, but they'd be hard pressed to capture the stark ruthlessness of this well done thriller.
Director:
Studio: Entertainment in Video
Genre: Action & Adventure
Theatrical: 2005 Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Brian Dennehy, Gabriel Byrne, John Leguizamo
Rated: Suitable for 15 years and over
Summary: Action buffs will have a fine time with the spray of bullets, shattering glass, and pyrotechnic silliness that makes up the bulk of "Assault on Precinct 13". Updated from the little-known cops-and-robbers classic John Carpenter made in 1976 (two years before he made his name with "Halloween"), this high-concept thriller is mostly a lowbrow kill-fest, and is very happy with itself for being so efficient in both categories. A decrepit police station on its last night before retirement--New Year's Eve, no less--plays unexpected home to a gang of criminals who become snowbound in the basement lockup. Another mysterious gang of people who stealthily gather in the blizzard outside want one of the particularly nasty criminals (Laurence Fishburne) dead, and they'll take the rest of the precinct down too, by golly. The odd lot of characters trapped inside include a burned-out sergeant (Ethan Hawke), a sexpot secretary (post-"Sopranos" Drea de Matteo), an even sexier police psychologist (Maria Bello), and various other good guys and bad guys who variously go down in blazes of guts, glory, bullets, and fire. Hawke and Fishburne are opposite sides of the coin: the law, and the bathroom scale. Their need to partner in order to survive the guns outside is the movie's moral conflict, and both actors chew on "Precinct 13"'s peeling walls and scuffed floors to drive the point home every chance they get. Obvious filmmaking fakery abounds in everything from the irksome snowstorm, frequent gunshots to the head, and a shadowy forest that conveniently presents itself in an industrial section of Detroit for the climactic showdown. No matter, this "Assault" is for non-thinkers who want blood and gunpowder, with no messy slowdowns for logic, please."--Ted Fry"
Studio: Entertainment in Video
Genre: Action & Adventure
Theatrical: 2005 Starring: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Brian Dennehy, Gabriel Byrne, John Leguizamo
Rated: Suitable for 15 years and over
Summary: Action buffs will have a fine time with the spray of bullets, shattering glass, and pyrotechnic silliness that makes up the bulk of "Assault on Precinct 13". Updated from the little-known cops-and-robbers classic John Carpenter made in 1976 (two years before he made his name with "Halloween"), this high-concept thriller is mostly a lowbrow kill-fest, and is very happy with itself for being so efficient in both categories. A decrepit police station on its last night before retirement--New Year's Eve, no less--plays unexpected home to a gang of criminals who become snowbound in the basement lockup. Another mysterious gang of people who stealthily gather in the blizzard outside want one of the particularly nasty criminals (Laurence Fishburne) dead, and they'll take the rest of the precinct down too, by golly. The odd lot of characters trapped inside include a burned-out sergeant (Ethan Hawke), a sexpot secretary (post-"Sopranos" Drea de Matteo), an even sexier police psychologist (Maria Bello), and various other good guys and bad guys who variously go down in blazes of guts, glory, bullets, and fire. Hawke and Fishburne are opposite sides of the coin: the law, and the bathroom scale. Their need to partner in order to survive the guns outside is the movie's moral conflict, and both actors chew on "Precinct 13"'s peeling walls and scuffed floors to drive the point home every chance they get. Obvious filmmaking fakery abounds in everything from the irksome snowstorm, frequent gunshots to the head, and a shadowy forest that conveniently presents itself in an industrial section of Detroit for the climactic showdown. No matter, this "Assault" is for non-thinkers who want blood and gunpowder, with no messy slowdowns for logic, please."--Ted Fry"