Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writer:

John Carpenter (written by)

Release Date:

5 November 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

L.A.'s deadliest street gang just declared war on the cops.

Plot:

The lone inhabitants of an abandoned police station are under attack by the overwhelming numbers of a seemingly unstoppable street gang.

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Police | Street Gang | Police Station | Prisoner

Cast

Austin Stoker	...	Bishop
Darwin Joston	...	Wilson
Laurie Zimmer	...	Leigh
Martin West	...	Lawson
Tony Burton	...	Wells
Charles Cyphers	...	Starker
Nancy Kyes	...	Julie (as Nancy Loomis)
Peter Bruni	...	Ice Cream Man
John J. Fox	...	Warden
Marc Ross	...	Patrolman Tramer
Alan Koss	...	Patrolman Baxter
Henry Brandon	...	Chaney
Kim Richards	...	Kathy
Frank Doubleday	...	White Warlord
Gilbert De la Pena	...	Chicano Warlord (as Gilbert De La Pena)
Peter Frankland	...	Caudell
Al Nakauchi	...	Oriental Warlord
James Johnson	...	Black Warlord
Gilman Rankin	...	Bus Driver
Cliff Battuello	...	First Guard
Horace Johnson	...	Second Guard
Valentine Villareal	...	Chicano Tough
Kenny Miyamoto	...	Oriental Tough
Jerry Viramontes	...	Chicano Hood
Len Whitaker	...	Black Hood
Kris Young	...	Gang Member
Randy Moore	...	Gang Member
Warren Bradley III	...	Gang Member
Joe Woo Jr.	...	Gang Member
William S. Taylor	...	Gang Member (as William Taylor)
Brent Keast	...	Radio Announcer (voice)
Maynard Smith	...	Police Commissioner (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Carpenter	...	Gang member (uncredited)
James Jeter	...	Precinct Captain (uncredited)

Directed by
John Carpenter

Writing credits
John Carpenter		(written by)

Produced by
Steve Fine	....	assistant producer
J. Stein Kaplan	....	producer (as J.S. Kaplan)
Joseph Kaufman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
John Carpenter

Cinematography by
Douglas Knapp		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John Carpenter		(as John T. Chance)

Art Direction by
Tommy Lee Wallace		(as Tommy Wallace)

Makeup Department
Don Bledsoe	....	makeup artist

Production Management
James Nichols	....	post-production supervisor
John Syrjamaki	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Nichols	....	assistant director

Art Department
Dick Girod	....	set painter (as Richard Girod)
Craig Stearns	....	property master

Sound Department
Alan Cassidy	....	boom operator
William Cooper	....	sound recordist
Bill Varney	....	sound re-recordist
Tommy Lee Wallace	....	sound effects (as Tommy Wallace)

Special Effects by
Richard Albain	....	special effects (as Richard Albain Jr.)
Ken Speed	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Stunts
Rueben Joe Melendez	....	stunt driver
John Roy Rogers	....	stunt driver

Camera and Electrical Department
Jack English	....	gaffer
Michael Everett	....	best boy
Trippy Gafford	....	grip
William E. Mareneck	....	best boy (as William Mareneck)
Douglas Olivares	....	assistant camera
Rena Small	....	still photographer
William Waldman	....	assistant camera
Kurt Young	....	key grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nancy Kyes	....	wardrobe mistress (as Louise Kyes)

Editorial Department
Debra Hill	....	assistant editor
Curt Schulkey	....	second assistant editor

Music Department
Peter Bergren	....	music engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Trippy Gafford	....	driver

Other crew
Tom Hansen	....	production assistant
Debra Hill	....	script supervisor
Marla Miller	....	production assistant
Randy Moore	....	production assistant
Blake Schaefer	....	production assistant
Jocelyne Stoikovitch	....	production assistant
Maxine Syrjamaki	....	payroll

Production Companies

• CKK Corporation, The (presents) (as The C K K Corporation)
• Overseas FilmGroup

Distributors

• Turtle Releasing (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1977) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Filmwelt (1979) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Marceau-Cocinor (1978) (France) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• América Vídeo (1982) (Brazil) (VHS) (as "Trovão das Ruas")
• Arcade Video (1982) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Astro Distribution (2000) (Germany) (VHS)
• Atlantic Film (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Beam Entertainment (????) (Japan) (DVD) (DVD producer)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD) (as "Assalto à 13ª DP")
• Creative Axa Co. Ltd. (????) (Japan) (DVD)
• EMS (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Jef Films International (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (1982) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• New Line Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Opção (1982) (Brazil) (VHS) (as "Assalto à 13ª DP")
• Stormovie (2008) (Italy) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2000) (UK) (DVD)
• Veronica (2007) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Video Sales Network (1982) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Get Set  set construction
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)  titles and opticals (as MGM)

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13
The Anderson Alamo (USA) (working title)
The Siege (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:16 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2008) | Australia:R | Canada:18A (Manitoba) (re-rating) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) (original rating) | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 (cut) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2005) | Norway:18 | South Korea:15 (cut) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:18 (original rating) (1976) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

CKK Corporation, The

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [John Carpenter]as one of the gang members shot trying to climb in through a window

Goofs:

Continuity: While Kathy and her dad are trying to find their way to the nanny, Kathy spots a police car and suggests they ask the police for help. Looking out through the front window of the car, we see a deserted roadside with only the police car. Looking out the rear window a moment later, we see the police car in a row of other cars.

Quotes:

Lt. Ethan Bishop: How did you come by a name like Napoleon Wilson?
Napolean Wilson: I'll tell you some time.
Lt. Ethan Bishop: When will you tell me?
[the street gang breaks through the barricade and rush at Bishop and Wilson]
Napolean Wilson: Make that in a minute or two!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cowgirl (2004)

Awesome Assault

John Carpenter is one of few directors who can successfully transform their movies into giant roller coaster rides without insulting the audience. James Cameron does this, sometimes, but usually adds more plot to his stories. Carpenter just takes simple premises, throws some characters together, and lets everything evolve and unwind on their own. "Assault on Precinct 13" deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as "Dawn of the Dead," or perhaps the overrated "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," as a very low-budget horror/thriller that takes a cast of unknowns, places them together, doesn't really delve into their backgrounds, but lets everything just work itself out like clockwork. There's an eager new cop, an infamous death row murderer, and a relocating precinct, all stuffed together into a movie about a vicious gang assault. It's brilliant in a very subtle way; a sign of things to come for a director who has implemented some of the most oft-used camera tricks in the horror world.

He pioneered the first-person killer perspective in "Halloween" - an effect sorely missed on full screen TV and VHS versions, to once again be savored on the wide screen DVD presentation. Carpenter received quite a number of critical jabs in 1978 for his use of the POV technique, explained to be too voyeuristic and potentially dangerous to be shown in a mainstream motion picture. Hitchcock used the POV technique very subtly in "Psycho's" famous shower sequence, but in "Halloween" it was far blunter, resulting in an uproar of moral complaints.

No matter. "Halloween" became movie horror legend, casting a spell over its viewers, inspiring major knock-offs such as the "Friday the 13th" series (which has overall made more money than the "Halloween" franchise due to more sequels than "Police Academy").

"Assault on Precinct 13" was one of Carpenter's very first efforts at directing. It shows. The movie is flawed, imperfect, both technically and otherwise (some of the dialogue in particular could have used fixing, and the acting is nothing incredible by any means). But it still has an addictive sense of urgency and frantic pacing that makes the movie feel like one long, non-stop, brutal assault - even though the setup for the film takes over forty minutes. It may not be a flawless film but it is one of my favorites.

It's about a new cop named Bishop (Austin Stoker) who is put in charge of a transferring L.A. police precinct - number thirteen. As equipment is carried out of the building and last-minute closings are made, far away a bus load of convicts, including notorious murderer Wilson (Darwin Joston), decide to stop at precinct 13 due to the fact that one of the criminals seems to be coming down with a harsh cough. And downtown, a young girl is shot by a ruthless gang member. Her father shoots the killer, and then flees to precinct thirteen, hunted by the gang members, who eventually begin to siege the precinct in a suicide raid. Trapped with two killers, a few cops and a jail warden, Bishop and company try to think of a way out of the place without getting shot by the vicious gang outside.

That's basically it - people stuck inside a police station trying to get out without dying in the process. The movie is only ninety minutes long, give or take, which is a good thing, because if it had been any longer it might have lost some of its pacing and become tiring. Instead, there isn't a single scene in "Assault on Precinct 13" that I think should have been cut. I'm sure there are some that could have been tossed onto the editing room floor, but I'm glad that the movie is the way it is - it flows smoothly and we don't ever feel like a scene has gone on too long or too short. In that sense, it's just about perfect.

Carpenter has had one of the most successful careers of all time, followed by a legion of cult fans. His "Halloween" is one of the greatest horror films of all time, and one of the most influential. He occasionally makes his duds, like any director, but in this case, the good far outweighs the bad. "Assault on Precinct 13" is an utterly refreshing film experience that manages to maintain a fast speed but never appears to be cheating its target audience, or treating them stupid. The movie is being remade in 2005, with a considerably higher budget, bigger names, and probably worse directing. I don't really look forward to this remake because I can almost guarantee that, given the age it is being made in, there will be many pointless plot explanations, worse dialogue and bad direction. "Assault on Precinct 13" does not really need to be made again because the first one works so well. History has taught us that most remakes are not at all on the same level as their influences - just look at Hitchcock's "Psycho," then Van Sant's. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. "Assault on Precinct 13" is not broken and it does not need to be fixed.