Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)'s comments

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tigh66

I thoroughly believe film history will look back on Carpenter as one of the unsung masters of the the second half of the twentieth century. Here we have his first critically acclaimed work, a work of a director who is already in control of several key elements (directing, score, editing) that will be the hallmark of a remarkable career.

Memorable scenes include the "I wanted vanilla twist" scene that is deservedly one of the greatest shocks in all of film, and an ending spoiler

Also, a word must be said for Carpenter's score, which is just as memorable as the iconic "Halloween" score that would be upcoming.

Overall, if you have loved better known Carpenter flicks, watch this early gem and watch a master at work.

10 years 8 months ago

Zeltaebar

Armed with better actors and working on a slightly better budget (compared to his debut Dark Star), John Carpenter managed to hit a home run with Assault on Precinct 13, a loose remake of Howard Hawk's Rio Bravo from 1959, on what was only his second attempt at directing a feature movie. The cast is performing well above their usual B-movie fare at the time while Laurie Zimmer makes her debut with aplomb, which leads one to think that Carpenter had a hand in pulling out these excellent performances. The pacing is better than in Dark Star, but atmosphere and tension are still the two main players. The action is very well shot which makes the movie seem more action-fueled than it really is. This is more of a thriller with interesting characters trapped in a difficult, tense and unusual situation. It is gritty, deliciously violent and the John Carpenter-composed soundtrack is really groovy. The script is also very well written (also by Carpenter) with many witty remarks and lines that build character.

9 years 4 months ago

Siskoid

John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 deserves its cult status, taking DNA strains from different 70s exploitation films and crafting, for the space of 90 minutes a number of memorable characters and moments. This siege on a police precinct in the middle of being shut down, in which cops, staff and prisoners must cooperate to survive, is less crime drama than it is horror movie. The street gangs descending on the station might as well be rage zombies. That is their only character, and they don't get a single line. And the heroes don't have too big a character arc either. It's not about that. It's about one night of hell. But Carpenter gives us just enough during the build-up that we're invested by the time they're thrown into dire circumstances, with lively performances by relative unknowns and dynamic camera work. The editing could have been tighter in places (part of the shoot-em-up feels like a shooting gallery montage, but there's a pay-off), but lots of bare bones fun.

6 years 3 months ago

Oneironaut

Can't get the title theme out of my head! Brilliant atmosphere, characters, tension - everything. Could watch this one many times.

12 years 5 months ago

DisneyStitch

This one reminded me so much of a zombie movie, mostly because none of the bad guys speak and spoiler

The whole film feels more like a metaphor for human cooperation, uniting for a common goal, and the lawlessness that the 70's became known for (the same lawlessness that birthed movies like Dirty Harry.) The score is something special, definitely has Carpenter's fingerprints all over it.

1 year 1 month ago

Emiam

7/10
Finally, I have seen this classic by John Carpenter. What an atmosphere with simple means & what music! Perfect length.

3 years 10 months ago

landencelano

quote:
It wasn't nutty, it was vanilla twist!

It wasn't vanilla twist, it was plain vanilla!

13 years 1 month ago

Agrimorfee

Yeah, by all that is holy and dear, I did not expect that ice cream scene!

6 years 8 months ago

thestuman101694

Excellent. Truly good.

8 years 8 months ago

Karmacarroll

Have to thank my farther for introducing me to this gem.

12 years 10 months ago

andype

I can't believe, what I read here, really! Is it a kind of joke or something? This movie is really bad, thanks to bad acting mainly and the weak plot. This ice cream scene is totally obsolete, this bad guy has no reason to shoot this little girl and I just don't believe that such bad guys does exist. Middle in nowhere is a phone cell, in some kind of field or what this is. This one woman shot three of the bad guys one after other and take between the shots pretty much time, I really don't know why. And so on, and on, and on....

3 years 4 months ago