Action/Crime/Thriller
1 hour and 31 minutes
Rated: R
Written by: John Carpenter
Directed by: John Carpenter
Produced by: J. Stein Kaplan
Cast:
Austin Stoker
Darwin Joston
Laurie Zimmer
L.A.'s deadliest street gang just declared war on the cops.
After the release of his first motion-picture, the extremely low-budget sci-fi/comedy film Dark Star, John Carpenter began writing more scripts with the intention of directing his second feature film with the money made from the sales of others. After bringing producer J. Stein Kaplan on board, it was decided that Carpenter's script for Assault on Precinct 13 would be his second movie, and with the sale of his screenplay Eyes, which would go on to become Eyes of Laura Mars, to Barbara Streisand and Jon Peters, Carpenter and Kaplan had secured enough funding (a measly $100,000) to begin making the film that most consider to be one of Carpenter's finest.
In interviews, John Carpenter has expressed that at the beginning of his career he had absolutely no intention of becoming a master of horror. Instead, Carpenter really wanted to make westerns, often citing the work of legendary filmmaker Howard Hawks as being the most influential upon him. This is perhaps nowhere more apparent than it is in Assault on Precinct 13. The film's plot, in its most basic synopsis, mirrors in an almost identical manner Howard Hawks's 1959 western Rio Bravo. However, the major difference between the two, and it may seem like a simple one but it is absolutely crucial to understanding Carpenter's genius even this early into his career, was that by transposing the Rio Bravo plot to a then-modern day Los Angeles, Carpenter had essentially made a film that was incorruptible to the process of time. When examining Rio Bravo and Assault on Precinct 13, Hawks's film, like so many American-made westerns before the 1960s, suffers from being a product of its time. While it is understandably still a great film, there are moments within Rio Bravo that must have been extremely charming and/or entertaining to audiences of 1959, but by today's standards these same sequences date the film considerably, and drag down the overall viewing experience one has with it. With Assault on Precinct 13's more modern and urban setting, Carpenter has effectively written out all these hokey qualities that were present in Hawks's film. While the film is undeniably a product of the 1970s, it still very much functions today just as effectively as it did in 1976. This speaks to enormous levels regarding Carpenter's genius as a filmmaker. Assault on Precinct 13 remains an exciting, fun little thriller that seems much bigger and grander than it really is.
Another showcasing of Carpenter's genius is the film's score, composed by Carpenter himself. While Carpenter would go on to compose most of the scores for his movies, and all would be as impressive, with his music for Assault on Precinct 13 Carpenter set the tone of what to expect for his movies. The synth-rock soundtrack is big, it's bold, and it packs a punch that is incredibly effective, especially during the wonderfully choreographed and exciting shootouts that occur throughout the film. The film equally set the precedent for what one could expect for the technical qualities of Carpenter's films to follow. Shot in Panavision, the wide shots give the film an eerie quality, allowing for an overall tone of dread that fits in just as well with this action/thriller as it would with later horror films by Carpenter.
The performances within Assault on Precinct 13 are terrific, even more so when one understands that none of these actors had much in the way of experience. The film's three leads function well together, and each feels unique enough that their different energies coming together along with the supporting cast feels authentic to the film's plot. Austin Stoker provides a sense of calmness, even in moments where he feels lost and unaware of what to do. By casting an African American man, as well as two women, in the leading roles of this film, Carpenter, like with what his friend George A. Romero did with his 1968 movie Night of the Living Dead, showed that genre filmmakers were ahead of the curve in a major way when it came to casting minority characters in leading roles.
Perhaps the only flaw with Assault on Precinct 13 is its script. Overall, the majority of the dialogue is fine. It allows for us to get to know these characters both before and in-between the intense and exciting moments of action. However, there are moments where Carpenter's greenness shines through. Certain lines feel hokey or cheesy, and others just seem completely inauthentic to the character that delivers them. Perhaps a few more rewrites would have made Assault on Precinct 13 into an essentially perfect motion-picture. These dialogue mishaps are easily forgiven though, especially when the mind-blowing action sequences make one forget about them completely.
Assault on Precinct 13 remains to this day a powerful motion-picture. The closest thing John Carpenter made to a true western, perhaps only rivaled by his more recent movie Vampires, Assault on Precinct 13 improves upon its Rio Bravo-esque storyline by transposing it to an urban and modern setting, thus allowing for it to become ageless. It set the precedent for many of the brilliant qualities that would permeate Carpenter's later films and set him apart from other filmmakers as being a real genius. Its performances, incredible sequences of action, cinematography, and synth-rock score are sure to appease all movie lovers who have the pleasure of sitting down and watching the film from start to finish.
9/10
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