Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

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)

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13
The Anderson Alamo (USA) (working title)
The Siege (USA) (working title)
A 13. Rendörörs ostroma (Hungary) [hu]
Asalto en la comisaría del distrito 13 (Spain) [es]
Assalto à 13ª DP (Brazil) [pt]
Assalto à 13.ª Esquadra (Portugal) [pt]
Assault - Anschlag bei Nacht (West Germany) [de]
Assaut (France) [fr]
Atak na posterunek 13 (Poland) [pl]
Attack mot polisstation 13 (Sweden) [sv]
Attack på polisstation 13 (Sweden) [sv]
Das Ende (West Germany) [de]
Distretto 13: le brigate della morte (Italy) [it]
Epithesi sto stathmo 13 (Greece) (TV title) [el]
Hyökkäys poliisiasemalle (Finland) [fi]
Napad na policijsku stanicu 13 (Serbia) [sr]
Napad na policijsku stanicu 13 (Croatia) (DVD title) [hr]
O stathmos 13 dehetai epithesi (Greece) [el]
Sidste nat på station 13 (Denmark) [da]
Trovão das Ruas (Brazil) [pt]

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:

Listed in Premiere Magazine's list of "50 Unsung Classics" (July 1999).

Goofs:

Continuity: Film takes place in Precinct 9, Division 13, not Precinct 13.

Quotes:

Lt. Ethan Bishop: You're pretty fancy, Wilson.
Napoleon Wilson: I have moments.

Movie Connections:

References Red River (1948)

as for the simmering sexuality between them, wow!

Surely one of that rare breed of perfect films. Of course the title is erroneous as the movie is set in Precinct 9, Division 13 and there are many continuity slip ups, but I mean perfect, not in a technical sense but like all great exploitation, in the sense that the story telling has overcome any budgetary shortcomings. This movie rushes from start to finish, not unlike, Romero's earlier, 'Night of the Living Dead'. The compelling tale with its relentless violence is told excitingly with an excellent and believable cast. Darwin Joston is outstanding as the good baddie and Laurie Zimmer is also excellent and as for the simmering sexuality between them, wow! At first we see her as some gentile police station secretary as she goes about making the coffee and she ends up as hard nosed as any femme fatale. With all the crash bang wallop of the horrendous goings on Carpenter still allows time for little things such as when Joston praises Zimmer for her shooting and says, 'You're good.' She looks up at him with her shining eyes and says, 'Not always.'