Decades
later, when John Carpenter’s GHOSTS OF MARS revisited the western
themes of his second film, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 ($20), it seemed
to indicate that the director hadn’t gotten the desire to make an actual
western out of his system. As dedicated John Carpenter fans are fully
aware, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is Carpenter’s homage to the Howard
Hawks’ western classic RIO BRAVO (which is available in a
terrific DVD edition for those wanting to check out the film’s original
influence). As is typical with many John Carpenter movies, American
critics and audiences gave ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 a very poor
reception when it was released in 1976. However, the movie was very well
received overseas, even gaining notoriety at a UK film festival.
Although
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is an homage to RIO BRAVO, the film
was set in the then contemporary Los Angeles of 1975. The film’s violent
opening depicts members of a multiracial gang called Street Thunder being
gunned down by Los Angeles officers, and then segues into an introduction
to the film’s main character lawman Lt. Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker).
For Bishop’s first night on the job, he is assigned to supervise the
closing of an isolated police station in a Los Angeles ghetto. With a
small support staff of civilians, the station is unprepared for the
arrival of a prisoner transfer bus, followed by the members avenging
members of Street Thunder, who lay siege to the all but abandoned police
station in retribution to their fallen comrades. To save the lives of
those in the police station, Bishop is forced to arm the prisoners,
including the enigmatic Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston), who just happens
to be on his way to death row. While some of Carpenter’s dialogue is a
bit stilted, the solid performances more than compensate. I especially
enjoyed the chemistry between Joston and actress Laurie Zimmer, who have
this whole Bogie and Bacall thing going on. The cast of ASSAULT ON
PRECINCT 13 also features Martin West, Tony Burton, Charles Cyphers,
Nancy Loomis, Henry Brandon, John J. Fox and Kim Richards.
For
their second release of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, Image Entertainment
has made the film available on DVD in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation
that has been enhanced for 16:9 displays. Considering that ASSAULT ON
PRECINCT 13 was an incredibly low budget affair from 1976, it is
actually a pretty good-looking movie that has been given a terrific
looking transfer. The image on the DVD is sharp and well defined; maybe
not up to today’s standards, but very pleasing nonetheless. Colors are
reasonably well saturated, with natural looking flesh tones. Sometimes the
hues have a slightly dated appearance, but that is due to the film stocks
and prevailing colors schemes of the mid 1970s. Blacks appear accurate and
the whites are clean. Shadow detail is decent for a film of its age and
production limitations. The film element used for the transfer displays a
few mild blemishes, as well as a bit of a grain structure during the
darker moments. Digital compression artifacts are a non-issue on the DVD.
ASSAULT
ON PRECINCT 13 comes with a rather nice Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. The track is free from overt signs of age and other anomalies,
coming across in a clean, crisp manner. Fidelity does have its
limitations, which keep John Carpenter’s funky synthesizer score from
having a cleanly defined top or bottom end, but the music still manages to
sound pleasing with a bit of amplification. Dialogue is always completely
understandable; however, some of the voices can occasionally sound a bit
canned. No other language tracks or subtitles have been included on the
DVD.
Animation
and sound serve to enhanced the interactive menus. Through the menus, one
has access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
a nice complement of extras. Starting things off is a running audios
commentary with John Carpenter. Although this commentary has been kicking
around since the film’s wide screen Laserdisc release, it remains a
solid, detailed and entertaining track that Carpenter fans will find
rewarding. Also included on the DVD is an isolated music track, as well as
a recent twenty-three minute interview with John Carpenter and Austin
Stoker at the American Cinematheque. A theatrical trailer, as well as two
radio spots and a production gallery of stills, storyboards and screenplay
excerpts close out the supplemental section.
Although
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is only John Carpenter’s second film and
predates HALLOWEEN, it remains an entertaining movie, whose western
influences have helped make it a cult classic. Every time I watch ASSAULT
ON PRECINCT 13, I have to wonder what Carpenter might do if he were
given the opportunity to direct an actual western… Considering that
Carpenter is considered a "bum" in the US and a genius
elsewhere, I guess I'll just keep pondering. As for the ASSAULT ON
PRECINCT 13 DVD, Image delivers the goods- namely; a great looking
16:9 enhanced wide screen presentation and some nice supplements. If you
are a Carpenter fan, this is a must own DVD, especially if you own or plan
to own a wide screen display. Recommended.
Decades
later, when John Carpenter’s GHOSTS OF MARS revisited the western
themes of his second film, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 ($20), it seemed
to indicate that the director hadn’t gotten the desire to make an actual
western out of his system. As dedicated John Carpenter fans are fully
aware, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is Carpenter’s homage to the Howard
Hawks’ western classic RIO BRAVO (which is available in a
terrific DVD edition for those wanting to check out the film’s original
influence). As is typical with many John Carpenter movies, American
critics and audiences gave ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 a very poor
reception when it was released in 1976. However, the movie was very well
received overseas, even gaining notoriety at a UK film festival.
Although
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is an homage to RIO BRAVO, the film
was set in the then contemporary Los Angeles of 1975. The film’s violent
opening depicts members of a multiracial gang called Street Thunder being
gunned down by Los Angeles officers, and then segues into an introduction
to the film’s main character lawman Lt. Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker).
For Bishop’s first night on the job, he is assigned to supervise the
closing of an isolated police station in a Los Angeles ghetto. With a
small support staff of civilians, the station is unprepared for the
arrival of a prisoner transfer bus, followed by the members avenging
members of Street Thunder, who lay siege to the all but abandoned police
station in retribution to their fallen comrades. To save the lives of
those in the police station, Bishop is forced to arm the prisoners,
including the enigmatic Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston), who just happens
to be on his way to death row. While some of Carpenter’s dialogue is a
bit stilted, the solid performances more than compensate. I especially
enjoyed the chemistry between Joston and actress Laurie Zimmer, who have
this whole Bogie and Bacall thing going on. The cast of ASSAULT ON
PRECINCT 13 also features Martin West, Tony Burton, Charles Cyphers,
Nancy Loomis, Henry Brandon, John J. Fox and Kim Richards.
For
their second release of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, Image Entertainment
has made the film available on DVD in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation
that has been enhanced for 16:9 displays. Considering that ASSAULT ON
PRECINCT 13 was an incredibly low budget affair from 1976, it is
actually a pretty good-looking movie that has been given a terrific
looking transfer. The image on the DVD is sharp and well defined; maybe
not up to today’s standards, but very pleasing nonetheless. Colors are
reasonably well saturated, with natural looking flesh tones. Sometimes the
hues have a slightly dated appearance, but that is due to the film stocks
and prevailing colors schemes of the mid 1970s. Blacks appear accurate and
the whites are clean. Shadow detail is decent for a film of its age and
production limitations. The film element used for the transfer displays a
few mild blemishes, as well as a bit of a grain structure during the
darker moments. Digital compression artifacts are a non-issue on the DVD.
ASSAULT
ON PRECINCT 13 comes with a rather nice Dolby Digital monaural
soundtrack. The track is free from overt signs of age and other anomalies,
coming across in a clean, crisp manner. Fidelity does have its
limitations, which keep John Carpenter’s funky synthesizer score from
having a cleanly defined top or bottom end, but the music still manages to
sound pleasing with a bit of amplification. Dialogue is always completely
understandable; however, some of the voices can occasionally sound a bit
canned. No other language tracks or subtitles have been included on the
DVD.
Animation
and sound serve to enhanced the interactive menus. Through the menus, one
has access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
a nice complement of extras. Starting things off is a running audios
commentary with John Carpenter. Although this commentary has been kicking
around since the film’s wide screen Laserdisc release, it remains a
solid, detailed and entertaining track that Carpenter fans will find
rewarding. Also included on the DVD is an isolated music track, as well as
a recent twenty-three minute interview with John Carpenter and Austin
Stoker at the American Cinematheque. A theatrical trailer, as well as two
radio spots and a production gallery of stills, storyboards and screenplay
excerpts close out the supplemental section.
Although
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is only John Carpenter’s second film and
predates HALLOWEEN, it remains an entertaining movie, whose western
influences have helped make it a cult classic. Every time I watch ASSAULT
ON PRECINCT 13, I have to wonder what Carpenter might do if he were
given the opportunity to direct an actual western… Considering that
Carpenter is considered a "bum" in the US and a genius
elsewhere, I guess I'll just keep pondering. As for the ASSAULT ON
PRECINCT 13 DVD, Image delivers the goods- namely; a great looking
16:9 enhanced wide screen presentation and some nice supplements. If you
are a Carpenter fan, this is a must own DVD, especially if you own or plan
to own a wide screen display. Recommended.
