Review of Assault on Precinct 13

Introduction

Assault on Precinct 13 was John Carpenter’s second feature-length movie, but first in the trademark style that his fans love him for. The plot is simple: punk gangs are running riot on the streets, and in one killing spree they murder a little girl. Her father then takes vigilante revenge on one of the punk leaders, which in turn make them desperate to hunt him down. The man manages to find his way to a police station (Precinct 9 funnily enough, although in District 13) that is just about to be closed down in favour of a newer station, and so is unfortunately short-staffed. So short of staff is it that there is only one cop, two secretaries and a couple of prisoners in the cells to hold out against an entire siege of punk militants. So there begins and ends the plot. Can the police and the prisoners work together to protect their man? Is he even worth protecting? Carpenter doesn’t ask too many questions, but instead lets the action talk for him.

Video

The picture shown is OK for a 25 year-old movie and handles most of the atmospheric effects well, but suffers in the dark scenes (basically the whole second half of the movie). The action is difficult to make out; it is advisable to watch in as dark a room as possible to understand what is going on.

However, what really lets this disc down is the fact that the original 2.35:1 Panavision aspect ratio has been cropped to 1.66:1! This is extremely disappointing. Carpenter makes full use of the width of the screen in Assault, just as he went on to do in Halloween, and so the film is almost ruined by this cropping.

Audio

The stereo mix is clear when it comes to dialogue, and so does what is expected to do adequately. A new 5.1 soundtrack would have been great, but I suppose that is too much to ask for considering they couldn’t even be bothered to show the film in its original ratio, let alone remaster the picture and remix the sound.

The pumping electronic score written by Carpenter may seem very 70’s, but is not dated at all. It still builds the tension, and compliments the action perfectly.

Features

Just the trailer, which is even more difficult to watch than the film. Also, I might add that the menus are terrible, basically consisting of just the main screen and a chapter selection page.

Conclusion

Assault on Precinct 13 is a strong film by Carpenter that relies on tension and action rather than any moral standpoint. Whilst lacking the finesse shown in his later work and also let down by some wooden acting, this is still a must-see for any Carpenter fan. Originally a homage/remake of Rio Bravo, Assault also has similarities to Night of the Living Dead and Straw Dogs.

It’s a shame that this is such a poor DVD. I recommend the R1 version, which has the film in its original aspect ratio, includes a commentary by the director and also sports some better cover-art than the horrible stuff shown here.