{"id":11019,"date":"2010-05-14T14:13:44","date_gmt":"2010-05-14T21:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11019"},"modified":"2021-05-22T08:47:05","modified_gmt":"2021-05-22T15:47:05","slug":"assault-on-precinct-13-1976","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11019","title":{"rendered":"Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s an old story with me. I was born out of time.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-on-Precinct-13-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-on-Precinct-13-Poster-198x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-56637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-on-Precinct-13-Poster-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-on-Precinct-13-Poster-677x1024.png 677w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-on-Precinct-13-Poster-85x128.png 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-on-Precinct-13-Poster-179x270.png 179w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-on-Precinct-13-Poster.png 743w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA rookie cop (Austin Stoker), a secretary (Laurie Zimmer), and two prisoners (Darwin Joston and Tony Burton) find themselves under siege at an abandoned police station.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gangs<\/li>\n<li>John Carpenter Films<\/li>\n<li>Police<\/li>\n<li>Prisoners<\/li>\n<li>Trapped<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary&#8217;s not nearly as much of a fan of this cult low-budget thriller by John Carpenter as I am. Throughout his review, he compares it unfavorably with Carpenter&#8217;s earlier <em>Dark Star <\/em>(1974), arguing that <em>Assault<\/em> &#8220;could have used extra financing for some reshooting&#8221;, that &#8220;the dialogue scenes in particular need more polish&#8221;, and that while &#8220;<em>Dark Star<\/em> comes across as being a complete original&#8230; <em>Assault<\/em> comes across as being derivative&#8221;. Yet no scenes in particular stand out as needing reshooting, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0074156\/quotes\">dialogue<\/a> is more than serviceable, and Carpenter&#8217;s overt homages to both Howard Hawks&#8217; <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=72047\"><em>Rio Bravo<\/em><\/a> (many argue it&#8217;s a remake) and George Romero&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=13027\"><em>Night of the Living Dead<\/em><\/a> should simply please film fanatics, given that he takes the best elements of each of these films and uses them to impressive effect in his own unique story and setting. Indeed, one marvels at how well Carpenter is able to work with the resources available to him &#8212; abandoned L.A. streets, unknown actors, his own simple and repetitive yet hauntingly effective synthesized score &#8212; to create a film with &#8220;consistently tense&#8221; atmosphere and &#8220;amazingly accomplished&#8221; low-budget action sequences. <\/p>\n<p>Several of the performances by Carpenter&#8217;s little-known actors are worth calling out: Austin Stoker is nicely cast in the lead role as a young cop facing the confrontation of a lifetime in his first day on the job:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker2-1024x514.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"321\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-56648\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker2-1024x514.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker2-300x151.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker2-128x64.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker2-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker2-1536x771.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker2-538x270.png 538w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker2.png 1819w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Laurie Zimmer as a sultry, plucky secretary effectively channels Lauren Bacall (surely a conscious choice):<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Zimmer.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Zimmer-1024x509.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"318\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-56644\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Zimmer-1024x509.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Zimmer-300x149.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Zimmer-128x64.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Zimmer-768x382.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Zimmer-1536x763.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Zimmer-543x270.png 543w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Zimmer.png 1829w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and Darwin Joston is truly memorable as convicted murderer Napoleon Wilson, whose complex personality slowly emerges over the course of the film. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston2-1024x507.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"317\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-56645\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston2-1024x507.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston2-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston2-128x63.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston2-768x380.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston2-1536x760.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston2-546x270.png 546w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston2.png 1817w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Click <a href=\"http:\/\/headquarters10.blogspot.com\/2008\/04\/he-has-moments-darwin-joston-in-assault.html\">here<\/a> to read more about his sadly underdeveloped career as an actor.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Darwin Joston as Napoleon Wilson<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston-1024x513.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"321\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-56638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston-1024x513.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston-128x64.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston-1536x770.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston-539x270.png 539w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Joston.png 1817w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Austin Stoker as Lt. Ethan Bishop<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker-1024x509.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"318\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-56639\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker-1024x509.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker-300x149.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker-128x64.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker-768x382.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker-1536x764.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker-543x270.png 543w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Stoker.png 1811w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography2-1024x501.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"313\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-56647\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography2-1024x501.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography2-300x147.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography2-128x63.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography2-768x376.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography2-1536x752.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography2-552x270.png 552w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography2.png 1821w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography3-1024x516.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"323\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-56646\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography3-1024x516.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography3-300x151.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography3-128x65.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography3-768x387.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography3-1536x774.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography3-536x270.png 536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-Cinematography3.png 1807w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Highly effective use of authentic L.A. locales<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A..png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.-1024x505.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"316\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-56640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.-1024x505.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.-128x63.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.-768x379.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.-1536x757.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.-548x270.png 548w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A..png 1815w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.2-1024x499.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"312\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-56643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.2-1024x499.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.2-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.2-128x62.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.2-768x374.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.2-1536x748.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.2-554x270.png 554w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Assault-L.A.2.png 1821w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li>Carpenter&#8217;s edgy, synthesized musical score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a deserved cult classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0074156\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s764assault.htmldvdtalk\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/horror\/assault-on-precinct-13-1976.htm\">SF, Fantasy, and Horror Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/assault-on-precinct-13-2\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an old story with me. I was born out of time.&#8221; Synopsis: A rookie cop (Austin Stoker), a secretary (Laurie Zimmer), and two prisoners (Darwin Joston and Tony Burton) find themselves under siege at an abandoned police station. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Gangs John Carpenter Films Police Prisoners Trapped Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Peary&#8217;s not nearly as much of a fan of this cult low-budget thriller by John Carpenter as I am. Throughout his review, he compares it&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11019\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11019"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72074,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11019\/revisions\/72074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}