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Assault on Precinct 13 [DVD] [Widescreen Edition]

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Director John Carpenter's second film is a brutal, realistic story about the siege of a small police precinct by a violent and well-armed gang. The gang is seeking the man who killed some of their members in revenge for the accidental shooting of his daughter. After the father enacts his revenge, he wanders to the police precinct in a distraught state. The poorly manned precinct is being phased out of use, and is unprepared for the relentless assult which ensues. The violence in ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 was shocking for its time and has remained so over the years since its release, mainly due to the stark, unaffected direction of a young John Carpenter. Insipired by the cowboy and indian movies Carpenter watched as a boy, the film is more than just an action movie, as it shows the desperation and courage of people living in a violent society. Produced with a modest budget and without Hollywood backing, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is a fine example of how a powerful film can be made with limited resources.
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): ID3660-CKDVD
Credits

Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West, Nancy Loomis, Kim Richards, Henry Brandon
Critic Reviews

"...PRECINCT 13 is filled with delectable bits of business in direction and performances..."
Sight and Sound
"...Carpenter is an extremely resourceful director [with an] ability to construct film entirely out of action and movement..."
New York Times
"...A tight, tense thriller....Carpenter's eerie score and Douglas Knapp's stylish cinematography give this low-budget shoot-out all the weight of an urban RIO BRAVO..."
Entertainment Weekly
"[I]nstinctively punk....Brilliant..."
Uncut
Ranked #20 in Uncut's Best DVDs Of 2005 -- "Carpenter's film is a classic in its own right, a benchmark of lean action cinema."
Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] stripped-down thriller....It owes as much to George A. Romero as Howard Hawks....Raw and visceral..."
Empire