ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (DVD) DOL DIG 5.1/2.35:1/16X9 DVD

Assault on Precinct 13
Cops, secretaries, and prisoners stuck in a soon-to-be-shuttered L.A. police station fight off a horde of murderous gang members in director John Carpenter's homage to Howard Hawks. When police officer Bishop (Austin Stoker) is left in charge of Precinct 13 on the last day it's open, he isn't prepared for the onslaught of a murderous street gang who have come into the possession of an enormous arsenal of guns. Finding himself trapped in the precinct with a pair of secretaries (Laurie Zimmer and Nancy Loomis), a few civilians and a handful of prisoners, Bishop is unable to call for help because the phones have already been disconnected and the precinct is in a run-down, out-of-the-way neighborhood. Holding out for a rescue, he and his fellow prisoners band together to barricade themselves in and hold the bandits at bay. But as the casualties mount and the supplies run low, they must choose between a daring escape attempt, a fiery offensive, or certain death. The sophomore feature from auteur-in-the-making John Carpenter, Assault on Precinct 13 reunited the director with Douglas H. Knapp, his cinematographer on 1974's Dark Star. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Cast Austin Stoker as Bishop Gilbert De la Pena as Chicano Warlord Darwin Joston as Wilson Al Nakauchi as Oriental Warlord Laurie Zimmer as Leigh Martin West as Lawson Gil Rankin as Bus Driver Cliff Battuello as First Bus Guard Tony Burton as Wells Charles Cyphers as Starker Horace Johnson as Second Bus Guard Kim Richards as Kathy Nancy Loomis as Julie Valentine Villareal as Chicano Tough Kenny Miyamoto as Oriental Tough Peter Bruni as Ice Cream Man John "Red" Fox as Warden Jerry Viramontes as Chicano Hood Len Whitaker as Black Hood Kris Young as Gang Member Warren Bradley III as Gang Member Joe Woo Jr. as Gang Member Brent Keast as Radio Announcer Maynard Smith as Police Commissioner

Crew Tommy Lee Wallace - Art Director Alan Cassidy - Boom Operator Douglas Olivares - Choreography William Waldman - Choreography James Nichols - First Assistant Director John Carpenter - Director John Carpenter - Editor John Carpenter - Composer (Music Score) Don Bledsoe - Makeup Douglas H. Knapp - Cinematographer John Syrjamaki - Production Manager Joseph Kaufman - Producer J. Stein Kaplan - Producer Richard Albain - Special Effects William Cooper - Sound Recordist John Roy Rogers - Stunts Rueben Joe Melendez - Stunts John Carpenter - Screenwriter Marla Miller - Production Assistant Jocelyne Stoikovitch - Production Assistant Tom Hansen - Production Assistant Blake Schaefer - Production Assistant Randy Moore - Production Assistant Jack English - Gaffer Trippy Gafford - Grip Kurt Young - Key Grip James Nichols - Post Production Supervisor Craig Stearns - Properties Master Bill Varney - Re-Recording Mixer Debra Hill - Script Supervisor Rena Small - Still Photographer Louise Kyes - Costume/Wardrobe Debra Hill - First Assistant Editor Curt Schulkey - Second Assistant Editor

Assault on Precinct 13
Although its production values are a solid step up from the audaciously pieced-together Dark Star, John Carpenter's sophomore features remains another example of the director's ability to do more with less. Lean, frill-free, and focused on action, the film earns constant comparisons to Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo and George Romero's Night of the Living Dead. The differences are as illuminating as the similarities, however, for Assault on Precinct 13 lacks the socially conscious overtones of the Romero film and the tough-guy heroics of the Hawks one. That leaves tight plotting, tight-lipped dialogue, and a beautiful tableaux of breaking windows and bouncing bullets. The cast is supremely functional, for they aren't characters so much as pieces on a chess board, but with a minimum of fuss they embody the coiled fear and languorous boredom of life under intermittent siege -- especially Laurie Zimmer and Nancy Loomis as a pair of police secretaries. Though a few chuckles come during an early sequence in which the world's most annoyingly precious little girl gets her comeuppance, there's little explicit humor to leaven the proceedings. But the legion of B-movie biker villains and the sheer glee with which Carpenter choreographs his mayhem help make Assault on Precinct 13 first and foremost a popular entertainment. Considering that it was filmed for a fraction of what it costs to shoot a high-concept Hollywood action flick 25 years later, this one really should be a film-school staple. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: New anamorphic high-definition digital film transfer in the original 2.35:1 Panavision aspect ratio Interview with John Carpenter and Austin Stoker Radio spots Still gallery Running commentary by John Carpenter Original theatrical trailer John Carpenter's Isolated Score DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 91 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Main Title [2:37] 2. A Los Angeles Ghetto [3:35] 3. First Night Out [2:35] 4. Napoleon Wilson [4:46] 5. Father and Daughter [1:30] 6. Street Thunder [1:33] 7. Precinct 9, Dividion 13 [6:44] 8. Targets [2:06] 9. A Talk With Wilson [3:06] 10. The Wrong Flavor [4:59] 11. Emergency Stop [3:45] 12. Lawson's Revenge [4:43] 13. The Siege [9:32] 14. Marked for Something [2:44] 15. Second Wave [4:58] 16. Julie [3:59] 17. Like Nothing Happened [5:44] 18. Officers on Patrol [1:10] 19. Potatoes [5:07] 20. Wells' Flight [2:11] 21. To the Basement [3:39] 22. Startin' to Rain [2:08] 23. Last Stand [2:51] 24. The Cavalry Arrives [3:21] 25. End Credits [1:15]