Assault on Precinct 13

"A white-hot night of hate!"

1976 1h 31m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 1,268

ThrillerActionCrime

Synopsis

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A highway patrol officer, two criminals, and a station secretary form an unlikely alliance to defend a defunct Los Angeles precinct against a siege by a bloodthirsty street gang.

“A white-hot night of hate!”

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Cast

Austin Stoker
Ethan Bishop
Darwin Joston
Napoleon Wilson
Laurie Zimmer
Leigh
Martin West
Lawson
Tony Burton
Wells
Charles Cyphers
Starker
Nancy Kyes
Julie
Peter Bruni
Ice Cream Man

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Carpenter
Writers: John Carpenter
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

50 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Carpenter, shot by Douglas Knapp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Carpenter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Carpenter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Austin Stoker and Darwin Joston and Laurie Zimmer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A white-hot night of hate!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0074156 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Carpenter directs. Douglas Knapp behind the camera. John Carpenter scores. John Carpenter cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
250 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by John Carpenter, shot by Douglas Knapp. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by John Carpenter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor John Carpenter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Austin Stoker and Darwin Joston and Laurie Zimmer carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A white-hot night of hate!".
8IMDB entry: tt0074156 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 22 themes, including "street gang", "police", "ambush", "psychopath".

The technical file

Cinematography: Douglas Knapp
Original score: John Carpenter
Editing: John Carpenter
Makeup / hair: Don Bledsoe
Sound: Bill Varney
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $150,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

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John Carpenter

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Community reviews

What people are saying

chris.tmdb2014-11-04
★ 10/10
Awesome film one of my all time favorite movies Plus (Great soundtrack)
John Chard2015-05-31
★ 10/10
There are no heroes anymore, Bishop. Just men who follow orders. Assault on Precinct 13 is written, directed, edited and musically scored by John Carpenter. It stars Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West, Tony Burton, Charles Cyphers and Nancy Kyes. Cinematography is by Douglas Knapp. If you are going to homage films that you love, or ones that influence you, then you have to get it right. Something John Carpenter most assuredly did with this, his first masterpiece. Plot and structure of film are simplicity extreme, but it's the execution that matters here, the cool veneer of the hero characters, the frightening relentlessness of the gang members who assault the soon to close down police station and the small number of inhabitants within. Interestingly it's actually Precinct 9, Division 13, but Carpenter was no doubt in a playful mood. Carpenter builds the first half slowly, introducing key characters whilst deftly staging the events that will lead to the actual siege itself. This part of Los Angeles where the story is set is conspicuous by how empty and soulless it seems, even in daylight, which is where the terror actually begins. It's as if residents and locals just prefer to be off the streets at any time of day or night. The gang, like the folk inside the station, are multiracial, but unlike those inside the gang never speak. They move like silent assassins, no shouting or cussing, just a tidal wave of death, their guns adorned with silencers, which leads to a truly brilliant extended sequence as the gang begin to destroy the building silently! Meanwhile relationships are being formed by those under duress, convicts and police forced to battle side by side in the slightest hope of surviving the night. There is no flab on show here, no pointless dialogue or scenes which could have been cut, it's a film that is very much to the point. The cast respond well to Carpenter's requirements, be it emotionally, physically or coolly, all while Carpenter's low tone synthesiser plays out its memorably eerie beats. It's a superb lesson in low budget film making from one of the masters of that art. His filmic star may have waned in his later life, but for a time in the 70s and 80s he shone bright, Assault On Precinct 13 was the ignition. 10/10