| | | From the Producer of Training Day.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1, Dolby Digital Stereo, French, Spanish Subtitled
Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne lead an all-star cast, including John Leguizamo, Ja Rule and Drea de Matteo, in the explosive, action-packed thriller, Assault on Precinct 13. Run-down Precinct 13 is about to close its doors forever. But everything changes when some of Detroit's most lethal prisoners arrive. Soon, the only thing more dangerous than the criminals on the inside is the rogue gang on the outside. To survive the night, two men on opposite sides of the law will have to work together to battle an enemy who doesn't follow the code of cop or criminal. What is UMDTM?
UMD, Universal Media Disc, is a brand-new and groundbreaking optical storage medium, designed for the high speed and efficient delivery of digital entertainment content that can store up to 1.8 GB of digital data on a 60mm disc -- or an entire feature film on a single UMD video. All UMD DVDs are produced in Widescreen and encoded using advanced AVC compression. UMD for PSP will play on the new PlayStation Portable handheld entertainment system.
Specifications
Diameter: 60 mmMaximum Capacity: 1.8GB (Single-sided, dual layer)Laser wavelength: 660nm (Red laser)
"...a thriller that actually thrills." Lou Lumenick, New York Post
"The movie rips and roars." Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"Smart, satisfying action entertainment that is also a perceptive work of considerable artistry." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Editor's Note
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.
Plot Summary
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is an early John Carpenter film with explosive impact. A backwater L.A. police station gets lively fast when a man avenges the murder of his daughter and then takes shelter from the murderous gang in the 13th precinct house. Purportedly an homage to Howard Hawks, it matters little when the riotous action starts.
| Features | Subtitles: English | | Widescreen Presentation | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 | | DVD Picture Quality | | Full Length Movie |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Image |
| Release Date: 8/2/2005 |
| Running Time: 109 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1976 | | Catalog ID: 2485CKUMD | | UPC: 00014381248593 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.40:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (2006) | | | Image Award, Laurence Fishburne, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture |
| Memorable Quotes| "In my situation, days are like women...each one's so damn precious, but they all end up leaving you."----Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston) | | "I like killin' pigs. I like hearin' 'em squeal. Wieeeeee!"----Gang member |
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| | Professional Reviews | Sight and Sound
"...PRECINCT 13 is filled with delectable bits of business in direction and performances..." 12/01/1977 p.58-9New York Times
"...Carpenter is an extremely resourceful director [with an] ability to construct film entirely out of action and movement..." 08/18/1979 p.10 Entertainment Weekly
"...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..." 03/14/2003 p.49 Uncut
"[I]nstinctively punk....Brilliant..." 02/01/2005 p.104 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." 01/01/2006 p.84-85 Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] stripped-down thriller....It owes as much to George A. Romero as Howard Hawks....Raw and visceral..." 05/01/2008 p.159 ReelViews 8 of 10
Assault on Precinct 13 is not a masterpiece of character development, but it does enough in that area to at least allow us to care about some of the men and women populating the film. Actually, in many cases, that sympathy comes more because of solid performances than as the result of a well-written script...After about 30 minutes of set-up, Assault on Precinct 13 shifts into overdrive, giving us more than an hour of entertainment as the assailants try increasingly lethal methods to get into the building. Considering the arsenal they have at their fingertips, it's a little surprising that they aren't more successful, but that would make for a shorter, less satisfying movie. I would have appreciated a little more interplay between the various characters trapped inside, but that would have gotten in the way of the gunplay and occasional one-liners. For what it is, Assault on Precinct 13 delivers. It's not great art, but, for B-movie fans and those looking for a mid-winter jolt of energy, it's good fun. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
"Assault on Precinct 13" is not so much a remake as a riff on an old familiar plot: The fort is surrounded, and the defenders have to fight off the attackers and deal with possible traitors in their midst...All classic and airtight, and handled by Richet with economy and a sturdy clarity of action; he doesn't go overboard with manic action scenes. There are, however, a few plot points that confused me. One is the way a forest seems to materialize near the station, which seemed in an overhead shot to be in an urban wasteland. My other problem is with a character who, in order to be who he is and what he is, would have to have known that Bishop would end up at Precinct 13, even though Bishop clearly ends up there by accident. Oh, and a tunnel turns up at a convenient moment, as tunnels so often do. - Roger Ebert
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