Assault on Precinct 13

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Assault on Precinct 13

R

Released Nov 5, 1976

1h 31m

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

When the LAPD kills several members of the South Central gang Street Thunder, the remaining members avenge themselves by way of a bloody war waged against cops and citizens alike. Caught in the crossfire is Lt. Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker), who's managing a skeleton crew at the local and soon-to-be-closed police precinct. As the gang members close in, Bishop forms an unlikely alliance with a group of prisoners in order to defend the station and the lives of everyone in it.

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Critics Consensus

Lean, taut and compellingly gritty, John Carpenter's loose update of Rio Bravo ranks as a cult action classic and one of the filmmaker's best.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Hopelessly violent but exceedingly well made.

May 25, 2011

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Variety Staff

Variety

Novelty of a gang swearing a blood oath to destroy a precinct station and all inside is sufficiently compelling for the gory-minded to assure acceptance.

Jul 6, 2010

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Time Out

One of the most effective exploitation movies of the decade.

Feb 9, 2006

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Alistair Lawrence

Common Sense Media

This 1976 cult favorite has endured long to spawn a 2005 remake and still be regarded as one of writer-director John Carpenter's finest works.

May 1, 2024

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Arthur Steele

Birmingham Mail

Much of this film can be taken as intentional satire as well as the way most audiences will see it -- as a small budget, but often nail-bitingly effective spine-chiller.

Nov 21, 2023

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Eve Tushnet

Patheos

The action is fine–Carpenter’s good at this, it’s all brisk, just enough characterization to make these feel like people who cast real shadows but no more than that. Carpenter did the music as well, and it’s fantastic.

Aug 16, 2023

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Steve R

Laurie Zimmer, damn.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/13/24

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Matthew G

Enjoyed the slow build of the first half as you wait to see how everything will be connected. Second half felt like a bit of a let down.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/28/24

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acsdoug D

yeah, it's pretty ;ow budget, but you'll recognize the unmistakable Carpenter style. Not to mention the unmistakable Carpenter soundtrack.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/26/24

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Richard L

Carpenter made a couple of amazing movies, but the rest of them are like chicken night in Turkey. Cheesy in every single way, from dialogues and acting to timing and editing. Both the plot and the action make no sense, as scores of apparently braindead gang members alternate between throwing themselves towards their death like lemmings and running around the street crouched for hours. Banger of a soundtrack though.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/23/24

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ben j

One of Carpenter's best, this is a classic of "group of ragtag characters thrust into a specific location for the duration of the film with danger all around, and how that causes the different personalities to clash and work together" (think "The Thing," "Dawn of the Dead," "The Mist," etc). I have a deep love for 70s and 80s sci-fi, horror, and action, and this is at the top of the list—it's got a bit of everything; suspense, comedy, characterization, action, romance, all balled up into a transgressive, subversive adventure.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/24

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prawnda s

this movie is ridiculously overrated. i'm a fan of carpenter, but to see people tout this as one of his best works is a complete joke, because it has to be the worst john carpenter film i've seen to date. it's boring, it's slow, it's poorly written when it is written at all, the acting is atrocious, and it's just not very good all around even considering the year it came out. i think i would rather watch literally any movie by carpenter rather than this. the fight choreography is also outrageously fake, there are obvious cuts in the middle of shots with lazy editing, and overall i'm a little more disappointed in humanity for thinking this was a good film on such an apparently unanimous level. i don't even know why this is considered an important part of carpenter's legacy when he's made such obviously superior products before and since. the soundtrack is also some of the most generic, repetitive and annoying hogwash carpenter has ever put out. to see reviews here that say "great soundtrack" just makes me want to find the person who wrote that and force them to see a psychiatrist.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/24

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John Carpenter

Director

Austin Stoker

Ethan Bishop

Darwin Joston

Napoleon Wilson

Laurie Zimmer

Leigh

Martin West

Lawson

Tony Burton

Wells

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Synopsis

When the LAPD kills several members of the South Central gang Street Thunder, the remaining members avenge themselves by way of a bloody war waged against cops and citizens alike. Caught in the crossfire is Lt. Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker), who's managing a skeleton crew at the local and soon-to-be-closed police precinct. As the gang members close in, Bishop forms an unlikely alliance with a group of prisoners in order to defend the station and the lives of everyone in it.

Director: John Carpenter
Producer: J. Stein Kaplan
Screenwriter: John Carpenter
Production Co: Overseas Film Group
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 5, 1976, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 19, 2013
Runtime: 1h 31m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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