Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1976
Running Times: 91m
Length:
Format: 35mm/Panavision (anamorphic)
Colour Format: Metrocolor
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: mono

DIRECTION

Director: John Carpenter

CREW

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: CKK/Turtle
Executive Producer: Joseph Kaufman
Producer: J.S. Kaplan
Assistant Producer: Steve Fine
Production Manager: John Syrjamaki

SCRIPT
Script: John Carpenter

DIRECTION
Assistant Director: James Nichols

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Douglas Knapp
Assistant Camera: Douglas Olivares, William Waldman
Gaffer: Jack English
Best Boys: William Mareneck, Michael Everett
Key Grip: Kurt Young
Grip: Trippy Gafford
Stills: Rena Small
Lab: Technicolor

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: John T. Chance (real name: John Carpenter)
Assistant Editor: Debra Hill
2nd Assistant Editor: Curt Schulkey
Post Production Supervisor:James Nichols

MUSIC
Music: John Carpenter

SOUND
Sound Recordist: William Cooper
Boom Operator: Alan Cassidy
Sound Re-Recordist: Bill Varney
Sound Effects: Tommy Wallace

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Make Up: Don Bledsoe
Wardrobe Mistress: Louise Kyes

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Richard Albain Jr

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Tommy Wallace
Set Construction: Get Set Inc
Property Master: Craig Stearns
Set Painter: Richard Girod

OTHER CREW
Script Supervisor: Debra Hill
Payroll: Maxine Syrjamaki
Production Assistants: Blake Schaefer, Jocelyne Stoikovitch, Marla Miller, Randy Moore, Tom Hansen
Driver: Trippy Gafford

LOCATIONS
Locations: Los Angeles, California, USA
Studio: Producers Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

STUNTS
Stunt Drivers: Rueben Joe Melendez, John Roy Rogers

CAST

Austin Stoker (Ethan Bishop)
Darwin Joston (Napoleon Wilson)
Laurie Zimmer (Leigh)
Martin West (Lawson)
Tony Burton (Wells)
Charles Cyphers (Starker)
Nancy Loomis (real name: Nancy Kyes) (Julie)
Peter Bruni (ice cream man)
John J. Fox (warden)
Marc Ross (Patrolman Tramer)
Alan Koss (Patrolman Baxter)
Henry Brandon (Officer Chaney)
Kim Richards (Kathy)
Frank Doubleday (white warlord)
Gilbert De la Pena (chicano warlord)
Peter Frankland (Caudell)
Al Nakauchi (oriental warlord)
James Johnson (black warlord)
Gilman Rankin (bus driver)
Cliff Battuello (1st guard)
Horace Johnson (2nd guard)
Valentine Villareal (chicano tough)
Kenny Miyamoto (oriental tough)
Jerry Viramontes (chicano hood)
Len Whitaker (black hood)
Kris Young, Randy Moore, Warren Bradley III, Joe Woo Jr, William Taylor, John Carpenter (uncredited) (gang members)
Brent Keast (voice of radio announcer)
Maynard Smith (voice of police commissioner)

PLOT SUMMARY

As the police prepare to close down an old police station, they find themselves playing host to some prisoners whose bus has broken down. Things get even worse when brutal street gangs lay siege to the building looking for a man who killed one of their number in revenge for the murder off his young daughter. The remaining skeleton staff of rookie cops and civilians forge an uneasy alliance with the prisoners to fend off the gang members' relentless attack on the station.

AVAILABILITY

Brazil
Video Distributors: América Vídeo; Opção
DVD Distributors: Continental Home Vídeo

Canada
Theatrical Distributors: Astral Films

Japan
DVD Distributors: Creative Axa Co Ltd

USA
Theatrical Distributors: New Films International
Video Distributors: Media Home Entertainment
Laserdisc Distributors: Image Entertainment (ID 2304 CK)
DVD Distributors: Image Entertainment (ID 4161 CKDVD); Image Entertainment (ID 3660 CKDVD)

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Australia
Rating: R

Canada
Rating: PA (Manitoba (original rating)); 18A (Manitoba (re-rating)); R (Nova Scotia/Ontario)

Finland
Rating: K-18

France
Rating: -16 (cut)

Germany
Rating: 18 (1976); 16 (2005)

Iceland
Rating: 16

Norway
Rating: 18

South Korea
Rating: 15 (cut)

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: X (theatrical (1976)); 18 (video (1986))

USA
Rating: R

TIMELINE

1976
November
5: USA – theatrical release

1978
April
19: Hong Kong – theatrical release

July
5: France – theatrical release

August
14: Sweden – theatrical release

November
3: Finland – theatrical release

1979
March
9: West Germany – theatrical release

November
2: Norway – theatrical release

1995
October
Day Unknown: USA - laserdisc release (Image Entertainment (ID 2304 CK))

1997
November
25: USA - DVD release (Image Entertainment (ID 4161 CKDVD))

1999
November
Day Unknown: Italy – shown at the Turin Film Festival

2003
March
11: USA - DVD release (Image Entertainment (ID 3660 CKDVD))

POSTER TAGS

L.A.'s deadliest street gang just declared war on the cops.

The gang swore a blood oath to destroy Precinct 13... and every cop in it!

John Carpenter's Award Winning Film

A cop with a war on his hands. His enemy... an army of street killers. His only ally... a convicted murderer.

A White Hot Night of Hate!

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

A 13. Rendörörs ostroma - Hungarian title
The Anderson Alamo - working title
Asalto en la comisaría del distrito 13 - Spanish title
Assalto à 13.ª Esquadra - Portuguese title
Assalto à 13ª DP - Brazilian title
Assault - Anschlag bei Nacht - West German title
Assaut - French title
Atak na posterunek 13 - Polish title
Attack mot polisstation 13 - Swedish title
Attack på polisstation 13 - Swedish title
Distretto 13: le brigate della morte - Italian title
Das Ende - West German title
Hyökkäys poliisiasemalle - Finnish title
Sidste nat på station 13 - Danish title
Trovão das Ruas - Brazilian title

LINKS

REMAKE OF
Rio Bravo (1959) (non-fantasy)

REMAKE
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) (non-fantasy)

SEE ALSO
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Straw Dogs (1971)

REFERENCES

PERIODICALS

Entertainment Weekly no.700 (14 March 2003) p.49 (USA)
review (New to DVD: Assault On Precinct 13 (B+) by Dalton Ross)

NEWSPAPERS

Expresso, Antena 1 May 1999 (Portugal)
review (by Manuel Cintra Ferreira)

KEYWORDS

buses, children, convicts, gangs, ghettoes, police, police stations, prisoners, revenge, sieges

Last Updated: 23 January, 2010