Part of Restoration Roundup
At once a searing homage to Howard Hawks’ RIO BRAVO and a contemporary portrayal of 1970s gang warfare, John Carpenter’s sophomore feature pits an understaffed police station against a bloodthirsty gang’s angry horde gathering outside the precinct’s walls and has become as much an inspiration of genre cinema now as that which inspired its creation. Ruthlessly violent — including a certain “ice cream” scene which threatened the film with an X rating — and featuring one of Carpenter’s most iconic scores, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 is every bit as intense now as it was in 1976.
Restored in 4K by Deaf Crocodile in consultation with executive producer Joseph Kaufman and released to theaters via American Genre Film Archive.
“It's sheer delight from beginning to end.” —Time Out London “As incisive as it is thrilling, Carpenter’s film is also gorgeous…. Carpenter’s imagery is a thing of propulsive beauty that both enhances suspense and expresses his characters’ ever-changing relations to one another. It’s a fleet, ferocious piece of genre craftsmanship.” —Nick Schager, A.V. Club “In combining the dread and survival politics of George Romero and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD with the macho heroics and succinct wit of Howard Hawks, Carpenter found his own voice and changed the course of genre filmmaking.” —Nathan Rabin, The Dissolve
