Rating: 
Summary: JOHN CARPENTER'S BEST FILM!!!!
Review: and that's including "Halloween." Great performances by all, wonderful pacing, action, and editing by Mr. Carpenter, under the pseudonym John T. Chance (except for the gang's bulletfest on the police station, which was edited by an uncredited Tommy Lee Wallace, director of "Stephen King's IT"). Great update of Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo." Awesome production values, despite the $100,000 budget. Recommended for film buffs or people who enjoy visceral entertainment. A Must-See!
Rating:
Summary: One of the action genre's best with loads or humor.
Review: A group of Los Angeles gangs attack a police station with only a lone police officer, two secretaries, and two inmates to oppose them. The action comes fast with humor an excellent and atmospheric score by writer/director John(Halloween, The Thing, In the Mouth of Maddness) Carpenter. One of his best films.
Rating: 
Summary: OUTSTANDING CARPENTER FILM. ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVES.
Review: THIS FILM HOLDS UP WELL IN ITS RUTHLESS DEPICTION OF RANDOM GANG TERROR. A GREAT STORY TOLD WELL WITH STYLE AND VISION. IT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE POORLY GIVEN THE PLOT, BUT IT TOOK A CARPENTER TO TAKE A LUMP OF CLAY AND MOLD IT INTO A FINE CERAMIC. THEY SHOULD RE-RELEASE THIS ONE. I THINK IT WOULD DO VERY WELL.
Rating:
Summary: Posssibly the best low-budget action picture ever!
Review: Why were there so many boring action pictures in the seventies? Are they just dated? No, "Bullit" and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" came out in the sixties and they are two of the most exciting action pictures ever made. Perhaps it's because the budgets are low? Afraid not, this ultra-low budget, seventies action picture from John Carpenter is one of the most exciting pictures ever made.This picture proves that a low-budget cannot mar the excitement of a great action picture if it's well crafted. This picture takes a little bit of "Rio Bravo" (a small band of unlikely heros stand together to fight it out against seemingly impossible odds.), and a lot of "Night of the Living Dead", (small band of unlikely heros defend themselves against violent killers who are attacking a small building.) This movie is well-written. Has some strong characters,(Especially the black cop, and the "heroic" convicted serial killer, Napoleon Wilson.) This picture also has one of John Carpenter's most effective musical scores. Forget about "Halloween". This is John Carpener's best work as a writer/director.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding urban western....Brilliant!!!!
Review: A smart, scary and absolutely brilliant version of Rio Bravo with a little Night of the Living Dead thrown in for good measure. One of Carpenter's best pictures, and a movie that preceded countless actioners like Die Hard; Speed and many others. Assault is a true original...like no other movie of its time.
Rating: 
Summary: tense thriller not mant people heard of it
Review: I remember i saw this movie years ago on T.V. and never heard of it.It was advertised as from the director of halloween so i thought i check it out and it was great.Typical carpenter about people from different backgrounds stuck on a diffuclt situation with great action and acting from a bunch of no names.I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: An awesome,ludicrous way to show the emptiness of city life
Review: Debilitated through an overtly simple keyboard soundtrack written by Carpenter, this story of a Californian street gang gathering their ruthlessness through diversity speaks to the homicidal freeloader in us all. The Cali slums embody the films theme of hopeless justice very well. The main characters must first let go of their prior strife in order to battle the onslaught of emotionless thugs. This film was Carpenters second try at directing. The attempt was very ample, attracting the attention of director, Quentin Tarantino. He even included the movie through a clever T-shirt plug in" From Dusk Till Dawn". Like Carpenters other films, the audience is bombarded by endless assults on the brain, which keep you glued.
Rating:
Summary: Killer movie, but even better, AWESOME music soundtrack
Review: after everything's been said or written about this movie, that's the one part I felt I must highlight; the music for this movie was credited to Carpenter, and in the DVD format, it just rocks, just gives the speakers a serious workout. For a 1970s movie, or for any decade, for that matter, it's awesome.
Rating:
Summary: Before you see the Remake make sure you see the original 1st
Review: Yes it is being remade for release in 2005! But before you go out and see that you MUST see the original. Carpenter's 1st studio film!
Based on Howard Hawks Rio Bravo, it tells the story of a police precinct under siege, where Police and prisoners have to fight side by side in order to survive. Great acting by Austin Stoker and Darwin Joston. Excellent direction and music by John Carpenter. Not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: Another Carpenter classic!
Review: John Carpenter's claim to fame rests largely on his contributions to the horror film genre. He's responsible for the hugely influential 1970s slasher flick "Halloween," of course, but he's also made several other noteworthy horror movies. His remake of "The Thing" still impresses over twenty years later thanks to a great cast, incredible special effects, and scads of claustrophobic atmosphere. "The Fog," starring Adrienne Barbeau, is Carpenter's attempt at a good old-fashioned ghost story. I could go on and on, mentioning the killer car film "Christine," the satanic "The Prince of Darkness," and the Lovecraftian horror of "In the Mouth of Madness." Fortunately, Carpenter occasionally made films in other genres, such as the science fiction classics "Dark Star," "Escape From New York," "Starman," and the hilarious "They Live" starring none other than one time pro wrestler Roddy Piper. In his prime Carpenter had the Midas touch, especially when it came to a very low budget action film called "Assault on Precinct 13." A new version of the film will soon appear in the theaters, perhaps it already has, but it's already quite obvious it will never approach the intensity of the original. How could it? Carpenter pulls a few nasty tricks in this movie that no studio would ever touch today.
"Assault on Precinct 13" stars Austin Stoker as Lieutenant Ethan Bishop, heading out for the first day of his new promotion. Headquarters assigns him to drive over to Precinct 13, a station house located in the worst part of town, in order to help the remaining personnel there shut the place down. Meanwhile, a prisoner transfer is taking place somewhere else in the state, a transfer involving Wells (Tony Burton) and a dangerous felon named Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston) headed to death row. Yet another incident unfolds simultaneously with the other two, as a father and his young daughter Kathy (Kim Richards) drive into the slums on personal business. Sadly, these two are completely unaware that several gang members involved in a weapons' heist perished in a confrontation with the police hours before. The gang declares a revenge war on the police and the city for the killings, with the prime targets being anyone unlucky enough to run into these guys on the streets. Of course, no one knows anything about this yet until the gang commits a particularly heinous crime that finds Kathy's father stumbling into the nearly closed station house. Gang members show up to terrorize the occupants of the building and reclaim the father.
At roughly the same time Napoleon Wilson, Wells, and the rest of the prison transfer crew show up at Precinct 13 seeking a doctor for a sick inmate. Only Napoleon and Wells survive long enough to make it inside thanks to the gang members, who lay down a withering fire using the arms captured in the heist. The rest of the film from this point forward moves with lightening speed as Bishop, beautiful secretary Leigh (Laurie Zimmer), Wells, Wilson, and a few others must overcome the mutual distrust that exists between criminals and the police if they are to survive. One thing is for certain: the gang members laying siege to the station couldn't care less who is inside the building. They will kill anyone in an effort to get at Kathy's father. With no phones and no way to move around outside the building, Bishop and his cohorts must rely on a few weapons and even fewer rounds of ammunition to stay alive. Any attempt to escape from the station house spells disaster for those who try it, and it isn't too long before the survivors crouch in the basement awaiting the final bloody assault. Will the police discover the occupants of Precinct 13 before the gang members overwhelm them? Who will live and who will perish? What will happen to Napoleon Wilson after the heroics he displays fighting off the gang members? Watch and see.
There isn't much to dislike about Carpenter's action classic. Sure, the acting is a bit wooden, especially in Darwin Joston's portrayal of the laconic Napoleon Wilson. Too, I found the whole "potato" game a bit ridiculous. But aside from those niggling problems, "Assault on Precinct 13" is an assault on the viewers' senses. Lots of shoot 'em action helps propel the narrative in the station house, but the stuff going on in the outside world is just as interesting. If you've seen the film, you know what I'm referring to as "outside stuff," namely the reason Kathy's father arrives at Precinct 13 in a state resembling a nervous breakdown. I won't spoil this shocking scene for you, but it's the sort of sequence that makes the difference between a film and a cult classic. Nothing we see up to that point prepares us for what happens, and it's the sort of thing that never loses its power to shock. I've seen this movie a dozen times and I STILL sit in utter amazement when that part of the film arrives. You can bet your bottom dollar the remake won't attempt to recreate this scene. I've recommended "Assault on Precinct 13" to friends based on this horrific scene alone.
The Special Edition disc comes loaded with extras. The commentary track with John Carpenter is fairly low key but essential to listen to for his explanation of the aforementioned shocking scene as well as learning about the nuts and bolts of low budget filmmaking. Also included is a videotaped interview with Carpenter and Stoker filmed at one of those horror/science fiction conventions, a trailer, a still gallery, and radio spots. I recommend skipping the latest incarnation of "Assault" and going with this one instead.
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