Assault on Precinct 13 (1976 film)
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Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 action/thriller movie, directed by John Carpenter. It is an homage to the 1959 film Rio Bravo by Howard Hawks. A remake was released in 2005, with Ethan Hawke in the lead role.
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Plot
Set in Los Angeles in the mid 1970's, the action takes place in a run down area of LA known as the 'Anderson ghetto', a decaying area filled with street gangs and thugs. Precinct 13 is an old police station about to close and running on a skeleton staff. LA police officer Lieutenant Bishop is assigned to run the station for it's last few hours of service.
While passing through the Anderson area, a man sees his young daughter and an ice-cream vendor killed by a gang of toughs. Pursuing the gang, the father kills the toughs with a pistol and is chased by other street gang members. Seeking shelter, the man runs into the almost deserted Precinct 13 police station. In shock, the man cannot speak or reveal what is happening outside.
Meanwhile, a group of prisoners are being transferred to another jail in the LA area when one prisoner begins to suffer from illness. The bus stops to get help from a doctor and pulls over at the nearest safe location, Precinct 13. The prisoners are put into the cells while a doctor is sent for. One of the prisoners, on his way to death row, is the level-headed and enigmatic 'Napoleon' Wilson, though he never reveals the origin of his nickname.
To avenge the death of their fellow gangster, the street gang, armed with heavy weapons such as the Colt M16 and silenced pistols, lay siege to Precinct 13, killing several police officers and a jailed prisoner and cutting both the power and telephone lines to the station. Heavily outnumbered and without other options, Lieutenant Bishop releases the two surviving prisoners and arms them after they agree to team up to fight off the street gang. A battle rages for several hours as gang members launch a suicidal attack on the station in a crazed attempt to kill all inside. The siege culminates in a 'last stand' in the basement where Wilson shoots a pressurised tank, which explodes violently, killing the gangsters inside the station. Police back-up arrives and secures the station, relieving the four survivors of the siege . Tagline: L.A.'s deadliest street gang just declared war on the cops.
The "ice cream scene"
One of the more infamous scenes in the movie is where a little girl is shot by a thug after complaining about the flavor of her ice cream. The MPAA threatened to give an X-rating if the scene wasn't cut. Carpenter complied, but distributed the original version with the scene intact anyway.
Main cast
- Austin Stoker — Ethan Bishop
- Darwin Joston — Napoleon Wilson
