Assault on Precinct 13 (1976 film)



""Anybody got a smoke?""

Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 action/suspense film by John Carpenter.

The story is essentially Rio Bravo transported to The Seventies. When a soon-to-be-abandoned police station in a Los Angeles ghetto finds itself under siege from a violent street gang, a cop must enlist the aid of a secretary and two convicts to hold off the attackers until help arrives.

Remade in 2005 with Laurence Fishburne and Ethan Hawke.


 * Action Girl: Leigh. Even after getting shot in the arm, she still manages to take down several mooks.
 * Anti-Hero: Napoleon Wilson. We never learn what was his motivation for killing five men, but hey, he's still a criminal.
 * Armed Altruism
 * Bad Humor Truck: Hey, this isn't vanilla twist...
 * Catch Phrase: Wilson's is up there.
 * Chekhov's Gun: Subverted, a lot.
 * It looks as if Napoleon will reveal why he killed his victims to the overzealous cop accompanying him, but as the siege starts, the cop is killed quickly. Napoleon actually laments not getting the opportunity to do so.
 * The phone booth in which Lawson takes cover in at first, and which
 * Cut Phone Lines
 * Cryptic Background Reference: At different times Wilson is asked why he committed murder and why he's nicknamed "Napoleon". Both times he promises to explain later, but never does get around to it.
 * Danger Takes a Backseat:
 * Developing Doomed Characters: At least Carpenter thinks so; on the commentary he regrets taking too long to get to the assault. The fans tend to disagree.
 * Deus Ex Machina:
 * Diabolus Ex Machina: Some weird inversion or whateversion of it -- Lawson kicks off the plot and a lot of deaths by running into the police station, he himself sent there by the white gang member who casually shoots up the ice cream truck and . Both serve no purpose but to kick off the siege. Lampshaded by the secretary, who notes he was just some random somebody who brought Hell on the station.
 * Enemy Mine: Stoker is forced to rely on the assistance of two convicts (one of them a convicted murderer) in defending the precinct.
 * Equal Opportunity Evil: A radio announcer comments on the racial diversity of the gang, which would (then and now) be unusual in Los Angeles.
 * Extremely Short Timespan: All the action takes place over the course of a single night. Lampshaded by Ethan; after the initial hail of bullets, he comments that Lawson only came in about thirty minutes ago.
 * Famous Last Words: See Bad Humor Truck.
 * Girlish Pigtails: Worn by the little girl
 * Harbinger of Impending Doom: Lawson.
 * Heroic BSOD: Lawson, after arriving at the precinct.
 * Hollywood Silencer: Plot point: the reason why the initial barrage goes unnoticed, and why the prison convoy detail is slaughtered after the station chief is shot. Why gangbangers have silencers on M16s is explained -- they stole a weapons shipment before the plot starts. Why they have silencers on revolvers, on the other hand...
 * Infant Immortality: Blown away with a vengeance.
 * It's Quiet... Too Quiet
 * New Old West: This was, after all, inspired by Rio Bravo.
 * Offhand Backhand: "Hey, this isn't vanilla twist..."
 * Phone Booth: Twice - first where Lawson calls his ex-wife, second when one of the prisoners tries to make a run to it.
 * : As a Shout-Out to the scene  in Rio Bravo
 * Recycled in Space: It's Rio Bravo in The Seventies. Or Night of the Living Dead with gang members.
 * Retirony: The story takes place during the titular precinct's final night of operations.
 * The Siege
 * Sweater Girl: Leigh and Julie.
 * White Gang-Bangers: Actually noted in-universe, as a news report on Street Thunder notes their unusual interracial status.
 * White Gang-Bangers: Actually noted in-universe, as a news report on Street Thunder notes their unusual interracial status.

The remake contains examples of:
"Marcus Duvall: [Kneels in front of a kneeling ] How many are inside? [Thinking] Uh... 100. [There are actually 5]. Marcus Duvall: Answer the question. Kahane: [shakes ] Answer, bitch! [stares at Duvall] Marcus Duvall: You're a brave woman. [Stands up and shoots   point blank in the head]."
 * Anti-Hero: Guess who?
 * Anti-Villain: Well, as far as Corrupt Cops can get. The cop leading the SWAT team aims to kill the Mafia don inside before he can testify to keep his fellow police officers' "honor" preserved. Taken further in a deleted scene, in which he Mercy Kills a very badly burnt SWAT officer after he promises to make sure his family will be taken care of and unaware of the nature of his death.
 * Corrupt Cop: The antagonists this time around, trying to take out Fishburne's character to ensure they don't get exposed.
 * Defiant to the End:


 * Hollywood Atheist: Type 1 for Laurence Fishburne.
 * The Mafia: Fishburne's character ran some sort of organization like this.
 * Motor City: The setting is changed from Los Angeles to Detroit.
 * New Year Has Come
 * Race Lift: The two protagonists' races this time around are switched, and one of the prisoners is Mexican.
 * Scary Black Man: Guys, it's Laurence Fishburne.
 * Snow Means Death: And a LOT of death.
 * Take That: Against the fans.
 * Vasquez Always Dies: Anna.
 * Debatable,