Assault on Precinct 13 (Widescreen Edition)
List Price:
Our Price: $1.02
You Save: $13.96 (93%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Drea de Matteo, Ethan Hawke, Gabriel Byrne, Laurence Fishburne, Maria BelloBrand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Serbo-Croatian (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 109 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-05-10
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Assault on Precinct 13 (Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: Is that a phosphorus grenade in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
Summary: 3 Stars
After watching this slick, snazzy, and wholy unnecessary 2005 remake of John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), which, by the way, was a remake of the Howard Hawks/John Wayne film Rio Bravo (1959), I found myself asking one thing...where the hell is the cholo? If you've seen the original, you'll know what I'm talking about...if you haven't, then search it out, because it's an excellent film, much better than this one, which isn't actually half bad, but then again it's only about half good...make sense? Probably not, but like Jesse `The Body' Ventura's Gatlin gun wielding character in the movie Predator proclaimed, "I ain't got time to make sense."...oh, wait, he actually said "I ain't got time to bleed."...well, I ain't got time for neither...directed by a Frenchie named Jean-François Richet (Ma 6-T va crack-er, De l'amour), the film features Ethan `Chicken' Hawke (Gattaca, Training Day) and Laurence `Cowboy Curtis' Fishburne (Apocalypse Now, "Pee-wee's Playhouse"). Also appearing is Brian Dennehy (Cocoon, Silverado), Maria Bello (Payback, Auto Focus), Jeffrey 'Ja Rule' Atkins (The Fast and the Furious), Gabriel Byrne (Miller's Crossing), Drea de Matteo ("The Sopranos"), and John `Motormouth' Leguizamo (Spawn, Land of the Dead).
Hawkes plays Sgt. Jake Roenick, a burnt out, pill popping, police officer/alkie bum (he likey the booze...he likey it a lot) hiding behind desk after a previous incident with some Serbian mobsters resulted in an injury to himself along with the skagging of a couple of undercover cops under his command (I bet Roenick will have to come to terms with his various `demons' at some point later in the movie). The precinct he's currently working, in Detroit's inner city, is scheduled to be shut down, operating only a skeleton crew on New Year's Eve, including Sgt. Roenick, sassy secretary Iris Ferry (de Matteo), and the world's oldest policeman Jasper O'Shea (Dennehy). Should be a quiet night, as most all responsibilities have been transferred to other precincts, but trouble arrives in the form of a bus carrying some prisoners, diverted to Precinct 13 due to worsening weather (winter in Detroit is about as fun as it gets). Among the felonious assemblage is Marion Bishop (Fishburne), a preeminent crime figure in town, and most likely the one the heavily armed, masked men who show up shortly afterwards, surrounding the building, are after. Discovering all communications to and from the outside world are cut off, Roenick makes an uneasy alliance with the prisoners, to which they manage to fend off an initial assault...but tensions are high within the precinct as trust doesn't come easy, and tempers flare up as the realization that their chances of surviving are about as good as that of a one legged man in an ash kicking contest (meaning not very good). Who are these highly organized, well-armed, masked men intent on killing everyone inside the precinct, including Marcus? The initial thought was they were Marcus' men, coming to rescue him, but that seems not the case, now...
In terms of technicality (a well put together movie) and performances (in general), this film would probably rate pretty high, as there's quite a lot of effort from many different sources here (check out the various `making of' featurettes). In terms of predictability (in both the story and characters), along with my bias towards Carpenter's original film (and story), this movie would rate pretty low...combining these two factors together, my overall attitude by the end was that of `meh'...what's `meh'? `Meh' means had I gone my entire life never seeing this movie, I wouldn't have missed anything, but as far as spending just over an hour and a half watching, there are a lot less meaningful things I could have spent my time on, like removing the lint from my belly button, or practicing my animal grooming techniques on various neighborhood animals (ever see a yellow Lab with an afro?). The main difference between this film and the original, in terms of the story, is the outside antagonistic element that drives the various degrees of conflict within the precinct. In the original this was comprised of a somewhat enigmatic, multi-racial mass, intent on exacting revenge on some poor schmuck who happened to wrong them, and had since sought refuge in the soon to be closed, skeleton crew, precinct. In this remake, the antagonists are a bit different, a lot more organized, and a lot more defined, and that's where I perceived the most noticeable flaw, in defining that which should have remained undefined. Part of the story here relates and illuminates this antagonistic factor, destroying the supernatural element present in Carpenter's original film. Ah well, I suppose it could have been worse...the performances are very strong, even if the characters seem somewhat generic, and the sets and special effects outstanding (there was a good eye towards detail, even though it may not have leaned towards the factual side of things). One thing I did noticed was there seemed to be an awful lot of head shots...lots of people getting it right between the eyes...also, watch as Hawkes pulls off a `Die Hard' moment, piercing an attacker through an ocular orifice with an icicle...throw in a knife in the jaw, a phosphorus, flash grenade in a pocket, and you've got some pretty interesting bodily injury sequences (things that make you go `ewww'). As far as the performances, I thought most did well, but I was unsure the point of Maria Bello's character of police `shrink'...she was easy on the eyes, but seemed to have little other reason for being in the movie as her `relationship' with Hawkes' character never amounts to anything. As far as Jeffrey 'Ja Rule' Atkins, well, he dies pretty good (what more could you ask for here? Well, a better actor, I suppose, but, like I said, he dies good)...the film moves along at a pretty good clip, but stumbled badly in two aspects, one being the persistent and obvious notion that one of those inside the precinct was a traitor, working with those outside (the offender might as well have been wearing a neon sign stating `RAT'), one whose identity the filmmakers tried to obscure later on through the lame tactic of introducing a relatively new character into the group, and the second being the incredible lull between the initial attack from those outside and any subsequent attacks...they made an excuse about waiting for an `AV'...I'm no expert on acronyms, but I assumed this meant armored or assault vehicle (perhaps a JL421 Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank...look it up, as you can buy one on the Amazon website), but given their capabilities and time constraints (the night time is the right time), I would have assumed more in terms of actual assault. All in all an enjoyable, exciting, sometimes violent diversion, but lacking and flawed when compared to the original...
The anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1) looks really sharp, and the audio, available in both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1, comes through exceptionally well. In terms of extras, there's four featurettes that go through various aspects of production, a HBO featurette titled `Caught in the Crosshairs', deleted scenes with optional director's commentary, and an audio commentary track with the director Richet, writer James DeMonaco, and producer Jeffrey Silver. Also included are some previews for other DVD releases including Unleashed (2005), White Noise (2005), and Seed of Chucky (2004).
Cookieman108
By the way, a remake is something unoriginal Hollywood types pass off on us when a sequel isn't feasible...and then, of course, there's always adapting old television shows into movies...
Description of Assault on Precinct 13 (Widescreen Edition)
A POLICE SERGEANT MUST RALLY THE COPS AND PRISONERS TOGETHER TO PROTECT THEMSELVES ON NEW YEAR'S EVE, JUST AS CORRUPT POLICEMAN SURROUND THE STATION WITH THE INTENT OF KILLING ALL TO KEEP THEIR DECEPTION IN THE RANKS.Action buffs will have a fine time with the spray of bullets, shattering glass, and pyrotechnic silliness that makes up the bulk of Assault on Precinct 13. Updated from the little-known cops-and-robbers classic John Carpenter made in 1976 (two years before he made his name with Halloween), this high-concept thriller is mostly a lowbrow kill-fest, and is very happy with itself for being so efficient in both categories. A decrepit police station on its last night before retirement--New Year's Eve, no less--plays unexpected home to a gang of criminals who become snowbound in the basement lockup. Another mysterious gang of people who stealthily gather in the blizzard outside want one of the particularly nasty criminals (Laurence Fishburne) dead, and they'll take the rest of the precinct down too, by golly. The odd lot of characters trapped inside include a burned-out sergeant (Ethan Hawke), a sexpot secretary (post-Sopranos Drea de Matteo), an even sexier police psychologist (Maria Bello), and various other good guys and bad guys who variously go down in blazes of guts, glory, bullets, and fire. Hawke and Fishburne are opposite sides of the coin: the law, and the bathroom scale. Their need to partner in order to survive the guns outside is the movie's moral conflict, and both actors chew on Precinct 13's peeling walls and scuffed floors to drive the point home every chance they get. Obvious filmmaking fakery abounds in everything from the irksome snowstorm, frequent gunshots to the head, and a shadowy forest that conveniently presents itself in an industrial section of Detroit for the climactic showdown. No matter, this Assault is for non-thinkers who want blood and gunpowder, with no messy slowdowns for logic, please.--Ted Fry
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Spy Game (Widescreen Edition)Universal; Release date: 2002-04-09; Published: 2002-04-01; DVD
Best price: $1.73
Price in other shops:
The WatcherUni; Release date: 2003-09-02; DVD
Best price: $5.19
Price in other shops:
End of DaysUni; Release date: 2000-04-18; DVD
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
16 Blocks (Widescreen Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-06-13; Published: 2006-06-01; DVD
Best price: $0.98
Price in other shops:
DaylightMCA; Release date: 1998-05-27; DVD
Best price: $5.34
Price in other shops:
The Skeleton Key (Widescreen Edition)Universal; Release date: 2005-11-15; DVD
Best price: $4.97
Price in other shops:
Born on the Fourth of July (Special Edition)UNI DIST CORP. (MCA); Release date: 2004-10-19; DVD
Best price: $4.87
Price in other shops:
The Kingdom (Widescreen Edition)FOXX,JAMIE; Release date: 2007-12-26; DVD
Best price: $4.24
Price in other shops:
Unleashed (Unrated Widescreen Edition)NBC Universal; Release date: 2005-10-11; DVD
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Four Brothers (Special Collector's Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2005-12-20; Published: 2005-12-01; DVD
Best price: $2.13
Price in other shops: