Assault on Precinct 13
John Carpenter
" dum dum dum dum dum ... it is that easy "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
It wasn't John Carpenter's first movie, but for many it was the breakthrough film that raised his star to such cult classics as Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York and The Thing. Assault on Precinct 13 is actually not the movie version many will have seen in the remake of 2005. It plays out the same interesting twist about a deserted police station that is a shelter for a criminal and a cop who must work together to get out alive.
However, in Carpenter's version a simple revenge takes them to Precinct 13. In the almost abandoned post Ethan Bishop must protect his crew and top criminal Napoleon Wilson from the mob that's waiting to get in. Perfect for the role was also Laurie Zimmer who strangely has only been credited in 4 movies along her entire career. Anyway the film is a slow moving urban suspense builder which has these big advantages. The fact Carpenter knows exactly which actors he should use, how he can make these characters interesting and how he can build suspense with his own addictive tunes.
It is now a hideous sounding synthesized version, but at the same time it remains a truly addictive little tune that can make you forgive its ugliness by the mere fact it is so simple and yet so cool. The version when the top criminal and the top cop walk away at the end is Carpenter magic in both scene and music. That specific cue is "Assault on Precinct 13".
Expect the same cool versions inside many tracks, including "Street Thunder", intertwined with an ice cream tune in "Targets / Ice Cream Man on Edge", in "Emergency Stop" and reprised in that classic "Assault on Precinct 13". Variations of this theme are included in the cool "Napoleon Wilson", the expended "The Windows" and in "To the Basement".
If the theme isn't heard, then Carpenter is churning out a different strategy, that of solemn hopeful mood. Examples of these are found in "Precinct 9 / Division 13", "Julie" and "Walking Out".
And if the main theme needs to be performed, a couple of beats will always set down the imminent danger. It is what drives the coolness in such tracks as 2, 5 and only with beats in "Well's Fight". And if heartbeats and a nerve wrecking synthesized snare doesn't do it for you on CD, be sure to check out what it does in the scene of "Wrong Flavour", "Lawson's Revenge" and "Sanctuary".
So there you have it. Assault on Precinct 13 is an album that will only please the Carpenter fanatics or those 80's school film music followers. Because for these people a simple driven little score on synthesizers with a fetching 5 note main theme is sometimes so much easier to digest than today's modern "I fill my music with so much complexity it will become too much to handle" music. John Carpenter isn't a composer that will bring this complexity, but the man sure knows how to exactly enhance his shots musically. And most of his themes are now legendary for their simplicity. Think about that simple fact, you composers of tomorrow.
Tracklisting
1. Assault on Precinct 13 (Main Title) (3.31)
2. Napoleon Wilson (0.51)
3. Street Thunder (1.24)
4. Precinct 9 / Division 13 (1.03)
5. Targets / Ice Cream Man on Edge (3.06)
6. Wrong Flavor (2.03)
7. Emergency Stop (0.57)
8. Lawson's Revenge (1.00)
9. Sanctuary (1.03)
10. Second Wave (0.27)
11. The Windows (2.00)
12. Julie (1.52)
13. Well's Fight (1.39)
14. To the Basement (1.04)
15. Walking Out (0.34)
16. Assault on Precinct 13 (2.00)
Total Length: 24.41
However, in Carpenter's version a simple revenge takes them to Precinct 13. In the almost abandoned post Ethan Bishop must protect his crew and top criminal Napoleon Wilson from the mob that's waiting to get in. Perfect for the role was also Laurie Zimmer who strangely has only been credited in 4 movies along her entire career. Anyway the film is a slow moving urban suspense builder which has these big advantages. The fact Carpenter knows exactly which actors he should use, how he can make these characters interesting and how he can build suspense with his own addictive tunes.
It is now a hideous sounding synthesized version, but at the same time it remains a truly addictive little tune that can make you forgive its ugliness by the mere fact it is so simple and yet so cool. The version when the top criminal and the top cop walk away at the end is Carpenter magic in both scene and music. That specific cue is "Assault on Precinct 13".
Expect the same cool versions inside many tracks, including "Street Thunder", intertwined with an ice cream tune in "Targets / Ice Cream Man on Edge", in "Emergency Stop" and reprised in that classic "Assault on Precinct 13". Variations of this theme are included in the cool "Napoleon Wilson", the expended "The Windows" and in "To the Basement".
If the theme isn't heard, then Carpenter is churning out a different strategy, that of solemn hopeful mood. Examples of these are found in "Precinct 9 / Division 13", "Julie" and "Walking Out".
And if the main theme needs to be performed, a couple of beats will always set down the imminent danger. It is what drives the coolness in such tracks as 2, 5 and only with beats in "Well's Fight". And if heartbeats and a nerve wrecking synthesized snare doesn't do it for you on CD, be sure to check out what it does in the scene of "Wrong Flavour", "Lawson's Revenge" and "Sanctuary".
So there you have it. Assault on Precinct 13 is an album that will only please the Carpenter fanatics or those 80's school film music followers. Because for these people a simple driven little score on synthesizers with a fetching 5 note main theme is sometimes so much easier to digest than today's modern "I fill my music with so much complexity it will become too much to handle" music. John Carpenter isn't a composer that will bring this complexity, but the man sure knows how to exactly enhance his shots musically. And most of his themes are now legendary for their simplicity. Think about that simple fact, you composers of tomorrow.
Tracklisting
1. Assault on Precinct 13 (Main Title) (3.31)
2. Napoleon Wilson (0.51)
3. Street Thunder (1.24)
4. Precinct 9 / Division 13 (1.03)
5. Targets / Ice Cream Man on Edge (3.06)
6. Wrong Flavor (2.03)
7. Emergency Stop (0.57)
8. Lawson's Revenge (1.00)
9. Sanctuary (1.03)
10. Second Wave (0.27)
11. The Windows (2.00)
12. Julie (1.52)
13. Well's Fight (1.39)
14. To the Basement (1.04)
15. Walking Out (0.34)
16. Assault on Precinct 13 (2.00)
Total Length: 24.41