Blu-ray Review: Assault On Precinct 13 (Second Sight)

My first encounter with John Carpenter's "Assault On Precinct 13" occurred during a golden age of cinema double bills in the 1970s.
In those days, film buffs had the opportunity to catch the likes of Lucio Fulci's "The Beyond" / "House By The Cemetery", "The Exorcist" / "Exorcist II" and "Jason And The Argonauts" / "Chariots Of The Gods". Assault turned up on a double header with "Halloween" and quickly convinced me that Carpenter was a director who merited special attention from that point on.
Certainly, Assault still comes over today as a job well done, being an intoxicating old school mix of "Rio Bravo" and "Night Of The Living Dead" as heroes and heroines emerge from a retired police station under siege from a LA gang.

After a bloody shootout between police and gang members, we join Lieutenant Bishop (Austin Stoker) who is on the way to oversee the closure of the Anderson precinct police station. Here, the cells are empty and the electricity supply is due to be bumped before the 4.00am shutdown as Leigh (Laurie Zimmer) and Julie (Nancy Loomis) carry on winding down their duties. On the other side of town, shackled prisoner 'Napoleon' Wilson (Darwin Joston) is heading for Death Row under armed supervision while members of the LA Thunder - still smarting from the deaths of 6 members - commit an unbelievable atrocity which culminates in a shell-shocked man stumbling into Anderson station having killed the gang's leader.

Wilson also ends up at the station , but it's really the grieving stranger who is the subject of the gang's attention, prompting the delivery of a chilling blood oath declaring they are willing to lose more gang members until revenge is taken.
So begins a long, dark night of the soul with the hoodlums silencers greatly adding to the eerie atmosphere and ensuring no-one can hear their shots.

Carpenter's taut direction and entirely memorable score - one of his very best - creates a nightmarish scenario which the cast respond to admirably. We have Julie, desperate to turn over a man whose world (unknown to them) has already ended, while Bishop and Wilson gradually build mutual respect in the fight to stay alive. Best of all may be the gorgeous Laurie Zimmer, who comes over as an enormously resourceful woman in the face of true adversity.

2016 marks the 40th anniversary of this film, which remains the crowd-pleasing gem it was all those years ago. The infamous scene that drew gasps of disbelief at the screening I attended has retained its power to shock to the core, and there are many other scenes that stay with you long after the credits have rolled: witness the scene where stray bullets disturb a wall clock from its previously serene resting place, demonstrating time no longer has any meaning in this night without end.

Second Sight's Blu-ray presentation adds fine detail, solid colours and even a greater sense of purpose to this classic, and goes on to deliver some meaty extras for those of us who love to really step inside a film.
First up is a John Carpenter commentary track where the director talks about the challenges he faced with a $100,000 budget. John discusses the critical reception; admits there are a few scenes he wouldn't have got away with today; chats about cast and crew and pronounces that Assault was unique for its time.

Art director and sound effects designer Tommy Lee Wallace is joined by Michael Felsher for a second commentary track which takes in Tommy's high school days with JC; the panavision filmmaking process; that shocking murder scene and his own work as a director.

Return To Precinct 13: An Interview With Austin Stoker (9m 20s)

Austin recalls his early movie-going experiences; how he first met JC, and the big responsibility of being the main character.

Filmmaking With John: An Interview With Tommy Lee Wallace (21m 41s)
Tommy recalls his high school band days with JC; talks about the magic of 35mm film and of his relationship with John, calling him extremely well prepared and motivated.

Producing Precinct 13: Interview With Executive Producer Joseph Kaufman (15m 39s)
Here, Joseph brushes aside the $100,000 budget claims; chats about John's time at USC and digs into Assault's production history.

Captain Voyeur (8m 27s)
Made in 1969 at Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, "Captain Voyeur" is a John Carpenter student film, recently re-discovered by school archivist Dino Everett in 2011. This creepy little number could be loosely referenced to Carpenter's "Halloween", employing a masked figure on the loose in back gardens and alleyways where a light in a window is the signal for our peeping tom to strike.

Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer? (53m 41s

In 1977, Charlotte Szlovak wanted to make a film that would really translate the city of LA, with a woman at the centre of the story.
Charlotte chose Laurie Zimmer who played an actress driving round the city in search of a indefinable something to spark her life.
After filming was completed, Charlotte lost touch with her newfound friend, and this compelling short tells the story of her journey to find Laurie. It's a haunting tale for sure, as Charlotte delivers poetic narration while negotiating blond alleys and dead ends during her search for the actress. It's an uplifting story, demosntarting that a strong bond can never truly be broken.

Interview With John Carpenter and Austin Stoker (23m 8s)
This was filmed before an appreciative audience at the Egyptian Theatre in 2002, where JC and Austin discuss how Austin got the role of Bishop and other cast choices. "They Live" and "Dark Star" are just two of the films that come up during a lively Q&A with the audience.

The Sassy One With Actor Nancy Loomis (12m 44s)
Nancy recalls her formative years at high school and USC; tells how she handled nerves during her first couple of features; talks about "Halloween" and "The Fog" and touches on her opinion of fan conventions.
The extras conclude with a 2m 3s theatrical trailer and 1m 4s worth of radio spots. Fans will also be delighted by the inclusion of a bonus CD soundtrack disc exclusive to the box set and 5 exclusive art cards.
"Assault On Precinct 13" will be released on 28th November in the UK, and is an essential purchase for all fans of John Carpenter.

Blu-ray Review: Big Trouble In Little China

Big Trouble In Little China was shot during the Autumn of 1985, released the following year and turned out to be a box office flop. Originally conceived as a western, Big Trouble eventually emerged as a high octane Martial Arts themed ride, with a satisfying dollop of Chinese supernatural lore thrown into the mix. The studio really wanted their own version of Indiana Jones. Instead, they got John Carpenter's most entertaining film, with more bang for your buck than the aforementioned hero and his quartet of films.
Big Trouble takes place in San Francisco's Chinatown district as Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) sees his 'Pork Chop Express' truck go missing and becomes embroiled in the darkest kind of Chinese magic.
The beautiful Miayo Yin (Suzee Pai) arrives at the airport to meet her intended - Wong Chi, played by Dennis Dun - who has just lost yet another game of chance to the streetwise Burton. The green-eyed Maiyo is snatched by Chinese street punks before she can even embrace her beloved, and eventually ends up in the underground lair of David Lo Pan (James Hong)who needs to marry a green-eyed girl in order to break an ancient curse and become permanent flesh and blood once again.
Aided by tour operator Egg Shen(Victor Wong), lawyer Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall) and assorted Martial Arts experts, Burton and Wong venture into a shadowy world of Chinese black magic, aiming to rescue Maiyo and claim back the 'Pork Chop Express'.

John Carpenter had always longed to do a film with a strong Martial Arts theme, and Big Trouble marks a wholly successful entry into this field, making the most of an energetic cast who clearly relish their excursion into Chinese mythology. Burton's wisecracking rough and ready hero really hits all the right notes, while Pai, Cattrall and Kate Burton's newshound on the trail make for an appealing trio of green-eyed ladies who enjoy the frantic efforts of the men around them. The combat scenes are beautifully choreographed and staged, benefiting from sumptuous stage sets that combine to make Big Trouble so visually splendid and damnably entertaining from the word go.
Of course, various influences take root here; my own favourite being a nod to the underwater sequence in Dario Argento's Inferno which can be seen around the 39th minute mark.

So, why did Big Trouble fail at the box office? One possible reason is that it was released just 16 days before James Cameron's Aliens when expectation was at fever pitch for this follow-up to Ridley Sctott's original. Happily, Big Trouble has taken off on home video through various formats to become a cult classic, and I welcome its UK Blu-ray release from Arrow Video.

Arrow's Blu-ray exhibits excellent colour reproduction, with the sets and costumes looking splendid, while detail is very strong. Fans of this film should be delighted with this presentation and will doubtless enjoy the bounty of supplementary material, which begins with around 80 minutes of interviews. Here, Carpenter, Russell, Dean Cundey, producer Larry Franco, actor and choreographer Jeff Imada and visual effects producer Richard Edlund. JC kicks things off with an informative chat, recalling his love of Martial Arts movies and the unhappy experiences with Big Trouble that prompted him to turn his back on the studio system. Kurt Russell's contribution reveals the special bond he has with his director and recalls his casting of the lead role in 'Elvis' and some hilarious anecdotes drawn from the filming of Big Trouble. Cundey, Imada,Franco and Edlund chat about life on the other side of the camera, including the lowdown on set design, choreographing fight scenes, FX and design, Carpenter's breakthrough with Halloween and how and why the plug was pulled on Carpenter directing Firestarter.

Next up are eight deleted scenes, with some available on transfers of Betamax worktapes, while others are presented as workprint or videotape, allowing the viewer to check out one or both. Highlights include a rare moment of dialogue from Miayo Yin; some priceless Burton wisecracks and some background info on Grace Law.There's also an extended ending to enjoy, with Burton taking care of one last piece of business.

A 7 minute vintage featurette follows, with Russell, Carpenter, Dennis Dun, Cattrall, James Hong and costume designer April Ferry talking about the making of Big Trouble, while music videos, trailers and a valuable isolated score round off the package. There's also a rollicking commentary track with Carpenter and Russell who recall the fun, frustrations and satisfaction they experienced with this film., and when Carpenter talks about the importance of casting the right people, you just know that with Big Trouble he got everything right.

Big Trouble In Little China is a Region B release, coming as a standard case or a gorgeous steelbook and is out now.