"The cornered man becomes eloquent." George Steiner
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), was shot the incredible length of time of 24 days. It is the terrifying story of a siege at a police station, terrifying precisely because the attack is quiet, crazy, unstoppable, and because the defenders are unlikely to survive as the Alamo . John Carpenter paid homage to Howard Hawks in the script, how to shoot it (the two directors share in love for the big screen), and the pseudonym he used in the credits as an editor (John T. Chance, the name the character played by John Wayne in Rio Bravo , 1959). The main character is Ethan, and Wayne in The Searchers (1959), John Ford. All these factors make the film a true delight. Another source of inspiration was somewhat lower the Night of the Living Dead (1968), George A. Romero. The relentless siege of submitting to the police station a group of murderers, who do not seem to mind jump shattered the air for their countrymen to enter the building, is clearly inspired by the fantasy of Romero, including fighting final, in which, after threatening the few survivors with sticks, the attackers are burned alive.
This rescue at the last moment it is highly unlikely; but, as in Rio Bravo , the moral of the movie was that the value and action will be the salvation. However, once the feeling of fear, it is clear that Carpenter is not up to Hawks in regard to the subtlety of the characterizations of his characters. Their performances are excellent, which is even more remarkable considering that this is unknown, but even after several versions, still appear curiously anonymous, the film is tense and exciting, full of memorable images, but it there is nothing comparable to the characters created by John Wayne, Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson in Rio Bravo , full of vigor and charm.
the film's strength lies not in its characters, but in your situation. And what makes it believable is the way to go Carpenter has developed such a situation: the brutal street killings that triggered the siege (for example, the girl who shoot through the ice cream you're eating), persecution by the mad father, the violent death on the steps of entering the police station and the vibrant ballet papers and shards of furniture that is organized when the station begins to fill with bullets.
Unlike any of his previous films, Assault on Precinct 13 is full of conviction, which is due, perhaps, that its subject is too close to the spectators as to drive them its reality, even by means of terror.
0 comments:
Post a Comment