Assault on Precinct 13

Assault on Precinct 13 which was directed by Jean-Francois Richet, is a gripping movie packed to the core with action, emotion and all the thrills and frills of a thriller movie. The film stars Ethan Hawke as a police department enforcer and Laurence Fishburne of 'Mission Impossible' fame, as the anti-hero. The film also features Maria Bello, John Leguizamo, Brian Dennehy, JA Rule, Aisha Hinds and Gabriel Byrne.

The story revolves around the last day of the Police Department Station located at Precinct 13, and how it is taken hostage by corrupt police officers in order to attempt the murder of a mob boss being held prisoner there.

The movie, which is an improvement of the 1976 film of the same name, written, directed, scored and edited by John Carpenter made a moderate impact in the box office, raking in only around $5m USD in excess of the original budget. Carpenter's original film was made on a very tight budget, having obtained inspiration from Howard Hawks' Rio Brave. Carpenter considered this movie as one of his masterpieces. This film started his long term collaboration with Debra Hill in this movie, a partnership that blossomed over the years. Richet claims to have taken a brilliant 70's cult, classic film and attempted to turn it into a masterpiece of the 21st century.

This was a return for Hawke into the action genre after a string of romantic movies and this movie brought him commercial success and critical acclaim. During the filming of this movie, Hawke's personal life came under grave inspection due to the action of his muddled separation from his ex-wife Uma Thurman and his public displays of affection towards his new love Ryan Shawhughes, who used to be the nanny of his and Thurman's two children during their marriage.