Assault on Precinct 13
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| Poster Origin : | United States |
| Poster Size : | US 1 Sheet / 27 x 41" |
| Poster Artist : | Robert Tanenbaum |
| Poster Year : | 1976 |
| Poster Version : | First Release |
| Film Origin : | United States |
| Film Director : | John Carpenter |
| Film Year : | 1976 |
An early picture from low-budget specialist John Carpenter, and the poster adopts a suitable stylistic approach with no frills. The stencil headline font suggests wholesale industrial functionality, and nicely evokes the utilitarian graphics of the armed security forces under attack.
Tanenbaum’s illustrations are usually more accomplished than this, produced with more finesse and colour. The sketchy monochrome image may have been cheap to produce, but it is unlikely that such frugality was actually necessary; one wonders whether Carpenter deliberately aimed for a less sophisticated poster as homage to the B-movies of the 50s and 60s he so cherished.
In the background a blazing overturned car implies full-scale riots and associated pyrotechnics, although the film features nothing of the sort. The eye-catching sensationalism is an enjoyable paraphrasing of the promiscuous promos from an earlier era, but perhaps undervalues the production as a whole; the film is some sort of action thriller at heart, but distinguished with humanity, poignancy and melancholy.