Cover Art

Credits

Director: John Carpenter Starring: Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West, Tony Burton, Charles Cyphers Screenplay: John Carpenter Country: USA

This is a film from a time when Carpenter couldn't put a foot wrong: Dark Star, Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, Escape From New York, The Thing – all genius work, and all delivered in rapid order. Admittedly with Starman the quality rapidly decreased, but in his first few years as director: like I said – genius – and as such, he's one of my heroes. So am I writing this from a fan-boy point of view? Hell yes.

The basic plot is pretty simple: lieutenant Bishop (effectively the John Wayne character) is taking over Precinct 9, Division 13 (yes, I know, I know…), while the rest of the force is moving to another station-house. The gang "Street Thunder" attack the building in retaliation for the murder (and it is murder) of a number of their gang members by the police, having sworn blood-revenge. That's pretty much about it, plot-wise. The rest is down to the acting, direction, and above all, tension..

At the same time, a bus commuting villains Wells, Cordell and uber-bad guy Napoleon Wilson is heading cross-town to be put in the Big House, in Wilson's case, to be put on death-row. Carpenter used to write really good tough-guy banter – an example of it here: Wilson gets knocked out of a chair by a sadistic prison warden, and quips, "Yeah, I don't sit in chairs as well as I used to" – but when he gets the opportunity to kick the same dirty copper's arse to the curb, says, "He don't stand up as well as he used to" – comedy gold. The same kind of tough-guy wit that powers Kurt Russell's characters in Escape From New York, Big Trouble in Little China and The Thing. Still cool even to this day. Wilson's cigarette gag, while a little intrusive, is a constant throughout the film, and a nice throwback to directors like Howard Hawks, to whom this film is practically a tribute, as much as Carpenter's re-make of Hawks' The Thing.

The sub-plot with the vengeful father could probably never be dealt with in the same way as it was then, with the degree of coldness it is in this film – the little girl being shot is a terrible moment, and one today's Hollywood would definitely shy away from.

Bishop's character is nicely restrained, as opposed to Wayne's usual blustering bravado in Rio Bravo, Laurie Zimmer exudes Lauren Bacall-cool in her role, Wilson is smoulderingly potentially violent, but still the anti-hero Kurt Russell should have played. The bit where Wilson breaks the guy who's attacking him's arm; fucking nasty – arms aren't meant to bend like that.

Oh, and for those interested, Le Syndicat Electronique have a cover of Carpenter's theme music for this film ready for your listening pleasure – electro goodness on the Disco Undead compilation – the track's entitled, fittingly enough, "The Anderson Alamo".