Assault on Precinct 13.....Which One?
 

I was going to buy the remake tomorrow but now I'm wondering if I should get the Original made by John Carpenter instead. Which one is better?

I would buy the remake i love it.I did not like the Original one at all.I thought it
sucked.The remake is the way to go.Don't even watch the original one.Hope this helps

Robert

i don't like either but prefer Carpenter's aesthetic to that of the new one so I would choose the original as the lesser of two evils. but maybe you should consider the original original, Rio Bravo, instead.

I've never seen the original but the new one is an excellent movie.Not sure if that helps.

Good to hear that this new one is a decent flick. I'm blind buying it (as I do most of my movies), but was mainly hoping to avoid being burned, so it's good news to hear that this one is a good show.

the new one is ok, but the original is much, much better.

Get a grip--the original's credits are better than the entire remake...

The remake is obviously slicker (which a bigger budget and studio backing will do) but you simply cannot beat Carpenter's original.

I think that hands down, the new one is the way to go. It was just awesome. The original was just OK... pick up the remake (and it should be pretty cheap too).

MATT

Nothing beats the original. Truely a fantastic film from start to finish and much better than the remake.

The original is awesome. I liked the remake too but would watch the original any day over the remake. Carpenter's filming and score cant be beat. I wish they would have kept the theme from the original in the new one. I just love that beat for some reason.

The remake is enjoyable for what it is but the original has tons more tension and is simply a better film. The remake is a rental, the original a keeper.

:thumbsup:

Especially with that awesome soundtrack written by Capenter.

With a question like this, people should be required to post their age when making a recommendation.

How does being 40 change that I think the remake is an enjoyable, if forgettable, action movie, and the original has more substance and is a better film?

Why? :hscratch:

It doesn't. But at 40 you've seen enough films to know which are forgettable, yet fun, and which ones have substance. At 17, everything that has explosions is totally wicked COOL! (Most 17 YO's. I'm sure there are exceptions, and if you are reading this, you are one of them.)

you know, you can get both. The original is currently in the $5.50 bin at Walmart. The original is very worth watching. I did like the remake too. Get both!

I'm 27 and I like both. I like the old one more cause of the style, music, and tone of hte film. The new one is more flashy and has bigger named starts but doesnt have the same atmosphere that carpenter had. Nothing beats the music, Napolean Wilson, or Vanilla Twist from the original. ;)

The original se DVD is awesome too cause of the isolated score.

im 19,i thought the original was WAYYY better,
as with the recent crop of horror remakes,
texas chainsaw,amityville,dawn of the dead
the originals were all better

The original also took place at Precinct 9 Division 13 ;) Carpenter never did explain that did he? I know he didnt in the commentary on the original se, at least that I remember.

The new one was so slick it was boring. Get the original.

Or just do like I do. wait about three to four more weeks, and buy it used. It will be even cheaper from your local video store.

To be perfectly honest, Carpenter's original is somewhere between a student film and a studio feature. It's a quantum leap up from Dark Star, resource-wise, but even as an independent project it still draws heavily from Carpenter's USC ties. That being said, I wouldn't trade 10 minutes of Carpenter's most resource-deprived footage for the whole new version, even though I like both Lawrence Fishburne and Ethan Hawke a great deal. Unless remakes are very clearly better than the original, I've always wondered what's the point and this one isn't within the same zip code of bettering the initial version.

At least the new one wasn't castrated with PG13. It's got some visceral brutality to it you don't see in the bigger Hollywood productions anymore. It actually shocked me in a couple scenes, which is a very rare thing.