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| Death Wish | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Michael Winner |
| Produced by | Hal Landers Bobby Roberts |
| Written by | Brian Garfield (novel) Wendell Mayes (screenplay) |
| Starring | Charles Bronson Hope Lange Vincent Gardenia Steven Keats William Redfield |
| Music by | Herbie Hancock |
| Cinematography | Arthur J. Ornitz |
| Editing by | Bernard Gribble |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 24, 1974 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country |  |
| Language | English Italian German |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Gross revenue | $22 million |
| Followed by | Death Wish II |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Death Wish is a 1974 action-crime-drama film based on the 1972 novel by Brian Garfield. The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, a man who becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter is sexually assaulted by muggers. The film was a major commercial success and generated a movie franchise lasting four sequels over a twenty-year period. The film was denounced by critics as advocating vigilantism and unlimited punishment to criminals.
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Plot
The film opens with a montage of Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) and his wife Joanna (Hope Lange) vacationing in Hawaii. They return to New York City where Paul works as an architect. That day, Joanna and their daughter Carol Anne (Kathleen Tolan) are out shopping for groceries at a nearby store. Three hooligans are wreaking havoc in the supermarket, and catch Joanna's address after telling the man that she would like the groceries delivered to her apartment. They follow her to the apartment, and ring the doorbell. Believing it to be the delivery-man from the grocery store, Carol answers. The hooligans proceed in and trash the apartment. They then search the apartment for money, but only find $7. The three hooligans then rape Carol, killing Joanna in the process.
Paul receives a call from his son-in-law Jack Toby (Steven Keats), explaining that both Joanna and Carol are in the hospital, but is not told yet of their current condition. After waiting impatiently at the hospital, Paul is told by a doctor that his wife has died. Devastated by the loss, he goes to the police but is told that the likelihood of catching the criminals is nil. The next day at work, Paul's boss gives him an extended business vacation to Tucson, Arizona to meet a client, Ames Jainchill (Stuart Margolin), who shows him the ropes.
While in Arizona, Paul witnesses a mock gunfight at Old Tucson, a reconstructed Western frontier town that is often used as a movie set. The day before Paul leaves, Ames invites him to a gun club, and is impressed when Paul shoots near bulls-eye accuracy. He reveals that he used to be a crack shot in his youth, but was a "CO" (conscientious objector) during the Korean War but still served his country as a combat medic. Ames drops Paul off at the airport, and puts a little going-away present in his bag.
Upon arriving back in New York, he is greeted by Jack who informs Paul of his daughter's weak comatose condition. Paul visits her before going back to the apartment to unload his suitcase. He opens Ames' present; a nickel plated .32 Smith & Wesson caliber revolver in a gun case. He puts the gun in his pocket as he takes a nightly stroll. He shoots his first mugger, Thomas Leroy Marston, and is shocked at the fact that he just killed a human being, and throws up. However, he continues with his vigilantism; he kills three more men robbing a man while being defenselessly beaten, two more on the train, two more in the subway (although one gets away mortally wounded and later dies at the hospital), and three more on the park stairs before Paul is wounded himself by a 12th mugger. Paul collapses at that point, while the other mugger runs off. (The three men who assaulted Kersey's family are never seen again after the crime, but it leaves the speculation of their fate open.)
All the while, Police Lt. Frank Ochoa (Vincent Gardenia) investigates the vigilante killings. He has the department narrow down the list to certain war veterans, and then the people whose families have been assaulted by muggers. The public, on the other hand, is happy that the crime rate is dropping and that somebody is doing something about crime. Just as he is about to apprehend Kersey when all the evidence points to him, the District Attorney (Fred J. Scollay) intervenes and tells Ochoa to "let him loose" in another city instead of arresting him. Ochoa doesn't like the idea, but relents. Ochoa then demands Kersey leave New York, permanently, to which Kersey replies, "By sundown?"
The film ends as Paul arrives in Chicago Union Station by train from New York, where he is greeted by a company representative, during which time he sees three hoodlums harassing and/or robbing a woman. He excuses himself and helps the woman out, while the hoodlums give Kersey the "middle finger". The last image is that of Kersey smiling back, making a gun shape with his right hand at the hoodlums and smiling.
Timeline
Although the film was released in 1974, according to Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, a character by the name of Detective Reiner reveals that this film is set in 1975.
Cast
- Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey
- Hope Lange as Joanna Kersey
- Vincent Gardenia as Frank Ochoa
- Steven Keats as Jack Toby
- William Redfield as Sam Kreutzer
- Stuart Margolin as Ames Jainchill
- Jeff Goldblum as Freak
- Christopher Guest as Jackson Reilly
- Olympia Dukakis as Cop at the precinct
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (uncredited) as Mugger
Jeff Goldblum had his screen debut in Death Wish, playing one of the criminals who attack Kersey's wife and daughter. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, who would later co-star on the highly successful TV show Welcome Back, Kotter, had an uncredited role as a mugger near the end of the film. Actress Helen Martin, who had a minor role, subsequently appeared in the television sitcoms Good Times and 227. Sonia Manzano, 'Maria' from Sesame Street has an uncredited role as a grocery clerk. Christopher Guest made his screen debut as a young police officer.
Production
Death Wish was first released to United States audiences in July 1974. It was produced by Italian film mogul Dino De Laurentiis and marketed by Paramount Pictures. The film underwent rejections by other studios due to the controversial subject matter and was dropped by United Artists (which ironically was sold to MGM, which would go on to own the rights to the first 3 sequels) after producers Hal Landers and Bobby Roberts liquidated their rights due to budget constraints.
The original film was written by Wendell Mayes, also known for such thrillers as Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Michael Winner, a favorite director of Dino De Laurentiis, oversaw its filming and would go on to direct the first two sequels. Of all of the five Death Wish films, the original largely adheres to Garfield's novel.
The address at which Kersey was purported to have lived, 33 Riverside Drive, is in fact located on West 75th street on the Upper West Side; several scenes were in fact shot on location on this block.
Soundtrack
Multiple Grammy award winning Jazz musician Herbie Hancock produced and composed the original score for the soundtrack to the original Death Wish movie. This would be his third film score, behind the 1966 movie Blow-Up and 1973's The Spook Who Sat By The Door. Michael Winner said, "[Dino] De Laurentiis said 'Get a cheap English band.' Because the English bands were very successful. But I had a girlfriend who was in Sesame Street, a Puerto Rican actress (Sonia Manzano), who played a checkout girl at the supermarket [in Death Wish, and she was a great jazz fan. She said, 'Well, you should have Herbie Hancock. He's got this record out called Head Hunters.' She gave me Head Hunters, which was staggering. And I said, 'Dino, never mind a cheap English band, we'll have Herbie Hancock.' Which we did."
Critical reception
Critical reception to Death Wish was mixed, but it had an unexpectedly large impact on U.S. audiences and began widespread debate over how to deal with rampant crime. The film's graphic violence, particularly the brutal rape scene of Kersey's daughter as well as the explicit portrayal of Bronson's premeditated and often in the back slayings, was considered exploitive, but realistic in the backdrop of an urban U.S. atmosphere of rising crime rates. This film was one of the highest-grossing titles during the early 1970s; it became an immediate classic and the defining film for both Bronson and Michael Winner.
Many critics were displeased with the film, considering it an "immoral threat to society" and an encouragement of antisocial behavior. Vincent Canby of the New York Times was one of the most outspoken writers, condemning Death Wish in two extensive articles.[1] Brian Garfield was also unhappy with the final product, calling the film 'incendiary', and even stated that each of the following sequels are all pointless and rancid, since they all advocate vigilantism unlike his two novels of which are the exact opposite.
Impact and influence
Death Wish remains a milestone in cinema history, considered the first urban film to depict a civilian taking up arms against criminals. While this concept existed in many previous westerns, Death Wish was the first to place it in a modern setting. The film had unexpected resonance in cities like New York and Los Angeles, where crime had reached incredible levels during the early-to-mid 1970s. Moviegoers applauded Kersey whenever he shot criminals down and cinemas enjoyed record ticket sales during the movie's first run.
The film was a watershed for Charles Bronson, who was better known in Europe and Asia at the time of Death Wish's release. Bronson became an American film icon who experienced great popularity over the next twenty years, during which he starred in four sequels to the film:
- Death Wish II (1982)
- Death Wish III (1985)
- Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)
- Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994)
In the series' later years, Death Wish became a subject of parody for its over-the-top violence and the advancing age of Bronson. However, the Death Wish franchise remained lucrative and drew support from fans of exploitation cinema. The series continues to have widespread following on home video and is occasionally broadcast on television. Despite its flaws, especially in the sequels, Death Wish is viewed as one of American cinema's reactions to the presence of crime in modern life.
Possible Remake
On November 4, 2007, Variety magazine reported that Sylvester Stallone was in talks to direct and star in an MGM remake of the original Death Wish. Production is currently halted.
The 2007 film Death Sentence directed by James Wan, can be considered a remake of this film. Though it is based on a sequel novel to the novel this film is based on, the plot is very similar to this movie.
The Brave One (2007 film) has also been compared to Death Wish, but with a female vigilante.
In popular culture
- The Bernhard Goetz case in 1984 led Charles Bronson to speak out against the values of the character he played in Death Wish, and to disavow vigilantism.citation needed
- Radio shock-jocks Opie and Anthony often use the Jeff Goldblum soundbites "Goddamn rich cunt" and "I kill rich cunts" during their XM Satellite Radio show. The clips have gained so much notoriety that they use "sanitized" versions for their FCC-compliant show on terrestrial radio, "Goddamn RICH VOS" and "I kill rich vos" heard primarily on CBS Radio and Citadel Broadcasting radio stations nationwide. (Rich Vos is a comedian that frequents the show)
- Minneapolis rapper P.O.S. refers to Death Wish and Charles Bronson several times throughout his CD Audition, even going so far as to name one track "Paul Kersey to Jack Kimball".
- In the movie The Boondock Saints Connor talks about how "Charlie Bronson's always got a rope...and [he] always ends up using it."
- In the film Reservoir Dogs, during a conversation between Mr White and Mr Orange about the planning of the upcoming bank heist, Mr White says, "If you get a customer, or an employee, who thinks he's Charles Bronson, take the butt of your gun and smash their nose in..."
- In "A Star Is Burns", an episode of the animated television series The Simpsons, movie critic Jay Sherman reviews Death Wish 9: Wishing For Death, which merely consists of Charles Bronson lying in a hospital bed saying the line "I wish I was dead, oy."
- Another Simpsons episode features a scene of a Death Wish-style Charles Bronson filling in for Andy Griffith on The Andy Griffith Show.
- Still another Simpsons episode features the fictitious city of Bronson, Missouri, wherein all of the inhabitants resemble Charles Bronson in both appearance and demeanor.
- In his Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin compares the Sally Field film Eye for an Eye to Death Wish.
- In the console video game Enter the Matrix, Sparks references the film with the line "I think you have a death wish! A major, full-on Bronson!"
References
- ^ New York Times.(restricted link)
External links
- Death Wish at the Internet Movie Database
- Death Wish at Allmovie
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