Death Wish (1974)

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Brian Garfield (novel)
Wendell Mayes (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 July 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Vigilante, city style -- Judge, Jury, and Executioner

Plot:

A New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks in which he randomly goes out and kills would-be muggers on the mean streets after dark.

Plot Keywords:

New York | Gun | Police | Architect | City

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Paul Kersey
Hope Lange	...	Joanna Kersey
Vincent Gardenia	...	Frank Ochoa
Steven Keats	...	Jack Toby
William Redfield	...	Sam Kreutzer
Stuart Margolin	...	Aimes Jainchill
Stephen Elliott	...	Police Commissioner
Kathleen Tolan	...	Carol Toby
Jack Wallace	...	Hank
Fred J. Scollay	...	District Attorney (as Fred Scollay)
Chris Gampel	...	Ives
Robert Kya-Hill	...	Joe Charles
Edward Grover	...	Lt. Briggs (as Ed Grover)
Jeff Goldblum	...	Freak #1
Christopher Logan	...	Freak #2
Gregory Rozakis	...	Spraycan
Floyd Levine	...	Desk Sergeant
Helen Martin	...	Alma Lee Brown
Hank Garrett	...	Andrew McCabe
Christopher Guest	...	Patrolman Reilly
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ken Ackles	...	Mugger in Park #1 (uncredited)
John C. Becher	...	Subway Station Mugger #1 (uncredited)
Robyn Blythe	...	Woman in Chicago (uncredited)
William Bogert	...	Fred Brown (uncredited)
Bruce Brown	...	Newsman (uncredited)
Robert Dahdah	...	Man on street (uncredited)
Paul Dooley	...	Cop at Hospital (uncredited)
Olympia Dukakis	...	Cop at the Precinct (uncredited)
Hector Freeman	...	Mugger on Street (uncredited)
Larry Gilman	...	Man in Park (uncredited)
Beverly Goodman	...	Little Bo-Peep (uncredited)
Trent Gough	...	Crime Scene Photojournalist (uncredited)
John Herzfeld	...	Train Mugger #2 (uncredited)
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs	...	Mugger in Park #2 (uncredited)
Marcia Jean Kurtz	...	Woman at Airport (uncredited)
Eric Laneuville	...	Subway Station Mugger #2 (uncredited)
Damien Leake	...	Alley Mugger #2 (uncredited)
Al Lewis	...	Guard at Hotel Lobby (uncredited)
Sonia Manzano	...	Grocery Clerk (uncredited)
Jay Rasumny	...	Architect in Office (uncredited)
S. Pearl Sharp	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lee Steele	...	Office Security Guard (uncredited)
Denzel Washington	...	Alley Mugger #1 (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Winner

Writing credits
Brian Garfield		(novel)
Wendell Mayes		(screenplay)

Produced by
Hal Landers	....	producer
Bobby Roberts	....	producer
Michael Winner	....	co-producer
Dino De Laurentiis	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Herbie Hancock

Cinematography by
Arthur J. Ornitz		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bernard Gribble

Casting by
Cis Corman

Production Design by
Robert Gundlach

Set Decoration by
George DeTitta Sr.		(as George DeTitta)

Costume Design by
Joseph G. Aulisi

Makeup Department
Phil Rhodes	....	makeup artist (as Phillip Rhodes)
Verne Caruso	....	hairdresser (uncredited)

Production Management
Stanley Neufeld	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Larry Y. Albucher	....	assistant director (as Larry Albucher)
Charles Okun	....	assistant director
Ralph S. Singleton	....	assistant director (as Ralph Singleton)
Howard Himmelstein	....	dga trainee (uncredited)

Art Department
Connie Brink	....	property master (as Conrad Brink)
Sante Fiore	....	scenic artist
Richard Adee	....	assistant property master (uncredited)
Joe Gerson	....	assistant production designer (uncredited)
Robert H. Klatt	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Carlos Quiles	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Alfred Cox	....	dubbing editor
James Sabat	....	sound recordist
Jim Shields	....	dubbing editor (as James Shields)
Hugh Strain	....	re-recordist
Arthur Bloom	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Robert Rogow	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Alan Gibbs	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lou Barlia	....	camera operator (as Louis Barlia)
Charles Kolb	....	head grip
Willie Meyerhoff	....	gaffer (as Willy Meyerhoff)
Don Biller	....	camera assistant (uncredited)
Louis Cappeta	....	grip (uncredited)
Joseph Di Pasquale	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Jack Gereghty	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Cornelius Hannan	....	electrician (uncredited)
John Khorigan	....	grip (uncredited)
Owen Marsh	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Sal Martorano	....	best boy (uncredited)
Richard Meyerhoff	....	electrician (uncredited)
Jack Stager	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Ken Thompson Sr.	....	grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Frank Kennedy	....	extras casting: locations (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joseph W. Dehn	....	wardrobe (as Joseph Dehn)

Editorial Department
William Lustig	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Herbie Hancock	....	music performer
Herbie Hancock	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
James Lake	....	driver (uncredited)
Harold 'Whitey' McEvoy	....	transportation captain (uncredited)

Other crew
Stephen Cory	....	assistant to director (as Steven Cory)
Dino De Laurentiis	....	presenter
Barbara Robinson	....	script supervisor
Ernest Anderson	....	press agent (uncredited)
Sam Goldrich	....	location auditor (uncredited)
Michael Kennedy	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Adeline Leonard Seakwood	....	production office coordinator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dino De Laurentiis Company
• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tobis Filmkunst (1974) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1974) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1976) (USA) (TV)
• Fotomat (Drive-Thru Movies) Video (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1981) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• VPS Film-Entertainment GmbH (1981) (West Germany) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video (1984) (Japan) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia-Hoyts Home Video (1985) (Australia) (VHS)
• Videosonic Arts (1985) (Greece) (VHS)
• Paramount Pictures (1990) (USA) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1993) (Finland) (TV)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (19??) (Australia) (VHS)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• R-Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• VTC-Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Tom Ward Enterprises  casting

Also Known As:

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:-16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1974) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2003) | Iceland:16 | UK:18 (re-rating) (2006) (uncut) | West Germany:18 (f) | New Zealand:R16 | Canada:R | Peru:14 | Italy:T

Filming Locations:

Bear Down Gym, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

Body Count: 11 (Ten killed by Paul)

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The first shooting victim is supposed to be close to Kersey's home 2 1/2 blocks from where he shops around West 75th Street. In reality the steps he descends are at West 99th Street about 1.25 miles away.

Quotes:

Sam Kreutzer:[Sam complains about the crime situation in the city] You know, decent people are going to have to work here and live somewhere else.
Paul Kersey:By "decent people," you mean people who can afford to live somewhere else.
Sam Kreutzer:Oh Christ, you are such a bleeding-heart liberal, Paul.
Paul Kersey:My heart bleeds a little for the underprivileged, yes.
Sam Kreutzer:The underprivileged are beating our goddamned brains out. You know what I say? Stick them in concentration camps, that's what I say.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry (2008) (V)

unquestionably Charles Bronson's finest screen hour.

An animated performance by the normally stoic Charles Bronson lifts what would have been a standard revenge yard to new heights. Bronson plays Paul Kersey, a typical liberal New Yorker who struggles with his bleeding heart ideals after his family become the victims of a violent crime.

Frustrated by the police's inability to solve the crime, Kersey considers taking matters into his own hands. After much soul searching he begins taking to the streets and hunting criminals.

Soon punks start turning up dead. The press glorifies the killings. The public considers the vigilante a hero. The police search in vain for the killer. And Kersey slowly begins to enjoy his new mantle of dispenser of justice.

It all ends somewhat predictably albeit satisfactorily.

Kersey's transformation from arch-liberal to gun-toting Vigilante is classic. This is unquestionably Bronson's finest on screen hour.