Death Wish (1974)

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.

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Brian Garfield (novel), Wendell Mayes (screenplay)

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Open-minded architect Paul Kersey returns to New York City from vacationing with his wife, feeling on top of the world. At the office, his cynical coworker gives him the welcome-back with a warning on the rising crime rate. But Paul, a bleeding-heart liberal, thinks of crime as being caused by poverty. However his coworker's ranting proves to be more than true when Paul's wife is killed and his daughter is raped in his own apartment. The police have no reliable leads and his overly sensitive son-in-law only exacerbates Paul's feeling of hopelessness. He is now facing the reality that the police can't be everywhere at once. Out of sympathy his boss gives him an assignment in sunny Arizona where Paul gets a taste of the Old West ideals. He returns to New York with a compromised view on muggers...

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Plot Keywords:

gang rape | vigilante | husband mourns wife | rape victim | violence against a woman | 

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Taglines:

AN EXPLOSIVE STORY OF URBAN VIOLENCE AND REVENGE

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German French

Release Date:

24 July 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Sidewalk Vigilante

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$22,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Paul Kersey was originally intended for Steve McQueen, who turned it down.

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Goofs

When Inspector Ochoa says that the first mugger killed by Kersey was carrying a clip, he was not, as some suggest, referring to a magazine as used in an automatic pistol but to a holster clipped to his belt which held the revolver.

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Quotes

Freak #1: Goddamn rich cunt!

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Crazy Credits

Actresses Olympia Dukakis ('Cop at the Precinct') and Marcia Jean Kurtz as Marcia Jean-Kurtz ('Woman at Airport') get credited in opening credits only. There's no mention of them in the closing credits.

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Connections

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Soundtracks

Joanna's Theme
Written and Performed by Herbie Hancock
Arranged and Conducted by Jerry Peters

User Reviews

Charles Bronson is my hero

This visually-arresting action-drama tops the classic Dirty Harry in my opinion, the whole vigilante theme is there in both movies but Death Wish pulled on my heartstrings a little more than the testosterone filled Harry Callahan vigilantism. Do not get me wrong I love Clint Eastwood and the entire Dirty Harry series but the series of events that Mr. Bronson had to endure was very very upsetting (like I was almost in the same room with Mr. Bronson feeling his pain, that is how good I think Michael Winner did in shooting this film). The opening scene (AKA Jeff Goldblum's debut) is very unsettling, but without that opening scene, we as the viewer really wouldn't have much to get amped up over. Bronson's retaliation is classic and I found this movie truly redeeming in the end. A true classic that will never lose it's touch. 10 out of 10 stars.