Death Wish II (1982)

Architect Paul Kersey once again becomes a vigilante when he tries to find the five street punks who murdered his daughter and housekeeper, this time on the dark streets of Los Angeles.

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

David Engelbach, Brian Garfield (characters)

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Bronson	...	Paul Kersey
Jill Ireland	...	Geri Nichols
Vincent Gardenia	...	Det. Frank Ochoa
J.D. Cannon	...	New York D.A.
Anthony Franciosa	...	Herman Baldwin
Ben Frank	...	Inspector Lt. Mankiewicz
Robin Sherwood	...	Carol Kersey
Silvana Gallardo	...	Rosario
Robert F. Lyons	...	Fred McKenzie
Michael Prince	...	Elliott Cass
Drew Snyder	...	Deputy Comm. Hawkins
Paul Lambert	...	New York Police Comm.
Thomas F. Duffy	...	Nirvana (as Thomas Duffy)
Kevyn Major Howard	...	Stomper
Stuart K. Robinson	...	Jiver

Storyline

Paul Kersey, the vigilante, now lives in LA with his daughter, who is still recovering from her attack. He also has a new woman in his life. One day while with them, Kersey is mugged by some punks, Kersey fights back, but they get away. The leader, wanting to get back at Kersey, goes to his house, but Kersey and his daughter Carol are not there. The muggers rape his housekeeper, and when Kersey and his daughter arrive, they knock him out and kidnap her. After they assault her, she leaps out of a window to her death. Kersey then grabs his gun and goes after them. When the LA authorities, deduce they have a vigilante, they decide to consult with New York, who had their vigilante problem. Now the New York officials, knowing that Kersey lives in LA, fears that he's back to his old habit. Fearing that Kersey, when caught will reveal that they let him go instead of prosecuting him send Inspector Ochoa to make sure that doesn't happen.

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Plot Keywords:

rape | prostitute | woman in jeopardy | vigilante | female rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

Bronson's loose again in Death Wish II

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death Wish 2

Filming Locations:

Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery - 1831 W. Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,871,487, 7 March 1982, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$16,100,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$45,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

City Films, Golan-Globus Productions, Landers-Roberts Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 91 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Winner had suffered a downturn in his career since the mid-1970s, with no box office hit since Death Wish (1974). He agreed to return to the franchise and also took the initiative in revising David Engelbach's script.

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Goofs

When Kersey meets his girlfriend at the rooftop Japanese restaurant, he drinks from his glass of Dom and then puts the glass down on the table. When the shot changes he's again putting the glass down.

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Quotes

Jiver: Don't worry
[grabbing his pants to male tourist]
Jiver: I'll be good.

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema and video versions made use of tamer alternative/outtake footage to ease over the massive censorship cuts imposed by the UK censor. This includes an alternative shot of the bedroom rape of the maid (which masks female frontal nudity visible in the uncut version) as well as cutaways to Jiver and Nirvana waiting in the next room. The shot used of the maid after she has been killed, is also different, again masking full frontal nudity. This unique footage does not appear in any other version of the film apart from the UK video, it is absent from recent UK DVD release which was taken from the American R rated version of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Zeg 'ns Aaa: Goudeerlijk (1987)

User Reviews

Mind-blowing masterpiece of sleaze

Be grateful for Michael Winner's sledgehammer sensitivity because it produced this classic.

None of Paul Kersey's (Charles Bronson) remaining family and friends get off lightly in this twisted nightmare of domestic violence, anal rape, vigilante justice and simplistic politics.

For fans of rough justice, the rape of Bronson's Mexican housemaid is truly amazing and eroticized like crazy by Winner's leering direction.

Thomas F. Duffy as Nirvana, the film's lead thug, is really horrible and a joy to behold (in a perverse way).

Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page provides a rock score that scorches the L.A. imagery and Vincent Gardenia returns as the cop who prefers to look the other way.

A Cannon-backed sleazefest that brings home the groceries if you like eating trash.

Screw GONE WITH THE WIND. This is much more entertaining.