Death Wish (1974)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Brian Garfield (novel)
Wendell Mayes (writer)

Release Date:

24 July 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime

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 | City | Architect | Police

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Paul Kersey
Hope Lange	...	Joanna Kersey
Vincent Gardenia	...	Detective Frank Ochoa
Steven Keats	...	Jack Toby
William Redfield	...	Sam Kreutzer
Stuart Margolin	...	Ames Jainchill
Stephen Elliott	...	Police Commissioner
Kathleen Tolan	...	Carol Toby
Jack Wallace	...	Hank
Fred J. Scollay	...	District Attorney
Chris Gampel	...	Ives
Robert Kya-Hill	...	Joe Charles
Edward Grover	...	Lt. Briggs (as Ed Grover)
Jeff Goldblum	...	Freak #1
Christopher Logan	...	Freak #2

Also Known As:

The Sidewalk Vigilante (USA) (working title)
Ein Mann sieht rot (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
A bosszúvágy (Hungary) [hu]
Desejo de Matar (Brazil) [pt]
El justiciero de la ciudad (Spain) [es]
Il giustiziere della notte (Italy) [it]
Nådeløs By (Norway) [no]
O Justiceiro da Noite (Portugal) (original subtitled version) [pt]
O ektelestis tis nyhtas (Greece) [el]
Smrtonosna zelja (Serbia) [sr]
Un justicier dans la ville (France) [fr]
Väkivallan vihollinen (Finland) [fi]
Våldets fiende nr. 1 (Sweden) [sv]
Yara (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Yo soy la justicia (Spain) [es]
Zyczenie smierci (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (1974) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (2003) (uncut) | Iceland:16 | UK:18 (re-rating) (2006) (uncut) | West Germany:18 (f) | New Zealand:R16 | 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

Filming Locations:

2 Park Avenue, Murray Hill, East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

After finishing The Stone Killer (1973), Charles Bronson and Michael Winner wanted to make another film together, and were discussing further projects. "What do we do next?" asked Bronson. "The best script I've got is 'Death Wish'. It's about a man whose wife and daughter are mugged and he goes out and shoots muggers," said Winner. "I'd like to do that," Bronson said. "The film?" asked Winner. Bronson replied, "No . . . shoot muggers."

Goofs:

Continuity: The bloody rag Ochoa gets out of Kersey's trash can is not the same one Kersey used on his wound. Kersey’s back was stained with blood from the stabbing, and that rag got soaked with blood. Yet the rag Ochoa pulls out of the garbage is not stained with blood, there's just a small spot of it.

Quotes:

Paul Kersey: Nothing to do but cut and run, huh? What else? What about the old American social custom of self-defense? If the police don't defense us, maybe we ought to do it ourselves.
Jack Toby: We're not pioneers anymore, Dad.
Paul Kersey: What are we, Jack?
Jack Toby: What do you mean?
Paul Kersey: I mean, if we're not pioneers, what have we become? What do you call people who, when they're faced with a condition or fear, do nothing about it, they just run and hide?
Jack Toby: Civilized?
Paul Kersey: No.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jimmy Hollywood (1994)

The Way Action Movies Should Be

Just a few quick facts presented in Death Wish:

1. All violent criminals are the scum of the earth. 2. Deep down, we're all conservatives. 3. Charles Bronson will never be equaled. 4. Death Wish is an underrated film.

Disclaimer: This is not sarcasm. It's just the way things are.