Death Wish (1974)

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Brian Garfield (novel)
Wendell Mayes (screenplay)

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 (2003) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (1974) (cut) | 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:

Dino De Laurentiis and Paramount originally wanted to call the film "The Sidewalk Vigilante" because they thought a movie with "Death" in the title was a deterrent and would put audiences off.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Kersey chases the last robber at the end of the film, you can clearly see spotlights in the background.

Quotes:

[Sam complains the crime situation in the city]
Sam Kreutzer: 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 "Married with Children: The Desperate Half-Hour (#11.22)" (1997)

Solid Fare

Here is a film whose quality and appeal, much like Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, may be overshadowed by a seemingly endless line of inferior sequels. But Death Wish is a real crowd-pleaser filled with emotion, drama, action and suspense. It's the story of Paul Kersey, a family man (and former Conscientus Objector in Korea) whose wife and daughter fall victim to a brutal attack at the hands of unknown thugs. Yet Kersey doesn't get mad, he gets even as a one-man judge, jury and executioner against those who prey on the innocent. Bronson delivers an underrated performance in a movie that constantly asks the viewer, "What would you do?"