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
Gregory Rozakis	...	Spraycan Freak
Floyd Levine	...	Desk sergeant
Helen Martin	...	Alma Lee Brown
Hank Garrett	...	Andrew McCabe
Christopher Guest	...	Patrolman Jackson Reilly
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ken Ackles	...	Mugger (uncredited)
John C. Becher	...	Mugger (uncredited)
Robyn Blythe	...	Extra (uncredited)
William Bogert	...	Man in Chicago (uncredited)
Bruce Brown	...	Newsman (uncredited)
Robert Dahdah	...	Train mugger (uncredited)
Paul Dooley	...	Cop at hospital (uncredited)
Olympia Dukakis	...	Cop at the precinct (uncredited)
Hector Freeman	...	Mugger (uncredited)
Beverly Goodman	...	Little Bo-Peep (uncredited)
John Herzfeld	...	Train mugger (uncredited)
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs	...	Mugger (uncredited)
Marcia Jean Kurtz	...	Woman at airport (uncredited)
Eric Laneuville	...	Mugger (uncredited)
Damien Leake	...	Mugger (uncredited)
Sonia Manzano	...	Grocery clerk (uncredited)
George Payne	...	Extra (uncredited)
Jay Rasumny	...	Architect in office (uncredited)
Saundra Sharp	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lee Steele	...	Office Security Guard (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

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)

Production Management
Stanley Neufeld	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Larry Y. Albucher	....	second assistant director (as Larry Albucher)
Charles Okun	....	first assistant director
Ralph S. Singleton	....	second assistant director (as Ralph Singleton)

Art Department
Connie Brink	....	property master (as Conrad Brink)
Sante Fiore	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Alfred Cox	....	dubbing editor
James Sabat	....	sound recordist
Jim Shields	....	dubbing editor (as James Shields)
Hugh Strain	....	sound re-recording mixer

Stunts
Alan Gibbs	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lou Barlia	....	camera operator (as Louis Barlia)
Charles Kolb	....	key grip
Owen Marsh	....	camera operator
Willie Meyerhoff	....	gaffer (as Willy Meyerhoff)
Joseph Di Pasquale	....	first assistant camera (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

Music Department
Herbie Hancock	....	musician
Herbie Hancock	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Stephen Cory	....	assistant to director (as Steven Cory)
Dino De Laurentiis	....	presenter
Barbara Robinson	....	script supervisor
Michael Kennedy	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dino De Laurentiis Company
• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tobis Filmkunst (1974) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Fotomat (Drive-Thru Movies) Video (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia-Hoyts Home Video (1985) (Australia) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1976) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1981) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• VPS Film-Entertainment GmbH (1981) (West Germany) (VHS)

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:

The name "Paul Kersey" for the Charles Bronson character was the actual name of one of the extras hired for the movie. He allowed the use of his name in exchange for his appearing in all possible scenes requiring an extra.

Goofs:

Continuity: Kersey's first shooting victim is hit in the abdomen, but a police investigator at the crime scene the next morning refers to a bullet hole in his chest.

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 Two Senoritas (1975)

Highly compelling

Over the course of a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, action star Charles Bronson has appeared in dozens of films. Among them, the one that he is best remembered for is "Death Wish," an urban drama that has practically defined his career. He plays Paul Kersey, a liberal, mild-mannered architect whose family falls victim to violent crime. One fateful afternoon, he is shocked to hear the dreadful news: his wife has been murdered, his daughter brutally raped. What's more, the police are unable to apprehend the perpetuators. Feeling stunned and helpless, Kersey decides to take the law into his own hands--and the subsequent publicity galvanizes New York City. It isn't long before the police are hot on his heels. The ultimate consequences promise to be drastic.

"Death Wish" was a highly controversial film when initially released. At the time, major cities were facing a deadly crime epidemic, and this film tapped into the fears and unspoken desires of many viewers, giving them a chance to live out their secret fantasies. Critics on the Left lambasted its politics on crime, and even some on the Right felt it went too far. One could find much to complain about from an ideological standpoint. One could point out that the film is manipulative and heavy-handed (the attack on Kersey's family comes right after his co-worker tells him he's a "bleeding-heart liberal"). Yet, it is undeniably compelling; one of these movies that makes you wonder, "what if this happened to me?" In light of the later, inferior sequels, it is fascinating to see how the character came to be, how he made the transition from law-abiding man to cold-blooded vigilante. It is not an easy transition to make by any means--after his first kill, he breaks down and vomits the moment he reaches home. Yet, as his kills (each is very suspensefully handled) occur with greater frequency, we get the sinking feeling that he has reached a point of no return. Indeed, he narrowly eludes capture on at least two occasions, and there is the certainty that it is only a matter of time before the law will catch up with him.

Bronson is highly effective here; while not one of the great actors, he has a very strong screen presence. The audience is on his side every step of the way, rooting for him even as he strays onto the wrong side of the law. Surely, he is entitled to justice, but at what point does his vengeance outweigh his grievances? Vincent Gardenia is effective as the police detective assigned to his case. He grudgingly admires Kersey's resolve, although he is sworn to put a stop to the killings. The manner in which this is resolved is creative, though its plausibility is less than certain. The film is also noticeable for an early appearance by Jeff Goldblum as a slimy thug. However, Steven Keats is somewhat ineffectual as Bronson's son-in-law (he just sorta got on my nerves). In the years to come, this film would be followed by an endless chain of sequels and rip-offs, many of them starring Bronson himself, reducing him to a stock character whose only attribute was blowing the bad guys away. A shame, considering he was once an internationally respected actor. "Death Wish" is nonetheless a well-crafted, tightly paced crime drama, despite some dated aspects. It still kept me interested throughout and made me more interested in viewing more of the star's other films--good or otherwise.

Rating: *** (out of ****)

Released by Paramount Pictures