Death Wish is a 1974 action-crime-drama film based on the 1972 novel by Brian Garfield. The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, a man who becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter is sexually assaulted by muggers. The film was a major commercial success and generated a movie franchise lasting four sequels over a twenty-year period. The film was widely denounced by critics for advocating vigilantism and unlimited punishment to criminals.

Plot

The film opens with Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) and his wife Joanna (Hope Lange) vacationing in Hawaii through montage. They return to New York City where Paul works as an architect. That day, Joanna and their daughter Carol Anne (Kathleen Tolan) are out shopping for groceries at a nearby store. Three hooligans are wreaking havoc in the supermarket, and catch Joanna's address after telling the man that she would like the groceries sent to her apartment. The hooligans follow her to the apartment, and ring the doorbell. Believing it to be the baggage man from the grocery store, Carol answers. The hooligans proceed in and trash the apartment. The hooligans then search the apartment for money, but only find $7. The three hooligans then rape Carol, killing Joanna in the process.

Paul receives a call from his son-in-law Jack Toby (Steven Keats) explaining that both Joanna and Carol are in the hospital, but is not told yet of their current condition. After waiting impatiently at the hospital, Paul is told by a doctor that his wife has died. Devastated by the loss, he goes to the police but is told that catching the criminals will be useless. The next day at work, Paul's boss gives him an extended business vacation: to Tucson, Arizona to meet a client, Ames Jainchill (Stuart Margolin), who shows him the ropes. (Jack also agrees and states it’s a wonderful idea.)

While in Arizona, Paul witnesses a mock gunfight at Old Tucson, a reconstructed Western frontier town that is often used as a movie set. The day before Paul leaves, Ames invites him to a gun club, and is impressed when Paul shoots near bulls-eye accuracy. He reveals that used to be a crack shot in his youth, but was a "CO" (conscientious objector) during the Korean War but still served his country in the medical corps. Ames drops Paul off at the airport, and puts a little going-away present in his bag.

Upon arriving back in New York, he is greeted by Jack who informs Paul of his daughter's weak comatose condition. Paul visits her before going back to the apartment to unload his suitcase. He opens Ames' present; a nickel plated .32 calibre revolver in a gun case. He puts the gun in his pocket as he takes a nightly stroll. He shoots his first mugger, Thomas Leroy Marston, and is shocked at the fact that he just killed a human being, and throws up. However, he continues with his vigilantism; he kills 3 more men robbing a homeless man, 2 more on the train, 2 more in the subway (although one gets away mortally wounded and later dies at the hospital), and three more on the stairs before Paul is wounded himself by a 12th mugger. He lets him go as Paul collapses at that point. (The three men who assaulted Kersey’s family are never seen again after the crime, but it leaves the speculation of their fate open.)

All the while, Police Lt. Frank Ochoa (Vincent Gardenia) tracks the vigilante killings. He has the department narrow down the list to certain war veterans, and then people whose families have been assaulted by muggers. The public, on the other hand, is happy that the crime rate is dropping and that somebody is doing something about crime. Just as he is about to apprehend Kersey when all the evidence points to him, the District Attorney (Fred J. Scollay) intervenes and tells Ochoa to "let him loose" in another city instead of arresting him. Ochoa doesn't like the idea, but relents. Ochoa then demands Kersey leave New York, permanently, to which Kersey replies: "By sundown?"

The film ends as Paul arrives in Chicago Union Station by train from New York, where he is greeted by a company representative, during which time he sees three hoodlums harassing and/or robbing a woman. He excuses himself and helps the woman out, while the hoodlums give Kersey the "middle finger". The last image is that of Kersey smiling back, making a gun shape with his right hand at the hoodlums.

Timeline

Although the film was released in 1974, according to Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, a character by the name of Detective Reiner reveals that this film is set in 1975.

Cast

     — Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey
     — Hope Lange as Joanna Kersey
     — Vincent Gardenia as Frank Ochoa
     — Steven Keats as Jack Toby
     — William Redfield as Sam Kreutzer
     — Stuart Margolin as Ames Jainchill
     — Jeff Goldblum as Freak
     — Christopher Guest as Jackson Reilly
     — Olympia Dukakis as Cop at the precinct
     — Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (uncredited) as Mugger

Jeff Goldblum had his screen debut in Death Wish, playing one of the criminals who attack Kersey's wife and daughter. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, who would later co-star on the highly successful TV show Welcome Back, Kotter, had an uncredited role as a mugger near the end of the film. Actress Helen Martin, who had a minor role, subsequently appeared in the television sitcoms Good Times and 227. Christopher Guest made his screen debut as a young police officer.

Production

Death Wish was first released to United States audiences in July 1974. It was produced by Italian film mogul Dino De Laurentiis and marketed by Paramount Pictures. The film underwent rejections by other studios due to the controversial subject matter and was dropped by United Artists —which ironically was sold to MGM, which would go on to own the rights to the first 3 sequels— after producers Hal Landers and Bobby Roberts liquidated their rights due to budget constraints.

The original film was written by Wendell Mayes, also known for such thrillers as Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). Michael Winner, a favorite director of Dino De Laurentiis, oversaw its filming and would go on to direct the first two sequels. Of all of the five Death Wish films, the original largely adheres to Garfield's novel.

The address at which Kersey was purported to have lived, 33 Riverside Drive, is in fact located on West 75th street on the Upper West Side; several scenes were in fact shot on location on this block.

Soundtrack

Multiple Grammy award winning Jazz musician Herbie Hancock produced and composed the original score for the soundtrack to the original Death Wish movie. This would be his third film score, behind the 1966 movie Blow-Up and 1973's The Spook Who Sat By The Door. Michael Winner said, "[Dino] De Laurentiis said 'Get a cheap English band.' Because the English bands were very successful. But I had a girlfriend who was in Sesame Street, a Puerto Rican actress (Sonia Manzano), who played a checkout girl at the supermarket [in Death Wish], and she was a great jazz fan. She said, 'Well, you should have Herbie Hancock. He's got this record out called Head Hunters.' She gave me Head Hunters, which was staggering. And I said, 'Dino, never mind a cheap English band, we'll have Herbie Hancock.' Which we did."

Impact and influence

Death Wish remains a milestone in cinema history, considered the first urban film to depict a civilian taking up arms against other civilians. While this concept existed in many previous westerns, Death Wish was the first to place it in a modern setting. The film had unexpected resonance in cities like New York and Los Angeles, where crime had reached incredible levels during the early-to-mid 1970s. Moviegoers applauded Kersey whenever he shot criminals down and cinemas enjoyed record ticket sales during the movie's first run.

The film was a watershed for Charles Bronson, who was better known in Europe and Asia at the time of Death Wish's release. Bronson became an American film icon who experienced great popularity over the next twenty years, during which he starred in four sequels to the film:

     • Death Wish II (1982)
     • Death Wish III (1985)
     • Death Wish IV (1987)
     • Death Wish V (1994)

The Death Wish franchise remains lucrative and continues to have widespread following on home video and is occasionally broadcast on television and cable. Death Wish is viewed as one of American cinema's reactions to the presence of crime in modern life.

On November 4, 2007, Variety magazine reported that Sylvester Stallone was in talks to direct and star in an MGM remake of the original Death Wish. Production could begin before the end of 2008.