Film Review - Death Wish
Starring - Charles Bronson, Vincent Gardenia, Hope Lange, William Redfield | Directed by Michael Winner | Paramount DVD WS R 93min 1974
Review By Xmortis
Paul Kersey is a good man who loves his family and enjoys his job as a architect, but when his wife Joanna and daughter Carol are attacked in their home, Joana is beaten and murdered as his daughter is raped. Paul rushes to the hospital and meets up with his son-in-law Jack to receive the news of his wife’s death. The cops have very little leads, and Carol is plagued with terrible nightmares of the event. Paul gets away from his hometown of New York and goes to Arizona to do some work on a building investment. It's here that he learns once more to handle a gun. Paul returns home to find that his daughter has lost her mind and has been committed to a home. Paul pulls out the gun given to him as a gift in Arizona and hits the streets looking for crimes. Paul finds his first scumbag, a robber who gets a belly full of lead for his greed. The next night Paul goes out again and this time kills three no good hoods in a back alley. Paul keeps his job and relationship with what’s left of his family, as he once more goes out and kills some punks on the subway, bringing more police heat. Night after night Paul goes out and kills the criminals that are ruining his city, but his vigilante justice is also sparking the citizens who are now taking action as well. The police begin to view Paul as a suspect, but as they draw close Paul can't stop his mission to clean up the streets. Paul is shot by one of his would-be victims and is caught by the cops, who in turn make a deal for him to leave New York for life and start new in a fresh town, Chicago.
I am a firm believer in vigilante justice when used correctly, and Death Wish is a movie that shows that one man can make a difference in his crime stricken neighborhood. The story line is believable as a true crimes where the victims get lost in case files and no one ever gets busted for the crime. The part of the film that’s not believable is the fact that the law would just let Paul walk away after being busted for so many homicides. The scene of his daughter being raped is like a few seconds of sleazy grindhouse that make it very uncomfortable to watch and adds to the brutal nature of the crimes. Classic cinema badass Charles Bronson plays Paul Kersey the vigilante and does so well that you find yourself cheering as he shoots the bad guys with the intent to kill. The supporting cast all hold their own and each bring something to the table. While very violent, the film does a good job of not being overly gory and blood soaked, keeping more squeamish viewers from being too grossed out. The film also could have an impact on how we view the world and all the horrors that go on. While I like the fact one man tries to make a difference for those who find themselves weak and being preyed upon by society’s low lives, it’s our so called protectors who spend more time in the film trying to find the vigilante then the true day to day criminals. Where’s the justice in that? In a world where the bad guys have more rights then the victims, it's nice to sit back and watch a classic shoot’em up movie and forget about what lies just behind your door.
The DVD’s extras are the theatrical trailer, scene selections, subtitles and a French audio track. I wish Paramount would have given more but you get used to almost barebones releases for classic films from that company.
If you want a great action thriller that's filled with lots of gun shots, a kick ass vigilante, blood and boobs and a whole lot of scumbag deaths, then I cannot recommend Death Wish anymore for you! I say this classic film is worth being in your collection whether it's on DVD, VHS, BLU-RAY, LASERDISC or even Beta, you need to own this film.