Death Wish
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| Death Wish | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for theatrical release of Death Wish. |
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| Directed by | Michael Winner |
| Produced by | Dino De Laurentiis |
| Written by | Brian Garfield |
| Starring | Charles Bronson, Jeff Goldblum, Jill Ireland, Hope Lange |
| Distributed by | Paramount |
| Release date(s) | July 24, 1974 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $36,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
- For other uses, see Death Wish (disambiguation).
Death Wish is a 1974 crime action drama starring Charles Bronson as the character Paul Kersey, a man who becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered by home invaders. The film was a huge commercial success and inspired four sequels. Widely denounced by critics for advocating unsanctioned violence against criminals, Death Wish became a metaphor for a rising public tide of anger against unchecked violent crime.
Tagline: Vigilante, city style -- Judge, Jury, and Executioner.
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
The original film, directed by Michael Winner and based on a novel by Brian Garfield, depicts Kersey as a peaceful New York City "everyman". A land development engineer by trade, and a conscientious objector from military service, Kersey's passive attitude toward crime is transformed into vigilantism after his own family is attacked by criminals. While the protagonist's killing spree is framed from Kersey's point of view, the film also dramatizes the conflict between Kersey and City Hall, who publicly denounce his actions by means of politically-correct, often ironic statements on the crime of vigilantism against criminals. One commentator noted that the film perfectly "encapsulates an American era—the early 1970s, when many urban Americans started to feel they couldn't walk outside without fear of being attacked." [1]
Although the film was denounced on its release by several film critics as 'fascist' or 'quasi-fascist', the Kersey character is in fact a civilian who has no contact with police or government forces. In fact, the film portrays the unintended consequences of a ineffective police force and unenforced criminal laws, forcing the general public to resort to individualized and unsanctioned violence to combat unchecked lawlessness.
[edit] Sequels
The popularity of Death Wish spawned a number of sequels.
[edit] Death Wish II
Death Wish II (1982) is considered by many to be the weakest of the series[citation needed]. The film discards the social commentary and thematic elements of the first movie in favour of exploitive and graphic violence, which garnered it an [[X-rating],although it has been cut for an R rating. It had the highest box office draw of the five movies in the series, earning USD$15 million, despite critics panning it. In Death Wish II, Paul Kersey (again played by Charles Bronson) again turns to vigilantism, now in Los Angeles, in response to the rape and murder of his maid and his daughter. Jill Ireland plays Kersey's fiancée, who leaves him when she discovers what he has done.
[edit] Death Wish 3
Death Wish III (1985) is considered the best entry by many fans of the series, despite most professional critics favoring the original. In it, Paul Kersey (again played by Bronson) returns to New York City to visit a war buddy from the Korean war, only to find his friend brutally murdered. Soon afterwards, the police coerce Kersey into attacking a criminal riot in a dangerous neighborhood as a way of exploiting his freedom from legal restraints. In the film's climax, Kersey mows down many of the criminals with a Browning M1919A4 machine gun, then obliterates the criminal leader with a mail-ordered rocket launcher. Death Wish 3 has the largest body-count of all the Death Wish films. Because of its over-the-top action, quotable dialogue and complete embrace of the absurd, Death Wish 3 has developed a cult following. This is also the sequel that made the .475 Wildey Magnum that is manufactured in Connecticut by Wildey Inc. world famous. Wildey founder Wildey Moore says that every time Death Wish III plays on cable the firm receives orders specifically requesting the magnum featured in the film. The release of Death Wish III in 1985 actually saved the company from bankruptcy.[citation needed]
[edit] Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
Death Wish IV: The Crackdown (1987) is set in Los Angeles and follows the activities of Paul Kersey (again played by actor Charles Bronson, who was 66 years old at the time of filming), which are financed by a wealthy individual bent upon avenging a drug-related death. In a single week, Kersey succeeds in destroying the entire drug trade of the city. The weapon Kersey uses throughout is a silenced Ingram MAC-10.
[edit] Death Wish V: The Face of Death
Charles Bronson vowed that Death Wish 4 would be the final film in this series, but he went on to make Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994), in which Paul Kersey's new wife is killed. In response, he retaliates against the "fashion mafia," which also has a grip on his dead wife's daughter. Death Wish V was Bronson's last theatrically released film. Kersey uses a Colt Cobra .38 Special revolver snubnose revolver throughout the film.
[edit] Paul Kersey
Paul Kersey is the central character in the Death Wish novels and movies, which follow Kersey's crime-fighting activities beginning in the early 1970's and continuing for the next twenty years.
Brian Garfield is the author of the original novel Death Wish, in which the character of Kersey is introduced as Paul Benjamin (later renamed Kersey for the film). In this book he is an accountant (later changed to architect in the movies) in his late forties and a political liberal who turns to vigilantism to avenge the death of his wife at the hands of a gang of muggers. The sequel, Death Sentence, describes his attempts to deal with a copycat vigilante while at the same time continuing his war against petty criminals. However the overall storyline in the novels is against vigilantism.
The movie series, beginning with the original Death Wish and continuing through four (increasingly absurd and unlikely) sequels, features a middle-aged (and later, elderly) Kersey, portrayed by Charles Bronson. The Kersey of the movies also starts out as a liberal and an architect, a man who disliked violence so much that he registered with the U.S. Army as a conscientious objector during the Korean War. In the movies, those close to Kersey are victims of extremely violent crimes early in the plot, providing Kersey with ever-fresh reasons to resume his cold-blooded vigilantism. In the later movies Kersey's architect work is mentioned decreasingly often (though it is shown that his company now carries his name and his financial situation keeps improving), as he dedicates himself more and more to becoming the ultimate one-man mercenary squad known only as "The Vigilante". As the years pass, Kersey's former liberal views and abhorrence for violence are never discussed again; but during the final movie sequel he declares that "Guns don't make me nervous, idiots with guns make me nervous". Also, his familiarity with firearms and other impromptu means of death-dealing increases exponentially as can be expected.
More recently the sequel novel, Death Sentence is now being adapted and and is in production filming by 20th Century Fox, and to star Kevin Bacon as the main character, now named John Hume. The plot however is sort of similar to the original Death Wish, with Hume's family being victimized by a street gang, and goes out and gives a death sentence to the criminals who were involved, like Kersey. The movie is being directed by James Wan, the writer of the horror franchise Saw and is expected to be released in theatres around late Spring 2007.
[edit] Trivia
- In Death Wish, Paul Kersey carried a Smith and Wesson revolver in .32 caliber, that he used to kill eight criminals while living in New York City. The gun was a gift from a client he visited in Arizona. In Death Wish II, Kersey carried a Browning Hi Power in 9mm Luger, which he used to kill nineteen people while living in Los Angeles. In Death Wish 3, Paul Kersey carried around a snub nose revolver (most likely Smith & Wessson), and later a .475 Wildey Magnum.
- Death Wish was the favorite movie of John Ausonius, the Swedish racist killer who roamed the streets of Stockholm looking for “criminal immigrants” to kill.
- Jeff Goldblum had his screen debut in Death Wish, playing one of the freaks who assault Kersey's wife.
- Christopher Guest, of Spinal Tap fame, played a Patrolman in the first film.
- Laurence Fishburne was seen in the second film as a ghetto thug wearing sunglasses.
- Marina Sirtis portrayed a rape victim in Death Wish 3 — right before joining the Star Trek franchise. Subsequently, Tim Russ was seen as a hitman in Death Wish 4 long before Star Trek: Voyager.
- Alex Winter, from the popular Bill & Ted movies, made his film debut with Death Wish 3.
- Barbie Wilde, best known as the Female Cenobite from 'Hellbound: Hellraiser II' played the Female Punk in Death Wish 3.
- Multiple-time 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.
- Isaac Hayes was recommended by the producers of the second film to compose the score; however, the original film director chose former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
[edit] Death Wish in popular culture
- The Bernhard Goetz case in 1984 led Charles Bronson to speak out against the values of the character he played in Death Wish, and to disavow vigilantism.
- The landfill area, with the giant industrial pump where the climactic shoot-out happens, from Death Wish 4: The Crackdown was re-visited for the music video for the song "Hey Ladies" by the Beastie Boys in 1989 [2].
- Bronson has been parodied numerous times on The Simpsons, including the town of Bronson (aka Branson), Missouri and a fictional cameo on the set of The Andy Griffith Show.
- An episode of The Simpsons had a crossover with The Critic that featured a preview for the fictional sequel, Death Wish 9; featuring Charles Bronson lying in a hospital bed, saying "oh, I wish I was dead, oy!"
- Death Wish 3 was made into a video game [3].
- In the pop song "Anaheim" by They Might Be Giants the line "I don't want to stay in tonight and watch Death Wish 3" is heard.
- Jim Carrey had a skit in the comedy show In Living Color, were in a sketch called "Make a Death Wish", he played Bronson giving a child with a terminal illness his wishes through unconventional means. [4]
- Popular radio duo Opie and Anthony often use the Jeff Goldblum soundbites "GOD DAMN RICH CUNT" and "I KILL RICH CUNTS" during their XM Satellite Radio show. The clips have gained so much notoreity that they use "sanitized" versions for their FCC compliant show on terrestrial radio, "GOD DAMN RICH VOS" and "I KILL RICH VOS" heard primarily on CBS Radio and Citadel Broadcasting radio stations nationwide. (Rich Vos is a comedian that frequents the show)
- Minneapolis rapper P.O.S. refers to Death Wish and Charles Bronson several times throughout his CD Audition, even going so far as to name one track "Paul Kersey to Jack Kimball."
- It should be noted that the creator of The Punisher said he got influence from Bronson's character.
[edit] External links
- Death Wish Files An extensive Death Wish fansite and message board
- Death Wish at the Internet Movie Database
- Death Wish II at the Internet Movie Database
- Death Wish 3 at the Internet Movie Database
- Death Wish 4: The Crackdown at the Internet Movie Database
- Death Wish V: The Face of Death at the Internet Movie Database
- A fan-maintained Death Wish page
