Death Wish poster & wallpaper

Charles Bronson, Christopher Guest, Hope Lange

A New York architect turns vigilante hit man after thugs attack his wife and daughter.

Flixster Users

69% liked it

17,147 ratings

Critics

68% liked it

22 critics

R, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Michael Winner

Release Date: January 1, 1974

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: January 16, 2001

Get It:

Stats: 885 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites
report incorrect info

Photos

Jeff Goldblum Death Wish (1974) Death Wish (wallpaper) Death Wish Death Wish
Upload a Photo |

View All Death Wish Photos (5)

Your Rating


clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (885)

  • DrZeek
    August 24, 2009
    DrZeek
    Paul Kersey: Any chance of catching these men?
    Lt. Briggs: There's a chance, sure.
    Paul Kersey: Just a chance?
    Lt. Briggs: I'd be less than honest if I gave you more hope, Mr. Kersey. In the city, that's the way it is.

    A 70s vengeance movie featuring Charles Bronson and a pro...( read more) gun defense message that gives you an overall weird feeling after its ended.

    I'm pretty sure Charles Bronson is probably the ugliest action star, next to Steven Segal. Anyway, he stars as Paul Kersey, a New York architect who is in deep grief following the rape of his daughter and death of his wife at the hands of some hooligans led by Jeff Goldblum. A business trip in Arizona gives Paul time to evaluate his situation, as some back story about his past is revealed at a gun club, where he hits the bulls-eye of several targets.

    After arriving back in New York and receiving a gun as a gift, Paul decides to take the law into his own hands, which turns the movie into a cat and mouse game involving Paul, many, many muggers, and the police chasing a man they have dubbed, "The Vigilante."

    What really bugged me about this movie was how steely eyed Bronson's Paul is after he starts killing. I really got nothing from what he was trying to accomplish. His demeanor suggests that he simply just enjoys what he is doing, but Bronson just being silent and violent didn't add up to me accepting this character's motives. There is a reason Batman does what he does and it is made clear in the comics and films, which is why he is more of a compelling character.

    Still, I liked the work from the police side of the story. I was generally entertained by the visceral quality of Paul's mugger-stopping escapades, and the score by Herbie Hancock is solid.

    Sam Kreutzer: I'll bet muggings are down, and they're afraid to tell us.
    Paul Kersey: There's only one way to find out. Take a walk on Columbus Avenue tonight.
    Sam Kreutzer: Thanks a lot, Paul. I think I'll wait for the official report.
  • PvtCaboose91
    August 5, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "What if the cops can't handle this, Jack?"


    1974's Death Wish (which initially went by the apt working title of The Sidewalk Vigilante) was released at the pinnacle of Hollywood's obsession with anti-hero movies. This screen adaptation of Brian Garfield

    ...( read more)'s 1972 novel is functionally simplistic, lowering itself to the cerebral level required for straight-up exploitation (though it contains a slight trace of a social commentary). The formerly timely message of this gritty actioner, along with the solid production values and Herbie Hancock's remarkable score, render it able to hold up rather confidently all these decades later. Upon release in 1974 the film was a commercial hit - it earned about $22 million at the box office (from a mere $3 million budget).


    Set in New York City, Death Wish introduces Charles Bronson's signature character: a respected architect named Paul Kersey. One afternoon Paul's idyllic life is shattered when a group of street thugs (among which is a young Jeff Goldblum, in his film debut) break into his apartment, leaving his wife dead and his daughter in a catatonic state. The family is shaken to its very core after this attack. Once Paul steps onto a shooting range during a business trip intended to keep his mind off things, his vengeful instincts are awoken. The police are unable to find the hooligans that attacked his family, so Paul takes to vigilantism. He begins prowling the mean streets of New York City at night, killing all the street criminals he encounters.


    Charles Bronson certainly isn't noted for his acting skills (or lack thereof), and Death Wish has no real emotional punch as a result. While the man is fairly watchable, he's so emotionless and stale, and eventually we're left wondering what really makes Paul tick. Also, the attack on Paul's wife and daughter would've been more effective if a viewer had been given the chance to know them intimately as characters. Alas, they're merely thinly-sketched narrative tools used to send Paul into vigilante mode. Other parts of the movie, however, are thoroughly effective. Director Winner stages each of Paul's confrontations like a showdown between jaded civility and total depravity. The final half of the flick mostly consists of Paul shooting criminals, but each confrontation is staged with visceral effectiveness that'll get your blood pumping (even if the silliness of the whole affair is sometimes hard to overlook).


    In adapting Garfield's novel for the screen, screenwriter Wendell Mayes (who also scripted The Poseidon Adventure) altered the narrative's ultimate trajectory. Moreover, vigilantism is seen in a negative light in the Death Wish novel whereas the film unmistakably romanticises Paul's choice to take the law into his own hands. The fact that those Paul kills are portrayed as soulless criminals only adds to the attractiveness of his vendetta. This allure is further compounded by the fact that the police develop a hesitative admiration for the media-dubbed "Vigilante", and the mayor notices that Paul's activities cause the mugging rate to decrease by about 50%.


    At its most basic level, Death Wish is a simple-minded vigilante fantasy and no room is left for any intellectual defence of its ideological standpoint. However the film's stance is more or less identical to that which is taken by most Westerns. Charles Bronson dispensing justice on the streets of New York is hardly unlike John Wayne or Clint Eastwood carrying out the same task in frontier outposts of the Old West. Most Western heroes are sheriffs, but they rarely operate totally within the realm of proscribed law. One could contend that times have changed, but this doesn't deflate the mythological undercurrents of "righteous justice" that transcend the slow bureaucratic processes and give both Westerns and vigilante movies their undeniable kick. The central message of all these narratives is that desperate times call for desperate measures, and sometimes a lone outsider is the only one who can get the job done. The Western likeness of Death Wish is further reinforced when Paul at one stage witnesses a mock gunfight at a reconstructed Western frontier town that's often used as a movie set (in Tucson, Arizona).


    Ideology aside, Death Wish is nothing but a specific product of its time. The late '60s was a period in which street crime reached near epidemic proportions, and Hollywood retorted with reactionary films like Death Wish, Dirty Harry, and The French Connection. Characters such as Paul Kersey fill an entrenched fantasy that most people are wise enough not to try to fulfil themselves. Paul and similar characters are the epitome of cathartic excess in cinema; a means by which viewers could fleetingly revel in the delight of seeing a badass punish the wicked with righteous intensity. Director Michael Winner's tale of an epic skewing of the moral compass laid the groundwork for the dozens of films following it that had revenge as a crucial plot point. Death Wish is an excellent capsule of 1970s filmmaking - it's thrilling and thought-provoking, and it sends us off with a wink at the end.


    Followed by four sequels, beginning with Death Wish II in 1982.
  • TheMachinist
    June 12, 2008
    TheMachinist
    A classic from the mid 70's. I consider this one to be Mr. Bronson best. It's dark and when the story is about personal justice and vengeance... I'll be watching!
  • sononothing
    May 25, 2008
    sononothing
    Paul Kersey's string of bad lucks starts in the 1974 movie Death Wish. Charles Bronson plays Kersey, a New York architect whose pacifist mindset is shattered with an attack on his wife and daughter. His rage is kept pent up until he finally explodes and goes on a vigilante killin...( read more)g spree.
    Death Wish is one of the 1970's exploitation films. It exploits the fear of out of control crime rates in the 1970's especially in New York City. It touches all the bases: gun control, an over burdened police department, and a city that just doesn't give a damn anymore. Bronson is in one of his signature roles as Paul Kersey, who he would play in four mediocre sequels that followed. The rest of the cast is so-so, though Vincent Gardenia does a good job as the detective assigned to the vigilante case. This film also shows some early work of Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Guest.
    Death Wish is one of those films that you kind of feel guilty about watching, but is actually an good film that's had its reputation soiled by the poor sequels that followed.
  • QueenCityFilms
    March 2, 2008
    QueenCityFilms
    such an amazing movie until about halfway through when it completely loses momentum...this could have been SOOO GOOD....what happened?!
  • arashxak
    October 9, 2009
    arashxak
    Vigilante propaganda crap
  • killerkittyclothing
    September 12, 2009
    killerkittyclothing
    One of my absolute favorite revenge movies. Bronson is the best!
  • bradsteph
    August 26, 2009
    bradsteph
    A role he became known for. You do want him to exact revenge and that is what he does best.
  • austinmh
    August 23, 2009
    austinmh
    One of the best revenge film!
  • josephclancy2
    August 22, 2009
    josephclancy2
    I like Charles rONSON Strentgth.

View All Death Wish Reviews

Critic Reviews

October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie has an eerie kind of fascination, even though its message is scary. full review

View more Death Wish reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • str469
    January 30, 2007
    str469
    Got the boxed set and have watched each of the death wish movies many times. The origional is by far the greatest thou.
Post A Comment | View All Comments

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

All Rotten Tomatoes content is used under license from Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, Certified Fresh, and the Tomatometer are the trademarks of Incfusion Corporation, d/b/a Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Official Trailer

View Larger Death Wish Trailer

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • The Punisher
    The Punisher (64%)
  • Gran Torino
    Gran Torino (100%)
  • Death Sentence
    Death Sentence (88%)
  • Straw Dogs
    Straw Dogs (75%)

More Movies like Death Wish

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Death Wish : Watch Free on TV

Death Wish Trivia

  • This actor was famous for playing one of the Sweathogs on WELCOME BACK, KOTTER. He also made a cameo in the movie DEATH WISH as a mugger. Which actor is this?  Answer »
  • Which noted actor made an appearance as a mugger in DEATH WISH?  Answer »
  • Which of the following actors did not portray one of the gang members in DEATH WISH 2?  Answer »
  • Who played Paul Kersey in 4 Death Wish movies?  Answer »
More Death Wish Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Death Wish to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View Death Wish News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?