Death Wish (series)

DEATH WISH (18)

D: Michael Winner

Paramount (Dino de Laurentiis, Hal Landers, Bobby Roberts & Michael Winner)

US 🇺🇸 1974

94 mins

Crime/Thriller

W: Wendell Mayes [based on the novel by Brian Garfield]

DP: Arthur J. Ornitz

Ed: Bernard Gribble

Mus: Herbie Hancock

Charles Bronson (Paul Kersey), Hope Lange (Joanna Kersey), Vincent Gardenia (Insp. Frank Ochoa), William Redfield (Sam Kreutzer), Steven Keats (Jack Toby), Kathleen Tolan (Carol Kersey-Toby)

Considering the context of the time when it was made, Death Wish would have been quite a shocking thriller to watch during its initial release in 1974.

Charles Bronson plays Paul Kersey, a mild-mannered architect who becomes a crime-fighting vigilante following a home invasion suffered by his wife & daughter, resulting in his wife’s death and daughter becoming completely unresponsive from the trauma.

Bronson isn’t particularly convincing as an architect, but fits the vigilante mould incredibly well.

Controversial for its time, but it paved the way for even more controversial films like Taxi Driver just two years later, the film does feel a little unrewarding that the trio of men who set Paul Kersey on his path of revenge don’t face the consequences of their actions, which is perhaps quite realistic to how life would be, but doesn’t prevent disappointment within the boundaries of this film.

It successfully resonated with audiences in 1974, when cities like New York were seeing an increase in violent crime, and though it is a decent thriller, it’s nowhere near good enough to justify all the sequels that followed, nor the 2018 remake.

6/10

DEATH WISH II (18)

D: Michael Winner

Columbia / American-European / Landers-Roberts / City Films (Menahem Golan & Yoram Globus)

US 🇺🇸 1982

88 mins

Action/Thriller

W: David Engelbach [based on characters created by Brian Garfield]

DP: Thomas Del Ruth & Richard H. Kline

Ed: Julian Semilian & Arnold Crust (Michael Winner)

Mus: Jimmy Page

Charles Bronson (Paul Kersey), Jill Ireland (Geri Nichols), Vincent Gardenia (Lt. Frank Ochoa), Robin Sherwood (Carol Kersey Toby)

An unrelentingly depressing retread of the first film, this time set in Los Angeles, with mild-mannered architect turning vigilante killer once again to seek revenge on street punks who kidnapped and sexually abused his daughter, causing her to take her own life.

The plot points are practically beat-for-beat with the first film, though this film is far more grim, both with its violence and story. Charles Bronson tries his best to carry the film, but all the other performances are quite poor.

Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin) provides the music score, but I really don’t know what he was thinking with it, since it really doesn’t match the tone of the film at all.

4/10

DEATH WISH 3 (18)

D: Michael Winner

Cannon (Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus & Michael Winner)

US 🇺🇸 1985

90 mins

Action/Thriller

W: Michael Edmonds (Don Jakoby) [based on characters created by Brian Garfield]

DP: John Stanier

Ed: Arnold Crust (Michael Winner)

Mus: Jimmy Page

Charles Bronson (Paul Kersey), Deborah Raffin (Kathryn Davis), Ed Lauter (Richard Shriker), Martin Balsam (Bennett Cross), Francis Drake (Charley)

Another home invasion, another gang of scumbags for Paul Kersey to take revenge on.  This time, Paul is back in NYC to check up an old friend, who is the victim of a murder by street thugs. 

Filmed in England as a cost-cutting measure by production company Cannon, the production team don’t do a bad job making the sets look like New York, but that’s where the praise ends.

Even Charles Bronson looks fed up in this one and Jimmy Page provides a music score even more duck arse than in the previous film.

Director Michael Winner has admitted that he titled the film ‘Death Wish 3’ rather than ‘Death Wish III’ as he feared his audience wouldn’t understand Roman numerals, which isn’t really a ringing endorsement for the target demographic.

3/10