| Death Wish | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Winner |
| Screenplay by | Wendell Mayes |
| Based on | Death Wish byBrian Garfield |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Arthur J. Ornitz |
| Edited by | Bernard Gribble |
| Music by | Herbie Hancock |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3.7 million[2] |
| Box office | $30 million (US/West Germany) $20.3 million (worldwide rentals)[2] |
Death Wish is a 1974 Americanvigilanteaction film directed byMichael Winner. The film, loosely based on the 1972novel of the same title byBrian Garfield and the first film in theDeath Wish film series, starsCharles Bronson as Paul Kersey, alongsideHope Lange,Vincent Gardenia,William Redfield, Kathleen Tolan andChristopher Guest. In the film, Paul Kersey, an architect leading a peaceful life, resorts tovigilantism after his wife Joanna is murdered and daughter Carol Kersey Toby is raped during ahome invasion.
At the time of release,Death Wish was criticized for its apparent support of vigilantism and advocating unlimited punishment of criminals.[3] The novel allegedly denounced vigilantism, whereas the film embraced the notion. The film was a commercial success and resonated with the public in theUnited States, which was experiencing increasing crime rates during the 1970s.[4]
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Paul Kersey is a middle-agedarchitect who lives inManhattan with his wife, Joanna, and their adult daughter Carol Kersey Toby. One day, Joanna and Carol are followed home from the grocery store by three muggers who invade the Kersey apartment. Discovering that the women only have $7, the goons severely beat Joanna and sexually assault Carol before fleeing. At the hospital, Joanna dies from her injuries. After her funeral, Paul has an encounter with a mugger and fights back with ahomemade weapon, causing the mugger to run away. Paul is left shaken and energized by the encounter.
A few days later, Paul's boss Henry Ives sends him toTucson, Arizona to work with real estate developer Ames Jainchill, a client with a residential development project. Ames is impressed with Paul's pistol marksmanship at the target range. Paul reveals that he was aconscientious objector during theKorean War, when he served as acombat medic. He helps Ames plan his residential housing development. After a couple of weeks, Ames drives Paul back toTucson Airport and places a gift into Paul's checked luggage.
In Manhattan, Paul learns that Carol's mind has snapped. Carol is nowcatatonic, and an elective mute, refusing to speak to her husband, Jack Toby. With Paul's blessing, Jack commits Carol to a mental rehabilitation institute. At home, Paul opens Ames' gift to discover that it is aColt .32 caliber revolver with a box of ammunition. He loads the gun, takes a late-night walk, and is mugged at gunpoint, but he fatally shoots the mugger. Over the next several weeks, Paul walks through the city looking for criminals, killing several muggers by luring them into a confrontation or when he sees them attacking innocent people.NYPD Inspector Frank Ochoa investigates the vigilante killings. His department narrows it down to a list of men who have had a family member recently killed by muggers, and/or are war veterans.
Paul then visits Carol at the institute, where she remains depressed and unable to speak to Jack or show him any affection. She has physically assaulted the psychiatrists out of stress and is being tied to her bed. Ochoa soon suspects Paul and is about to make an arrest whendistrict attorney Peters intervenes and says that "we don't want him arrested." Peters and thepolice commissioner Dryer do not want the statistics to get out that Paul's vigilantism has led to a drastic decrease in street crime. They fear that if said information becomes public knowledge, the city will descend into vigilante chaos. If Paul is arrested, he can be labeled amartyr, and people will copy his example. Ochoa reluctantly relents and opts for "scaring him off" instead. One night, Paul shoots two more muggers before being wounded in the leg by a third. He pursues the mugger and corners him at a warehouse, where he proposes afast draw contest, only to faint because of blood loss while the mugger escapes.
Patrolman Officer Jackson Reilly discovers Paul's gun and hands it to Ochoa, who orders him to forget that he found it. At a local hospital, Ochoa visits Paul, who is recovering. Ochoa offers to dispose of the revolver in exchange for Paul's permanent exile fromNew York City. Paul takes the deal, and his company agrees to transfer him toChicago. He arrives inChicago Union Station by train. Being greeted by company representative Fred Brown, he notices hoodlums harassing a young woman. He excuses himself and helps her. As the hoodlums mock him, Paul smiles while making afinger gun gesture at them, implying hisvigilantism will continue.
John Herzfeld played thegreaser who slashes Paul Kersey's newspaper, whileRobert Miano had a minor role as a mugger in the film.Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, who later co-starred on the television showWelcome Back, Kotter, had an uncredited role as one of theCentral Park muggers near the end of the film. It has been rumored thatDenzel Washington made his screen debut as an uncredited alley mugger since in a long shot, the actor shown appears to resemble him, but Washington stated that not to be true.[5]
ActressHelen Martin, who had a minor role as a mugging victim who fights off her attackers with ahatpin, subsequently appeared in the television sitcomsGood Times and227.Christopher Guest made one of his earliest film appearances as Officer Jackson Reilly, a young police officer who finds Kersey's gun.Marcia Jean Kurtz, who played the receptionist at Paul's office, has appeared in multiple roles on the TV seriesLaw & Order.Sonia Manzano, who played Maria Rodriguez onSesame Street, had an uncredited role as a supermarket checkout clerk.
The film markedJeff Goldblum's screen debut, playing one of the "freaks" who assaults Kersey's family early in the film. The producers ofDeath Wish were Hal Landers andBobby Roberts. Bobby Roberts was also the manager of therock groupSteppenwolf at that time. Apparently, Jeff Goldblum struck up a friendship with Steppenwolf keyboardist,Goldy McJohn, because McJohn once said that Goldblum was his cigarette-mooching pal.
The film was based onBrian Garfield's1972 novel of the same name. Garfield was inspired to use the theme of vigilantism following incidents in his personal life. In one incident, his wife's purse was stolen; in another, his car was vandalized. His initial thought each time was that he could kill "the son of a bitch" responsible. He later considered that these were primitive thoughts, contemplated in an unguarded moment. He then thought of writing a novel about a man who entered that way of thinking in a moment of rage and then never emerged from it.[6]
The original novel received favorable reviews but was not a bestseller. Garfield sold screen rights to bothDeath Wish andRelentless to the only film producers who approached him, Hal Landers andBobby Roberts. He was offered the chance to write a screenplay adapting one of the two novels, and choseRelentless. He simply considered it the easier of the two to turn into a film.[6]Wendell Mayes was then hired to write the screenplay forDeath Wish. He later said "I was immensely intrigued with the book. I must tell you, from the moment I read it, I knew it was going to be a blockbuster because it was coming at just the right time. The outrage at crime in the streets was a big item. It didn't surprise me when I read in the papers later on—I was in London at the time of the opening—that audiences were stamping their feet and screaming in the theaters."[7]
Mayes preserved the basic structure of the novel and much of the philosophical dialogue. It was his idea to turn police detective Frank Ochoa into a major character of the film.[6]
Mayes' early drafts for the screenplay had different endings from the final one. In one, he followed an idea from Garfield. Paul confronts the three thugs who attacked his family and ends up dead at their hands. Detective Frank Ochoa discovers the dead man's weapon and considers following in his footsteps.[6] In another, Paul is wounded and rushed to a hospital. His fate is left ambiguous. Meanwhile, Ochoa has found the weapon and struggles with the decision to use it. His decision is left unclear.[6]
Mayes said "I had a great deal to do with how the film turned out; I could see it in my mind before I put a word on paper. I didn't stick to the book very much. I had to do an awful lot of inventing, which I must say [the author] Brian Garfield was not very happy with. But sometimes novelists are not happy, and there's not much you can do about that."[7]
Originally,Sidney Lumet was to have directedJack Lemmon as Paul andHenry Fonda as Ochoa.[8] Lumet bowed out of the project to directSerpico (1973), requiring a search for another director.[6] Several were considered, includingPeter Medak who wanted Henry Fonda as Paul.[9]United Artists eventually choseMichael Winner, due to his track record of gritty, violent action films. The examples of his work considered includedThe Mechanic (1972),Scorpio (1973), andThe Stone Killer (1973).[6]
The film was rejected by other studios because of its controversial subject matter and the perceived difficulty of casting someone in the vigilante role. Several actors were considered, includingSteve McQueen,Clint Eastwood,Burt Lancaster,George C. Scott,Frank Sinatra,Lee Marvin and evenElvis Presley. Winner attempted to recruit Bronson, but there were two problems for the actor. One was that his agent,Paul Kohner, believed the film carried a dangerous message. The other was that the screenplay followed the original novel in describing Paul as a meek accountant, hardly a suitable role for Bronson.[6] "I was really a miscast person," Bronson said later. "It was more a theme that would have been better forDustin Hoffman or somebody who could play a weaker kind of man. I told them that at the time."[10]
Winner was anxious about his decision to castJill Ireland, Bronson's real life wife for the role of Paul Kersey's wife, Joanna Kersey. After Winner told this to Bronson, he said, "No. I don't want her humiliated and messed around by these actors who play muggers. You know the sort of person we want? Someone who looks likeHope Lange.", to which Winner replied, "Well, Charlie, the person who looks most like Hope Lange is Hope Lange. So I'll get her." Ireland later played Kersey's love interest Geri Nichols inDeath Wish II. The film project was dropped by United Artists after budget constraints forced producers Landers and Roberts to liquidate their rights. The original producers were replaced by Italian film mogulDino De Laurentiis.[8]
De Laurentiis convincedCharles Bluhdorn to bring the project toParamount Pictures. Paramount purchased the distribution rights of the film in the United States market, whileColumbia Pictures licensed the distribution rights for international markets, however Paramount also distributed the film in theUnited Kingdom throughCinema International Corporation,20th Century-Fox distributed the film in Spain. De Laurentiis raised the $3 million budget of the film by pre-selling the distribution rights.[8]
With funding secured, screenwriter Gerald Wilson was hired to revise the script. His first task was changing the identity of the vigilante to make the role more suitable for Bronson. Paul Benjamin was renamed to Paul Kersey. His job was changed from accountant to architect. His background changed from aWorld War II veteran to aKorean War veteran. The reason for his not seeing combat duty changed from serving as an army accountant to being aconscientious objector.[6] Several vignettes from Mayes' script were deemed unnecessary and so were deleted.[6]
Winner asked for several revisions in the script. Both the novel and the original script had no scenes showing Paul interacting with Joanna. Winner decided to include a prologue depicting a happy relationship and so the prologue of the film depicts the couple vacationing in Hawaii.[6] The early draft of the script had Paul being inspired by seeing a fight scene in theWestern filmHigh Noon. Winner decided on a more elaborate scene, involving a fight scene in a recreation of theWild West, taking place inTucson, Arizona.[6]
The final script had Paul making an occasional reference to Westerns. While confronting an armed mugger, he challenges him to draw. Paul tells him to "fill your hand," the same challenge issued by Western movie iconJohn Wayne to his main opponent in the climactic shootout in 1969'sTrue Grit. When Ochoa tells him to get out of town, he asks if he has until sundown to do so.[6] The killing in the subway station was supposed to remain off-screen in Mayes' script, but Winner decided to turn this into an actual, brutal scene.[6] A minor argument occurred when it came to a shooting location for the film. Bronson asked for a California-based location so that he could visit his family inBel Air, Los Angeles. Winner insisted onNew York City and De Laurentiis agreed. Ultimately, Bronson backed down.[6]
Death Wish was shot on location in New York City from January 14, 1974, to Mid-April 1974.[6]Death Wish was first released to American audiences in July 1974. The world premiere took place on July 24 in theLoews Theater in New York City.[6]
MultipleGrammy award-winningjazz musicianHerbie Hancock produced and composed the original score for the soundtrack to the movie. It was his third film score, after the 1966 movieBlow-up andThe Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973). Producer Dino De Laurentiis initially wanted "a cheap English band" to score the film, but Winner's then-girlfriendSonia Manzano gave Winner a copy ofHead Hunters, which prompted the director to offer Hancock the job. Using synthesizers, Hancock performed much of the music himself, and the orchestral pieces he wrote were arranged and conducted byJerry Peters.[11]
The film was first released onVHS,Betamax andLaserDisc in 1980. It was later released onDVD in 2001 and 2006. A 40th Anniversary Edition was released onBlu-ray in 2014.[12]
Death Wish received mixed reviews from critics upon its release.[13][14]
Many critics were displeased with the film, considering it an "immoral threat to society" and an encouragement of antisocial behavior.Vincent Canby ofThe New York Times was one of the most outspoken writers, condemningDeath Wish in two extensive articles.[15][16][17]Roger Ebert awarded three stars out of four and praised the "cool precision" of Winner's direction but did not agree with the film's philosophy.[18]Gene Siskel gave the film two stars out of four and wrote that its setup "makes no attempt at credibility; its goal is to present asyllogism that argues for vengeance, and to present it so swiftly that one doesn't have time to consider its absurdity."[19]
Charles Champlin of theLos Angeles Times called it "a despicable motion picture... It is nasty and demagogic stuff, an appeal to brute emotions and against reason."[20] Gary Arnold ofThe Washington Post described the film as "simplistic to the point of stasis. Scarcely a single sensible insight into urban violence occurs; the killings just plod [along] one after another as Bronson stalks New York's crime-ridden streets."[21] Clyde Jeavons ofThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Superficially, it's not all that far removed from aBudd Boetticher revenge Western ... The difference, of course, is that Michael Winner has none of Boetticher's indigenous sense of allegory or his instinct for what constitutes a good folk-mythology, let alone his relish for three-dimensional villains."[22]
Garfield was also unhappy with the final product, calling the film "incendiary" and stated that the film's sequels are all pointless and rancid since they advocate vigilantism unlike his two novels, which make the opposite argument. The film led him to write a follow-up titledDeath Sentence, which was published a year after the film's release. Bronson defended the film and felt that it was intended to be a commentary on violence and was meant to attack violence, not romanticize it.[citation needed]
OnRotten Tomatoes,Death Wish has an approval rating of 66% based on reviews from 32 critics. The website's critics consensus reads, "Death Wish is undeniably exploitation fare -- and also undeniably effective."[3] OnMetacritic it has a weighted average score of 51% based on reviews from 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[23]
The film grossed $22 million in the United States and Canada generatingtheatrical rentals of $8.8 million.[24][25] In West Germany, it grossed over $7.6 million.[26] It earned theatrical rentals of $20.3 million worldwide.[2]
The film is recognized byAmerican Film Institute in these lists:
Death Wish was a watershed for Bronson, who was 52 years of age at the time, and who was then better known in Europe and Asia for his role inThe Great Escape. Bronson became an American film icon, who experienced great popularity over the next twenty years.
Four sequels, titledDeath Wish II,Death Wish 3,Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, andDeath Wish V: The Face of Death, were released in 1982, 1985, 1987, 1994.
In March 2016, Paramount andMGM announced thatAharon Keshales andNavot Papushado would direct a remake starringBruce Willis.[30] In May, Keshales and Papushado quit the project, after the studio failed to allow their script rewrites. In June,Eli Roth signed on to direct. The film was released on March 2, 2018.[31][32]
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