The Fresh Films Review: Death Wish (1974)

Death Wish (1974)

Succeeded by: Death Wish II (1982)

Director:
Michael Winner

COUNTRY
USA

GENRE
Crime/Action/Drama

NORWEGIAN TITLE
Death Wish

RUNNING TIME
94 minutes

Produced by:
Hal Landers
Bobby Roberts

Written by (based on the book by Brian Garfield):
Wendell Mayes

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Paul Kersey	Charles Bronson
Joanna Kersey	Hope Lange	-
Inspector Frank Ochoa	Vincent Gardenia	½
Sam Kreutzer	William Redfield	-
Jack Toby	Steven Keats
Ames Jainchill	Stuart Margolin	½
Police Commissioner Dryer	Stephen Elliot	-
Carol Toby	Kathleen Tolan	-
Freak #1	Jeff Goldblum
Officer Jackson Reilly	Christopher Guest	-
Officer Gemetti	Olympia Dukakis	-

Review

The quintessential vigilante movie was more or less born out of necessity – when Brian Garfield's novel came out in 1972 and this subsequent adaptation appeared in 1974, New York City had just seen a spike in crime which made it one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. And with the majority of the film shot on location in NYC, Death Wish comes off as having an instant proximity to the material it presents. The violence brought upon Paul Kersey's family is provoking, ugly and finite. Director Michael Winner shoots it with no regard for our sensitivity or the actors' vanity. It's the sort of grittiness that can bring out the vigilante in even the most desensitized viewer. The movie then takes its time building Kersey's psychological profile, with agreeable pacing, a chic jazzy score by Herbie Hancock, and a riveting depiction of Kersey's transformation from a bleeding-heart liberal to a ruthless right-wing vigilante. So painstaking and well-measured is this build-up that when his killing spree begins, you itch for it and welcome his release. Bronson's meek appearance and calm demeanour makes his smouldering anger more real in a way. And the film's crisp cinematography and attention to detail, sometimes morbidly humorous detail, adds to its lasting appeal. So does Jeff Goldblum's scene-stealing debut appearance. Followed by no less than four sequels, all vastly inferior to the original.