| Death Wish (1974) Cast:Charles Bronson,Hope Lange,Vincent Gardena,Jeff Goldbulm This timely classic stars Bronson who turns vigilante after the murder of his wife and the rape of his daughter. Bronson was clearly born to do this movie. The black humor, the realistic violence and Bronson make it all work, no vigilante movie has even come close to being this sobering or fascinating. When one really thinks about it Death Wish is somewhat of a frightening movie in the vein of Deliverance only changing the backwoods to New York city, where the city reeks of corruption and crime in which the police seem helpless. Death Wish carries a message that is still true today, if not even more. It stands for the fear and paranoia that people have towards muggers, which is why people buy guns. What do you do when the system fails? According to Death Wish you take the law into your own hands and it's the politics of the movie that is truly fascinating. However what makes Death Wish so sobering is just how cynical it regards it's muggers. Bronson isn't even getting even with the thugs who killed his wife, just killing muggers for the hell of it. Death Wish works a sharp character study and it's Bronson's performance that sells this head and shoulders over the genre it would inspire years later. Even though 4 sequels followed and somewhat undermined the movie's ruthless message and politics, Death Wish has aged quite well and delivers a complex story which offers cinema's most famous anti-hero. I don't know how much more I can say, except that this is one of the best movies in the genre. If you haven't seen it, this is a perfect companion piece with Dirty Harry. D.Michael Winner ***1/2 |