The Dow Is Up!

Death Wish (1974)
Starring Charles Bronson

It's hard to describe both the cinematic and cultural impact of a classic like Death Wish. It raised so many philosophical questions and made us, as a society, rethink how crime should be dealt with. In particular, it made us think that Charles Bronson should be allowed to shoot whoever the hell he wants.

I'm a little surprised that I hadn't seen Death Wish until now. Much like with Schindler's List, I kept putting off watching it because I knew the tremendous impact it would have on me. And I was right! I couldn't sleep a wink after watching Mr. Bronson walk the streets of New York City killing 1970's stereotypes.

In Death Wish, Charles Bronson plays Paul Kersey, an architect whose wife is murdered and his daughter raped by a bunch of no-good hoodlums. I should probably rephrase that, because Charles Bronson doesn't just play an architect, he becomes an architect. I honestly thought I was watching Frank Lloyd Wright weild a Magnum 45. Bronson displayed more skill than any actor since Ernest Borgnine in McHale's Navy.

Death Wish is set in New York City, which is completely overrun by criminals. Where is Rudy Giuliani when you need him? The cops can't control the criminals and the citizens are all afraid. Hell, I was afraid myself and thought about moving to the Connecticut suburbs to avoid the violence in the movie. I decided to stay, and I'm glad I did! I got to see a life-affirming movie where Charles Bronson single-handedly cleans up the city. (Actually, he literally cleans up the city in the not-well-received sequel, Death Wash, but I'll have to review that one later.) Bronson becomes a vigilante, killing the bad guys and making the streets safe.

This is what kept me up all night. Here's Bronson, killing the bad guys. He's making the city safe, but he's killing people. Should he go to jail or become mayor? This type of ethical dilemma could only be portrayed onscreen by a heavyweight like Brando, DeNiro, or Bronson. In fact, Death Wish is basically Mean Streets, but without someone trying to push all that character development down our throats. When will you learn, Scorsese?

This movie has everything. It has Mexicans with knives. Blacks with knives. Whites with knives. Hippies with knives. Neo-nazis with knives. Nobody with guns, but this was 1974. Criminals don't have guns. Only architects do. And this architect used it to shoot all those stereotypes. I think the only 70's stereotypes he didn't shoot were a guy on rollerskates and Huggy Bear.

As if having Bronson star in Death Wish weren't enough, we're blessed with memorable scenes stolen by famous actors? Jeff Goldblum admirably played Freak #1 and killed Bronson's wife. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Welcome Back Kotter's Freddy "Boom Boom" Washington) plays an uncredited mugger shot by Bronson towards the end of the film. (By the way, how do you not credit Freddy "Boom Boom" Washington? I don't care if Kotter didn't come along until after Death Wish. If you're the producer or director, you go back and change the credits to give him a starring role.) Christopher Guest as Patrolman Jackson Reilly practically stole the movie away from Bronson, if such a thing is possible, with his 2 second performance at the end of Death Wish.

I give Death Wish 5 stars because I can't think of anything that could have possibly made it better. It even had Herbie Hancock doing the soundtrack! The producers really did think of everything! I can only hope that they make a sequel to this riveting story because I have to know what happens to Bronson's Paul Kersey. I sure hope he doesn't stop shooting people!