Last Updated on July 22, 2021
We all have movies we love. Movies we respect without question because of either tradition, childhood love, or because they’ve always been classics. However, as time keeps ticking, do those classics still hold up? So…the point of this here column is whether or not a film stands the test of time. I’m not gonna question whether it’s still a good flick, but if the thing holds up for a modern audience.
Director: Michael Winner
Starring: Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, and Vincent Gardenia
Home invasion, revenge and vigilante films have long loosely been associated with the horror genre. Often, they work because nothing is more damn frightening than a bunch of psychos running loose in the one place where we all feel safe: home. Recent movie examples that have invaded this haven like The Purge or The Strangers or the upcoming The Equalizer walk that line quite well. What's more interesting sometimes is when the victim is able to seek all sorts of unending revenge. While movies like this existed before 1973, the granddaddy of them all is the one that happens to have made Charles Bronson a star (and made Jeff Goldblum look…odd).
Under the examination: Death Wish.
A man has to love his work.
THE STORY: The unlucky wife of pacifist/architect Paul Kersey is murdered while his daughter is brutally raped by a trio of thugs out looking for kicks (damn you Goldblum!). Kersey wants answers, but the police come up short. He’s even mugged days later. His boss sends him on assignment to Arizona, where the change of scenery will do him some good hopefully. All seems well until he happens by a mock Old West gunfight for the tourists, where he comes away with a new understanding of “American Justice.” His Arizona client takes him to the gun range, where he delivers his strong stance on why Americans need guns. When Kersey returns to New York (now with a pistol that the Arizona client gifted him), he starts hitting the streets looking for trouble, or more specifically…vengeance.
Never disturb Bronson while he's reading.
WHAT STILL HOLDS UP: First thing first. I love movies that take place in old school New York. Everything always looks and feels cold, intimidating, and brutal. After Kersey buries his wife, the snow drops hard and heavy, making Kersey’s loss feel even colder. The film does a hell of a job showing the frustration of a victim. The man rightfully wants answers, but the cops are lost in their own system. He can’t sit by and do nothing. His daughter has lapsed into a comatose state, and he wants some sort of justice. In the context of the film, it all makes perfect sense.
Now we’ve all seen vigilante movies before, but usually they feel too set or predictable. Even worse, they cast someone in the role where the actor meets the expectations that they bring to the film (like now with Liam Neeson). You expect him to take action. You’d think Death Wish would fall under that trap with Bronson in the lead. The ultimate tough guy. The dude who had one facial expression. The man with the little mustache. But like Stallone in Copland, he found a way to play against expectations, bringing a real sense of humanity to the role.
Bronson brings the depth. We feel his pain when his wife dies, and for once, I believe the character when he says he’s a conscientious objector even when I know Bronson had already starred in about 100 movies where he shoots somebody. When he decides to exact revenge and clean the streets, it effects him. The first time he knocks a mugger stupid with a couple rolls of quarters, he suddenly doesn’t become a tough guy. He’s hands shake. He’s nearly shits himself. And he swings around the sock of quarters like a maniac back in his apartment. It's even worse the first time he shoots a guy. The point is Bronson doesn't play the role like an action hero. He's a man trying to do something. To make his wife's death have meaning. (He even shoots a very young Denzel Washington.)
Bronson was a badass. No joke.
WHAT BLOWS NOW: Like any old movie, there’s always things that date it. Like clothing, music, style. Or Bronson's very odd little mustache. It's really weird. Just look at it for a while. However, probably two specific things blow about Death Wish today.
1) They made four B-movie sequels that lacked everything that made Death Wish a classic. The stories got cartoonish, and poor Bronson just kept looking older. The sequels only dilute what made this thing work. It's like looking back at the Rocky films. The first one is masterpiece, but it's hard not to think about him in Rocky V at the same time.
2) The genre itself. Hell, the vigilante story has been done so many times that this flick can’t hold the impact it once did. And that sucks. It obviously plays dated (it’s officially 40 years old now), but too many movies have used the exact same formula with lesser success. From the Punisher to Death Sentence to Taken, only so many can be made. (Actually, Taxi Driver is probably the best of the genre, no?).
Every tough guys needs a scarf.
THE VERDICT: I also couldn’t help myself and read some comments about Death Wish, trying to understand why anyone would completely dislike it. I could understand if some folks just couldn’t get into a 70’s flick. However, it’s the politics that ends up being divisive. Some claim it’s a pro-gun film. Some claim it’s right wing bullshit. Some claim its making fun of liberals. Whatever. I don’t care about the political message. I care about the entertainment value, and Death Wish still has plenty of it. It's not the best movie ever made, but it could be the best of the vigilantes. Bronson would've made a hell of a Punisher.
Director Michael Winner nearly got Bronson to smile. Nearly.
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