Death Wish (film series)
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''Death Wish'' franchise is an American
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
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crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
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drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
series based on the 1972 novel by
Brian Garfield Brian Francis Wynne Garfield (January 26, 1939 – December 29, 2018) was an Edgar Award-winning American novelist, historian and screenwriter. A Pulitzer Prize finalist, he wrote his first published book at the age of eighteen. Garfield went on ...
. The films follow the character Paul Kersey, portrayed by
Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...
in the original series, and
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
in the 2018 remake. While the first film received mixed reviews, the subsequent sequels, as well as the remake, were panned by critics and the series made $87 million against a combined production budget of $61 million.


Background


Paul Kersey

Kersey was born in East Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
in 1921. Kersey's father was an
English-American English Americans (historically known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 American Community Survey, 25.21 million self-identified as being of English origin. The term is distin ...
who originated from
Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
and his mother comes from
Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU). Provo lies between the ...
. Kersey's Norman English ancestor, Pierre Whítmoré Keèrsye, anglicized his surname to ''Kersey''. Paul was raised around the guns and became a good shot as a child. After Paul's father was killed in a hunting accident, his mother prevented him from being around guns anymore. Kersey served in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in the
Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
as a
combat medic A combat medic, or healthcare specialist, is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury ...
from 1944 to 1945. In 1950 Paul graduated from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
wth a degree in Civil Engineering. In 1953, he was a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
in the
medical corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...
in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. In the late 1950s, he traveled to New York City to settle down.


Novels


''Death Wish'' (1972)


''Death Sentence'' (1975)


Films


''Death Wish'' (1974)

Paul Kersey is an
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
who served in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
in the medical corps, and he lives in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. One day, three street punks posing as grocery delivery boys break into his apartment while he is at work. They beat up Paul's wife, Joanna and
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
his married daughter, Carol Toby, spray-painting both of them and the wall of their apartment "just for fun." Joanna later dies of her injuries, and Carol is left
catatonic Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric behavioral syndrome that is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors, and withdrawal. The onset of catatonia can be acute or subtle and symptoms can wax, wane, or change during ...
. Paul's life is ripped apart by this attack. Paul's boss decides that Paul needs to get out of New York for a while, so he sends him to
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
to meet with a client. There, Paul witnesses a mock gunfight at
Old Tucson Studios Old Tucson (formerly Old Tucson Studios) is an American movie studio and theme park just west of Tucson, Arizona, adjacent to the Tucson Mountains and close to the western portion of Saguaro National Park. Built in 1939 for the movie ''Arizona'' ...
, a reconstructed Western frontier town that is often used as a movie set. Paul's client gets him interested in guns. It turns out that Paul grew up around guns and is a good shot himself. When Paul returns to New York, he discovers that his client has given him a .32
Colt Police Positive The Colt Police Positive is a small- frame, double-action revolver featuring a six- round cylinder, chambered for either .32 or .38 caliber. A .22 caliber model was also offered. Designed primarily for sale to federal, state, or local law enforce ...
revolver as a gift. When the police are unable to find the rapists, Paul sets out to find them himself. Paul begins patrolling the streets, killing street criminals as he encounters them.


''Death Wish II'' (1982)

Kersey and his daughter Carol, who is still catatonic, now live in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
because Paul accepted a deal from the
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
to leave town so they would not tell anyone that he was the
vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
. Paul now has a new woman in his life, KABC news reporter, Geri Nichols. One day while he is out with Carol and Geri, he is mugged by a gang of five punks. Paul fights back, but they get away. The muggers go to his house, gag, rape, and murder Kersey's housekeeper. They then wait for Paul to return home and knock him unconscious and
kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
and rape Carol. The assault brings her out of her coma and she tries to get away by jumping through the second story window, but she dies when she is impaled on an iron fence stake. Beside himself with grief and rage, Paul dedicates his life to avenging Carol. He rents a ratty hotel room under another name, and starts looking for the rapists. When the
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
deduces that they have a vigilante on their hands, they decide to consult with the New York City Police Department, who fear that Kersey is killing criminals again.


''Death Wish 3'' (1985)

After killing criminals in Los Angeles, Paul Kersey returns to New York City to visit his friend, Charley, who lives in one of the worst parts of New York City. But when Paul arrives at Charley's apartment, he finds Charley dying after a vicious beating by a gang led by Manny Fraker, and the police enter the apartment and find Paul standing over Charley's body. Paul is arrested for the murder, but police chief Richard S. Shriker offers a deal: Paul can kill all the criminals he wants if he keeps the cops informed about the death count. Though Kersey says that he stopped his mugger slayings, Shriker releases Paul to go after Fraker. Paul moves into Charley's apartment in a decaying building in the middle of a bombed out gang war zone.


''Death Wish 4: The Crackdown'' (1987)

Kersey had largely retired from slaying muggers shortly after ''
Death Wish 3 ''Death Wish 3'' is a 1985 American action thriller film directed and edited by Michael Winner. It is the third film and the last to be directed by Winner in the ''Death Wish'' film series. It stars Charles Bronson as the vigilante killer Paul Ke ...
''. In ''Death Wish 4: The Crackdown'', Detective Phil Nozaki mentions mugger shootings downtown two years previous to the events of ''Death Wish 4'', to which Detective Sid Reiner responds by saying that "the vigilante retired years ago". In any event, Kersey kept regular residence in Los Angeles, regardless of his breaking off his mugger slayings. Paul Kersey is back in Los Angeles, and is dating reporter, Karen Sheldon, who has a teenage daughter named Erica. While Erica is at an
arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...
with her boyfriend, Randy, she dies of a
crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...
overdose, setting the scene for a departure from the series' focus on
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
by instead putting
drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...
as a center stage. Later, Randy goes back to the arcade with Kersey following him. Randy confronts Jo-Jo Ross, the dealer that Erica got the crack from. Randy tells JoJo that he is going to the police, but Jo-Jo kills him to keep him quiet. Kersey shows up and shoots Jo-Jo with a .380
Walther PPK The Walther PP (german: Polizeipistole, or police pistol) series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols, developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. It features an exposed hammer, a traditional double-ac ...
pistol, and watches him land on the electrical roof of the bumper-car ride, where he is electrocuted. Next, Paul gets a note and a phone call from a
publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
named Nathan White, who tells him that he knows about the death of Jo-Jo. Nathan explains to Kersey that his daughter had died of an overdose, so he wants to hire Kersey to wipe out the drug trade in L.A. -- and in particular to target Ed Zacharias and The Romero Brothers Jack and Tony, rival drug kingpins who are the city's two main drug suppliers.


''Death Wish V: The Face of Death'' (1994)

Kersey's secret identity as the vigilante was effectively blown in '' Death Wish 4: The Crackdown'' as Detective Sid Reiner of the Los Angeles Police Department, less sympathetic than Chief Richard Shriker or Detective Frank Ochoa, discovered it. Reiner stated he would arrest Kersey as the latter walked away. In any event, as revealed in ''Death Wish V'' (though no direct reference to Reiner's discovery of Kersey's identity) Kersey retired and entered the Witness Protection Program and assumed the alias, Paul Stewart in New York City after meeting with the District Attorney of New York. Seven years would pass before Kersey's peace again became interrupted. New York City's garment district has turned into
Dodge City Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...
when a
mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
named Tommy O'Shea muscles in on the fashion trade of his ex-wife, Olivia Regent. Olivia is engaged to Paul Kersey, who provides a sense of security for her and her daughter, Chelsea. Olivia is not impressed when Tommy
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
s her manager, Big Al, so Tommy hires an enforcer named Freddie Flakes, a master of disguise. Freddie dons women's clothing to follow Olivia into a ladies' room, where he smashes her face into a mirror, causing permanent disfigurement. In the offices of District Attorney Brian Hoyle and his associate, Hector Vasquez, Paul and Olivia vow to see to it that Tommy should be
prosecuted A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...
. Later, Freddie and two of his men disguise themselves as cops, infiltrate Olivia's apartment, and shoot her dead. This causes Kersey to go from his retirement to his vigilante ways again as he's trying to get rid of Tommy's ruthless
irish mob The Irish Mob (also known as the Irish mafia or Irish organized crime) is a collective of organized crime syndicates composed of ethnic Irish members which operate primarily in Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia, and have been in ...
organization by killing all of his gang members that were responsible for his fiancée's death.


''Death Wish'' (2018)

Paul Kersey (
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
), a Chicago-area Emergency Room surgeon, lives with his wife, Lucy (
Elisabeth Shue Elisabeth Judson Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), ''Adventures in Babysitting'' (1987), '' Cocktail'' (1988), ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), '' B ...
), and daughter, Jordan (
Camila Morrone Camila Rebeca Morrone Polak (; born June 16, 1997) is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of actors Maximo Morrone and Lucila Polak; and was also raised in part by actor Al Pacino (who served as a parental figure during his long ...
). When the family visits a restaurant with Paul's brother Frank (
Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...
), a valet named Miguel photographs their home address from their car's navigation software after hearing about a night they plan to be away from home. However, Paul is called to work that night, and Jordan and Lucy are home when the three armed burglars break into their home. Moments later, one of the burglars is scarred from Lucy and Jordan's efforts to fight back in defense of their lives and home. The invading criminals ultimately shoot Lucy to death, and Jordan is seriously wounded and subsequently comatose from their attempted murder of her. Paul becomes frustrated with the lack of police progress on the case, led by Detectives Kevin Raines (
Dean Norris Dean Joseph Norris (born April 8, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for playing DEA agent Hank Schrader on the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2020). He also portrayed town councilm ...
) and Leonore Jackson (
Kimberly Elise Kimberly Elise Trammel (born April 17, 1967) is an American film and television actress. She made her feature film debut in '' Set It Off'' (1996), and later received critical acclaim for her performance in ''Beloved'' (1998). During her career, ...
). After seeing two men harassing a woman, Paul tries to intervene but is kicked and punched to the ground by the two assailants. He visits a gun store, but there is a long mandatory waiting period to legally purchase a firearm. When a gang member is brought to the hospital and his
Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...
falls off the gurney, Paul takes it and practices shooting. He uses the gun to stop a carjacking, a video of which goes viral. During the effort, he cuts his left hand due to improperly handling the pistol. Continuing his efforts as a vigilante, Paul decides to kill a drug dealer calling himself "the Ice Cream Man" after a young boy comes to the hospital with a gunshot wound in his leg. Paul calmly walks up to the pistol-holding drug dealer, referring to himself as "his last customer," and shoots him. News, TV, and radio reports consistently demonstrate mixed feelings of support and condemnation of Paul's developing war against violent criminals.


Cast and crew


Cast

*This table shows the principal characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise. *A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.


Crew


Reception


Box office performance


Critical and public response


Analysis

In 2006, a film historic, Paul Talbot released ''Bronson's Loose!: The Making of the Death Wish Films'', which covers the making of the five films with interviews conducted with author, Brian Garfield, director Michael Winner, producer Bobby Roberts, producer Pancho Kohner, and more. In 2010, novelist
Christopher Sorrentino Christopher Sorrentino (born May 20, 1963) is an American novelist and short story writer of Italian and Puerto Rican descent. He is the son of novelist Gilbert Sorrentino and Victoria Ortiz. His first published novel, ''Sound on Sound'' (1995), ...
published a book-length monograph, also called ''Death Wish'' on the original film. In the course of a deep analysis of the film's content, Sorrentino declares ''Death Wish'' to be mythic and apolitical, and using ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''s
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
as a prime example, holds it up as an instance when reviewers used a film's perceived political incorrectness as a pretext to savage it.


Music


Soundtracks


Other media


Video game

The third film in the original series, was made into a video game of the same name by
Gremlin Graphics Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...
for the
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...
,
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
, MSX and
Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...
. In the game, the player controls Paul Kersey in the streets and buildings in a free-roaming, all-out gunfight with gangsters. It was one of the goriest games of its time, featuring multiple weapons with detailed, different damage patterns and the possibility to kill civilians. Because the original copyright owners of the game didn't have any interest in renewing copyright, the game fall into the "abandonware" and is considered public domain until proven otherwise.


Film based on novel's sequel

The film, ''
Death Sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
'' (2007) was based loosely on the ''Death Wish'' novel's 1975 sequel of the same name. The film stars
Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...
as Nick Hume, a man who takes the law into his own hands when his son is murdered by a gang as an initiation ritual.


In popular culture

In 2020, the pseudonymous author "Paul Kersey", who had published numerous anti-black articles on
white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
blogs and websites, was identified as Michael J. Thompson, a longtime employee at several mainstream conservative organizations. Thompson chose his pen name in reference to the films' protagonist.


References


External links

* {{The Death Wish Pentalogy * American action thriller films American vigilante films Action film series Crime film series Film series introduced in 1974 Pentalogies Thriller film series