Death Wish is quintessential 1970s crime and grit and with the performance of Charles Bronson makes it a classic in its own right. It’s a fairly thought-provoking flick as well about vigilante justice and its effect on society.
Death Wish
(1974)
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller, Drama
Kino Lorber | R – 93 min. – $39.95 | January 24, 2023
Date Published: 01/22/2023 | Author: The Movieman
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Kino Lorber provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
Note: The screen captures were taken from the included Blu-ray disc.
THE MOVIE — 3½/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Charles Bronson plays Paul Kersey, a bleeding-heart liberal who has a change of opinion after his wife (HOPE LANGE) and daughter (KATHLEEN TOLAN) are brutally attacked by a gang of thugs in their apartment. His daughter is sexually assaulted and his wife is murdered. Bronson then turns vigilante as he stalks the mean streets of New York on the prowl for muggers, hoodlums and the like.
Quick Hit Review (copied from my 2014 Blu-ray review: Controversial for its time, heck probably even today, Death Wish is a brutal film early on before turning into a revenge flick where the vengeance is on general scumbags as the original attackers don’t get their comeuppance, something unheard of today as most producers and studio heads would demand the hero, or anti-hero, take out his or her original target in the final scene. Charles Bronson is near pitch perfect in a role Steve McQueen and many others turned down for the obvious reasons. Bronson is so good, and the film did well enough at the box office ($98 million* adjusted for ticket inflation) to warrant no less than FOUR sequels, each more ridiculous over the next before ending with a thud. But aside from needless and unnecessary sequels (what else is new?), Death Wish is a well made flick held together more by Bronson than the story or even supporting players. * Box Office Mojo
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 3/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and the interior artwork is reversible. Features include an Audio Commentary by Film Historian Paul Talbot; an Interview (18:24) with Actor John Herzfeld; and lastly Radio Spots (1:31), TV Spot (1:03) and the Theatrical Trailer (2:20). |
4K ULTRA HD VIDEO – 4½/5, BLU-RAY VIDEO – 4½/5 |
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Death Wish comes to 4K Ultra HD, as well as Blu-ray, from Kino Lorber where it’s presented in the original theatrical 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio (the previous Paramount Blu-ray was open matted 1.78) and a 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfer, respectively. This new picture was taken from a 4K scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative and while I don’t think it looks spectacular, it is a marked improvement over the old Blu-ray. The detail here is nicely defined throughout and colors are on par with the 1970s era. In addition, it appears clean, free of any obvious signs of specs or other blemishes. |
AUDIO – 3½/5 |
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The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, which has matching audio in the left and right channels, might not be as impressive but it’s decent enough for sure with Herbie Hancock’s gritty music making the most out of this lossless track while dialogue levels are clear enough throughout. Any action elements, like gunfire, are of course flat but all things considered, it’s an adequate track. (Copied from the 2014 Blu-ray review) |
OVERALL — 3¾/5 |
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Death Wish is quintessential 1970s crime and grit and with the performance of Charles Bronson makes it a classic in its own right. It’s a fairly thought-provoking flick as well about vigilante justice and its effect on society though even on that front, its skin deep. |