Death Wish

"Vigilante, city style — judge, jury, and executioner."

Jul 24 1974 R 1h 33m
Action, Crime, Drama

After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.

Plot

Open-minded architect Paul Kersey returns to New York City from vacationing with his wife, feeling on top of the world. At the office, his cynical coworker gives him the welcome-back with a warning on the rising crime rate. But Paul, a bleeding-heart liberal, thinks of crime as being caused by poverty. However his coworker's ranting proves to be more than true when Paul's wife is killed and his daughter is raped in his own apartment. The police have no reliable leads and his overly sensitive son-in-law only exacerbates Paul's feeling of hopelessness. He is now facing the reality that the police can't be everywhere at once. Out of sympathy his boss gives him an assignment in sunny Arizona where Paul gets a taste of the Old West ideals. He returns to New York with a compromised view on muggers...

Written by

Brian Garfield, Wendell Mayes, Gerald Wilson

Directed by

Michael Winner

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, Landers-Roberts Productions, Paramount

Languages

Deutsch, Italiano, English, Français

Awards

1 win & 2 nominations

Scores
# of Votes
45,716
Average Rating
6.9 out of 10
Metascore
51
Popularity
NA