Rating: 
Summary: Classic action film that is not to be missed
Review: The first half of this film is very unusual as we see Charles Bronson as a "bleeding liberal" who does not believe that violence is the answer. After watching him in films like "The Dirty Dozen" your almost shocked. One day a gang walks in on his wife and daughter and rape both of them leaving his wife dead and his daughter tramatized. It isn't long after this that we see Charles Bronson carrying around socks full of rolled up quarters and packing heat as he goes prowling New York's mean streets looking for some punks he can blow to bits. Its a fine piece of action cinema. Go see it.
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Summary: Top Notch Old School Revenge Film Against Deadbeats
Review: WOW WHOAAAAAAA, Thes were my reactions, after witnessing a truly great film. It has the lot, love, sadness, and retribution, as only Bronson would know. The sock full of dimes scene is memorable. Has to be scene to be believed. Its great to see lowlifes getting dealt with properly.
Rating:
Summary: Best in the series.
Review: The first in the series, and naturally the best. Bronson is perfect in this one, making it one of his best performances. -The way he reacts to the death of his wife, first in the hospital, and later at the funeral, is very realistic and touching. Also when he attacks his first mugger, and his reaction to it; both at he scene of the attack, and subsequently at home, is gripping. The four sequels that followed all fall flat on their butt, compared to this one. -They almost seem to be making fun at the very masterpiece they were inspired by. Sure, they're fun to watch, but one doesn't really need them. I like the way this first one ends; admittedly, leaving the door open for a sequel, but apparently with no immediate plan for one. -And fine so; what may or may not follow, is much better left to the imagination. A perfect ending for a perfect film. By the way, it's about time this brilliant movie was letterboxed.
Rating: 
Summary: Here's the one that started it all.....
Review: while it pales in comparison to the classic part three, this entry, the most serious of the bunch, does pack a punch for all Bronson fans. Manipulative, one-sided, and ridiculously pro-gun, it also presents badder-than-bad characters that act as target practice for the heroic Everyman. Moreover, it exaggerates crime in America at least 1000 fold, for if NYC was really this bad, it would have shut down long ago.
Rating: 
Summary: New York vigilante metes out real justice
Review: Bronson portrays a well-to-do New York architect whose wife and daughter are victimized by a vicious pack of urban predators. Ultimately his rage evolves into a quest for vengeance which he takes out on street punks from one end of the city to the other. Using himself as bait, he simply shoots down every would-be robber or mugger who accosts him. Eventually the string of vigilante killings makes the papers and New York violent crime stats plummet. The vigilante becomes everyone's hero. The movie is a crowd pleaser because it sates the public appetite for real justice -- swift, terrible and excessive. Theater crowds of the 70's often cheered as Bronson left punk after punk bleeding in the street -- just as they had previously left their victims. Plenty of action and lots of violence. Bronson is the quintessential tough guy.
Rating:
Summary: Your Typical Evening On A Saturday!
Review: GREAT ACTING BY CHARLES BROSNAN! ENJOYABLE TO WATCH. REALLY GREAT CINEMATIC PIECE!
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Summary: "The Vigilante Killer"
Review: I recently saw "Death Wish" this year and instantly became one of my favorite films. The ageless Charles Bronson potrays a New York everyman whose wife and daughter are brutally attacked by scumbag intruders. The result has his wife dead and his daughter so distraught she has to be instutionized. Bronson's social mannerisms has turned into inner rage. He is given a handgun by an employee in Arizona and roams the scummy streets of NY. Bronson goes on a murder spree against muggers who try to piss him off. The police nickname the murderer the "vigilante killer." I like the realism of Bronson's character. He's not a psychotic killer, just an ordinary man that's pissed off at the world. He feels remorse at first (throwing up after his first killing) but can't stop from killing people. The cops soon catch up to him but not after several slayings. Bronson gives a excellent performance who's like "dirty harry" ina way. I haven't seen the endless sequels, but i heard there not so good.
Rating:
Summary: first Death Wish
Review: I have heard that "Death Wish" is a western set in contemperary New York City. It is not. It is very rooted in urban gang war fare and it's victoms. Charles Bronson plays an everyman (well, that may be streaching it bit) who's wife is killed and daughter is raped. He then completely loses it and starts a vigilante war through the allys and subways aginst punks and thugs all over NYC. I noticed that there is not a specific bad guy, and I think there was a reason for that. Crime is not localized, it is a real social problem. This is certainly the best of the "Death Wish" series. The other movies were silly and way too Dirty Harryish; this one seems almost plausable. Charles Bronson really shot to stardom in this movie, as the guy anyone wants to be.
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Summary: Kersey the vigilante is born
Review: A discussion of Charles Bronson that fails to mention the "Death Wish" series isn't really a discussion at all. The first entry in this seminal series arrived on the scene in 1974 during a period in American history when all types of crimes skyrocketed. We can thank the moral laxity inflicted on the rest of us by the Counterculture for the increased numbers of murders, arsons, burglaries, robberies, rapes, and countless other forms of physical and mental assaults that soon became common occurrences on every street in the country. A large percentage of the population, referred to by Nixon as "The Silent Majority," ached to find a way to fight back against the vermin committing these atrocities. Since our embrace of vigilante justice faded away due to the abuses of lynching in the South, and our legal system began letting the scum back out on the streets, only Hollywood seemed to offer refuge to the growing number of victims. Enter the revenge and vigilante genre, the most notable entries of which consisted of the Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" pictures. In these films, a cop or outraged citizen would hunt down criminals outside the law, meting out a savage brand of justice we could all cheer about.
"Death Wish" soon became a popular alternative to Eastwood's blow 'em away motion pictures. Set in the cesspool that is New York City in the 1970s, we first meet architect Paul Kersey (Bronson) as he exhibits the comfortable liberalism of a man never victimized by criminals. He believes in the efficacy of the legal system, thinks even criminals deserve a fair chance, and supports gun control. Then the unthinkable happens, a crime so monstrous in its random brutality that Kersey's world changes forever. While he is away drawing up plans for his latest project, a gang of punks follows his wife Joanna (Hope Lange) from the market back to the apartment. Once inside, these animals kill Kersey's wife and savagely violate his only daughter Carol (Kathleen Tolan) in a way best left unelaborated upon here. It's truly a terrible series of scenes, but no more terrible than the total ambivalence and ineffectiveness exhibited by the hospital personnel, the police, and Carol's husband in the aftermath of the attack. Only Kersey feels like he should do something, but his personal beliefs (he was a conscientious objector during the Korean War) leave him struggling over what course of action he should take.
Fortunately, a working trip to Tucson settles the issue for our hero. It is here that he meets Ames Jainchill (Stuart Margolin), a real estate developer and self-defense advocate who indirectly helps Kersey decide what to do upon his return to the Big Apple. He also gives the architect a package containing a handgun and ammunition after learning that Kersey, despite his peaceful beliefs, learned about firearms as a child. Our man returns to the city and sets about settling some scores. Sadly, he will never find the men responsible for the despicable atrocities committed against his family, but there is no shortage of criminals in New York to take revenge on in the meantime. Kersey often heads out to the streets posing as a likely victim, virtually ensuring that some mugger or other miscreant will take notice and move in for the kill. Sure enough, they do. And when they do, Kersey pulls out the pistol and guns them down. The sudden surge in deceased criminals brings in the cops, headed up by the always sniffling and blustering Inspector Frank Ochoa (Vincent Gardenia). New York City authorities quickly discover that a vigilante stalks the streets, and they want to catch the guy fast before he influences other outraged citizens to do the same. Too late. Construction workers start beating muggers to a pulp, and little old ladies fight back, too. Will the cops find Kersey? What will they do to him? Watch and see.
"Death Wish" works as well as it does because the script takes vigilantism very seriously. You won't see Bronson running through the streets mowing down hundreds of bad guys without breaking a sweat--that will come later, in the increasingly ridiculous yet massively entertaining sequels. Here, Paul Kersey agonizes over his decision. After one of his assaults on a criminal, he arrives home so shaken that he becomes physically ill over his actions. Too, our vigilante isn't impervious to damage like so many action heroes, which we learn when a thug manages to stick a knife into him during an attack. The best element of the film is Bronson; he falls prey to the law of diminishing returns in the later sequels and other Cannon schlock with ham handed performances so wooden as to defy description, but not here. "Death Wish" gives the actor better material, material that allows him greater range to practice his talents. I also enjoyed seeing Stuart Margolin--an actor I learned to appreciate during his stint as the hilarious ex-con Angel Martin in "The Rockford Files"--in the role of the perceptive Ames Jainchill. Be sure and look for Jeff Goldblum as "Freak #1." Freak #1! I love it!
It is quite unfortunate the only extra on the disc is a trailer. I think I ought to warn viewers interested in the "Death Wish" films right from the start that MGM did a lousy job transferring these gems to disc. The first film doesn't look too bad, but subsequent entries sadly receive a full screen format. Worse, they actually put edited versions of a couple of the films on the discs. Edited! Can you believe it? Who does that nowadays? Oh, I forgot--MGM, Paramount, and several other big studios who simply don't understand how DVD should work. Still, I highly recommend the first film considering its classic stature.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Charles Bronson performance.
Review: Some of the best movies made came from the 70's and this is one of them. Charles Bronson gets the combination of straight acting and action man just right in this his most successfully movie of his long career. A hard edged thriller with excellent character development on Bronson's part and tight uncompromising direction by Michael Winner. Highly recommended even to non Bronson fans.
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