Death Wish (1974)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
After his wife is murdered and his daughter is assaulted during a home invasion, an architect takes the law into his own hands in the streets of New York.
The story
Paul Kersey, a middle-aged architect living in Manhattan, leads a peaceful life until a violent home invasion leaves his wife, Joanna, dead and his daughter, Carol, traumatized. Following the tragedy, Paul becomes increasingly unsettled by the city's crime. After a confrontation with a mugger leaves him shaken and empowered, he begins to question the efficacy of the law. When he receives a gift of a firearm from a business associate, he decides to take action. The film follows his transition from a law-abiding citizen to a vigilante, as he begins patrolling the streets to confront and punish criminals, while being pursued by a suspicious police inspector.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Paul Kersey, a Manhattan architect, witnesses his wife Joanna and daughter Carol being brutally attacked by muggers during a home invasion. Joanna dies from her injuries, and Carol is left in a catatonic state. Following the funeral, Paul confronts a mugger and successfully fights him off, an experience that leaves him 'energized.' While working on a project in Tucson, he is gifted a Colt .32 revolver by a business associate. Back in New York, Paul begins a campaign of vigilante justice, hunting and killing muggers across the city. His actions are noticed by Police Inspector Frank Ochoa, who investigates the killings. While the police department identifies Paul as a suspect, the District Attorney and Police Commissioner decide not to arrest him to avoid making him a martyr for the public. Paul eventually sustains a leg wound while confronting a mugger in a warehouse. After a deal is struck with Officer Ochoa to trade his gun for a relocation to Chicago, Paul boards a train. Upon arriving in Chicago, he encounters a group of hoodlums harassing a woman and performs a final gesture, signaling that his vigilantism will continue.
- First release year
- 1974
- Runtime (minutes)
- 94
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Michael Winner
- Writers
- Wendell Mayes · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Charles Bronson · Paul Kersey; Hope Lange · Joanna; Vincent Gardenia · not specified; William Redfield · not specified; Kathleen Tolan · not specified; Christopher Guest · Officer Jackson Reilly; Jeff Goldblum · one of the "freaks"
- Genres
- action-thriller; vigilante; crime; exploitation
- Themes
- vigilantism; urban crime; retribution
- Tone and mood
- gritty; violent; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- home invasion; revenge; action; crime
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1972 novel of the same title by Brian Garfield
- Franchise connections
- Death Wish film series
- Reception
- The film was a commercial success but received mixed critical reviews, with many critics criticizing its support of vigilantism and its 'immoral' message.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 66% · scale: percentage · review count: 32; Metacritic · score: 51% · scale: weighted average · review count: 7
- Production trivia
- The film was originally intended to star Jack Lemmon and Henry Fonda.; The score was composed by jazz musician Herbie Hancock.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…