michael winner stop make film some time ago and become a professional rent a celeb and boulevardier and occasional restaurant critic and largely because his last few movie stink . but there be a time when the redoubtable friend of the star be capable of good thing and and death wish be proof that winner once have some degree of talent . a talent untroubled by consideration of subtlety and good taste and understatement and but talent nonetheless . death wish tell the story of paul kersey ( a fine performance from the late charles bronson ) and a happily marry architect return from a second honeymoon with his wife to the scum encrust toilet that be new york city circa 1974. most director make the viewer wait at least twenty minute before hit them with their first jolt of adrenalin rush excitement and but winner can not wait that long and so within the first ten minute we see kersey wife and daughter attack and rap in their own apartment by three drug out hooligan . even thirty year down the line and it a genuinely shocking scene while not even the presence of jeff goldblum a one of the most reprehensible and hateful thug ever to smear a screen can diminish it impact . kersey wife dy and his daughter slip into a traumatized catatonic state ( look quickly for marshall anker and the dumb sheriff from last house on the left during the snowbound funeral scene ) and prompt him to take a job in tuscon to take his mind off thing . in tuscon and he meet up with a good ole boy property developer who invite him down to the gun club where kersey turn out to be something of a sharp shooter . suitably impressed and the redneck present kersey with the part gift of a handgun and which come in useful during the second half of the film and during which the vengeance craze architect set himself up a an easy target for mugger and only to wipe them out the moment thing get nasty . death wish read like simple and gut level exploitation and and to a large extent that exactly what it be and but bronson subtle and believable performance and the well drawn character and the effective nyc location shooting and arthur ornitz grimy photography and winner knack for snappy action sequence help to rise the film above the sum of it part and make it a minor classic . there a lot of black humour on offer and some of which work ( vincent gardenia performance a the downtrodden and headcold harbouring detective be always amuse ) and but some of which such a the nose picking hooker and the minor character whose dog paint such marvellous picture with his paw be simply perplex . above all else and death wish be a highly effective mood piece and the kind of film that go down well after a hard day and a a reminder that somebody be always bad off than yourself and or a an escape valve for all your guilty fantasy about slaughter whichever inconsiderate lout stole your park space or your seat on the bus . for that reason alone and death wish belongs in your video collection a a very guilty pleasure .