http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/DeathWish

He wants the filth off the streets. If the police can't do it, he will... his way.

Jerry Seinfeld "People like the idea of revenge. You ever hear the expression, 'The best revenge is living well'? It means supposedly the best way to get back at someone is just by being happy and successful in your own life. Sounds nice. Doesn't really work on that Charles Bronson -kinda level, you know what I mean? Those movies where his whole family just gets wiped out by some street scum. You think you could go up to him, 'Charlie, forget about the .357. What you need is a custom-made suit and a convertible. New carpeting, French doors, a divan! That'll show those punks!'"

Advertisement:

A 1974 action-neo-noir-crime-drama film based on the 1972 novel by Brian Garfield (who also wrote Death Sentence). The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Charles Bronson (the actor, not the prisoner).

New York architect Paul Kersey has his world shattered forever when his apartment is attacked by three vicious punks, who murder his wife and rape his daughter. After being sent to Arizona by his boss to meet with a client, Kersey's old interest in guns is rekindled and eventually has one slipped into his bag by the client as he's preparing to return to New York (this film was made back before things like metal detectors and X-raying all bags due to hijackings were universalbut the gun, in a presentation case, was actually put into the bag that Kersey was checking, not into his carry on bag). Upon his return, Kersey starts dispensing justice to the scum on the streets, shooting down any mugger that tries to rob him. The police want him arrested, but the public are behind him, glad that someone's doing something to clean up the streets. Kersey is eventually asked to leave New York to avoid prosecution, much like the Old West vigilantes of long ago.

Advertisement:

The film was a major commercial success and generated a movie franchise lasting four sequels over a twenty-year period. The film was denounced by critics as advocating vigilantism and unlimited punishment to criminals (and by Garfield - see Creator Backlash in Trivia), but it was seen as speaking to a growing mood in the United States as crime rose during the 1970s.

A remake of this film (and just this one, it is unrelated to the rest of the pentalogy) premiered on March 2018, moving the action to Chicago and now starring Bruce Willis under the direction of Eli Roth.

For a character with a death wish, see Death Seeker.

The Death Wish Pentalogy:

Advertisement:

These movies provide examples of: