 First edition cover | |
| Author | Brian Garfield |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime Drama Thriller |
| Publisher | David McKay |
Publication date | 1972 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| Pages | 160 |
| ISBN | 0-679-50299-8 |
| Followed by | Death Sentence |
Death Wish is a 1972 novel by Brian Garfield. [1] A sequel novel, Death Sentence , was published in 1975.
Middle-aged CPA Paul Benjamin lives in Manhattan with his wife Esther in an apartment close to their daughter Carol and her husband, Jack Tobey. Paul is a staunch liberal, volunteering his time to civic organizations and trying to rationalize the crime and misery he witnesses on a daily basis. He refuses to move out of the city, explaining that while the suburbs might be safer and cleaner, he cannot leave New York after having lived there his entire life.
One day, Paul gets a call at work from Jack telling him to come to the hospital. There, a patrolman explains that three junkies broke into Paul's apartment and assaulted Esther and Carol, beating his wife to death before stealing Paul's television and fleeing. Carol is still alive, but in a vegetative state and can no longer meaningfully interact with anyone.
After his wife's funeral, Paul refuses to leave his apartment, has new locks put on the doors, and starts carrying a club made from a sock stuffed with quarters in his pocket. He sheds his previous beliefs. Everyone he sees is now either a potential criminal or unproductive, useless "cattle". Paul gradually aligns himself with the conservative viewpoints of his co-workers, unnerving them.
The changes in his personality and behavior alienate Paul from his son-in-law, who disagrees with Paul's contention that since the police are not making any headway with Esther's case, they ought to hunt down her murderers themselves. According to Jack, vigilantism is not a real solution to crime, and Paul is not doing himself any favors by obsessing over the attacks. When Paul asks for help obtaining a permit to carry a gun, Jack refuses. Paul appears to give in, returning to his old job and even accepting a dinner invitation from his friend Sam.
One night, while walking home drunk, Paul is threatened with a knife by a teenage boy. Furious, Paul pulls out his club and tries to kill the boy, who runs away in terror. Paul later accepts an offer from his boss to go to Tucson to work on a business merger between two rival companies. He sleeps with Shirley, a woman whom he meets in a bar, visits a sporting goods shop, purchases a revolver and smuggles it back into New York along with a large stash of ammunition.
Meanwhile, Carol's condition has deteriorated to the point where she can no longer feed, wash, or take care of herself. Paul reluctantly signs off on Jack's plan to have her placed in a mental institution. He then purchases a jacket, hat, and gloves and starts looking for criminals, deliberately presenting himself as a harmless, affluent old man in order to attract attention. Paul is eventually held up by a junkie and shoots him three times.
Over the next weeks, Paul keeps up the pretense of being his usual self by going to work and attending social events while discreetly continuing his vigilante activities. He shoots another mugger and a man he catches burglarizing an apartment. He tries more sophisticated tactics, renting a car and leaving it unoccupied with a sign reading "Out of Gas" on the windshield. When two thieves show up to strip the car for parts, Paul shoots them both.
Paul's actions lead to him being dubbed "the vigilante" in the press, and divides the public over whether his killings are justified. The police declare him a menace, and a magazine runs an article where a psychiatrist accurately describes Paul's motivations and personal history, and states that if he is insane, it is because he is acting against social norms that prevent ordinary people from acting on their base desires for revenge. One night, Paul shoots at a group of young people throwing bricks and rocks at a subway train. While hunting for his quarry, a beat cop stumbles onto the scene and recognizes Paul as the vigilante. Unwilling to commit suicide, Paul is about to surrender when the cop tips his hat and walks away. Paul finishes his work and quietly heads home.
A feature film based on the novel was made in 1974, starring Charles Bronson in the lead role as Paul Benjamin, the surname being changed to Kersey and his profession being an architect, and directed by Michael Winner. [2] [3] A 2018 remake, starring Bruce Willis in the lead role, also named "Kersey" and profession being changed to surgeon, was by Eli Roth.
In 1975, Garfield was inspired to write the book sequel Death Sentence , because he was so disappointed in the 1974 film adaption. He described it as "incendiary", because he felt upset that the film's audience was encouraged by the violence and vigilantism, despite the story being against both topics in his book, in which Charles Bronson agreed with. Garfield thought that Bronson was miscast as Paul Kersey, because when the action-star appeared on screen, Garfield commented "you knew he was going to start blowing people away", which spoiled the plot-twist of his story for the audience who had never read the book. Director Michael Winner dismissed the author's criticisms, calling him an "idiot".
Paul was originally depicted in the novel as something of a pacifist weakling, with no previous life experience dealing with issues of revenge or violence. Winner wanted Bronson for the role. Bronson noted that, given he was really known better as a customary Hollywood tough guy, he was ill-suited for the part, saying, "I was really a miscast person. It was more a theme that would have been better for Dustin Hoffman or somebody who could play a weaker kind of man. I told them that at the time." The screenplay went through several writers and revisions to better adapt the role for Bronson. [4] [5]
Vigilantism is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.
Charles Bronson was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Born into extreme poverty in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, Bronson's father, a miner, died when Bronson was young. Bronson himself worked in the mines as well until joining the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 to fight in World War II. After his service, he joined a theatrical troupe and studied acting. During the 1950s, he played various supporting roles in motion pictures and television, including anthology drama TV series in which he would appear as the main character. Near the end of the decade, he had his first cinematic leading role in Machine-Gun Kelly (1958).
Death Wish II is a 1982 American vigilante action-thriller film directed and co-edited by Michael Winner. It is the first of four sequels to the 1974 film Death Wish. It is the second installment in the Death Wish film series. In the story, architect Paul Kersey moves to Los Angeles with his daughter. After his daughter is murdered at the hands of several gang members, Kersey once again chooses to become a vigilante. Unlike the original, in which he hunts down every criminal he encounters, Kersey only pursues his family's attackers. The sequel makes a complete breakaway from the Brian Garfield novels Death Wish and Death Sentence, redefining the Paul Kersey character. It was succeeded by Death Wish 3.
Joe Chill is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the character first appeared in Detective Comics #33.
"The Death of Jean DeWolff" is a four-part story arc featuring the popular Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man. It comprises the comics Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107–110. The story was written by Peter David, penciled by Rich Buckler, and inked by Brett Breeding, Josef Rubinstein, Kyle Baker and Pat Redding. It was the second professional comic book writing assignment for David and the beginning of his "break" into comic book writing.
Brian Francis Wynne Garfield was an Edgar Award-winning American novelist, historian and screenwriter. A Pulitzer Prize finalist, he wrote his first published book at the age of eighteen. Garfield went on to author more than seventy books across a variety of genres, selling more than twenty million copies worldwide. Nineteen were made into films or TV shows. He is best known for Death Wish (1972), which launched a lucrative franchise when it was adapted into the 1974 film of the same title.
Death Wish 3 is a 1985 American vigilante action-thriller film directed and edited by Michael Winner. It is the third film and the last to be directed by Winner in the Death Wish film series. It stars Charles Bronson as the vigilante killer Paul Kersey and sees him battling with New York street punk gangs while receiving tactical support from a local NYPD lieutenant. Despite being set in New York City, some of the filming was shot in London to reduce production costs. It was succeeded by Death Wish 4: The Crackdown.
88 Minutes is a 2007 American thriller film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, Neal McDonough and Benjamin McKenzie. In the film, famed forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jack Gramm (Pacino) is one of the most sought-after profilers in the world. His expert testimony resulted in the conviction of serial killer Jon Forster (McDonough). However, on the eve of Forster's execution, one of Gramm's students is murdered in a vicious copycat crime, and Gramm himself receives an ominous message informing him that he has 88 minutes to live. Filming began in the Vancouver area on October 8, 2005, and wrapped up in December 2005. In 2007 the film was released in various European countries.
Humoresque is a 1946 American melodrama film by Warner Bros. starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield in an older woman/younger man tale about a violinist and his patroness. The screenplay by Clifford Odets and Zachary Gold was based upon the 1919 short story "Humoresque" by Fannie Hurst, which previously was made into a film in 1920. Humoresque was directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Jerry Wald.
Death Sentence is a 2007 American vigilante action thriller film directed by James Wan and starring Kevin Bacon as Nick Hume, a man who takes the law into his own hands after his son is murdered by a gang member as an initiation ritual; Hume must then protect his family from the gang's resulting vengeance. The film is loosely based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Brian Garfield; although the novel is a sequel to Garfield's Death Wish, the film is unconnected to the previous Death Wish film series.
Death Wish is a 1974 American vigilante action-thriller film loosely based on the 1972 novel of the same title by Brian Garfield. Directed by Michael Winner, the film stars Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, an architect who becomes a vigilante after his wife is murdered and daughter molested during a home invasion. It was the first film in the Death Wish film series. It was followed eight years later with Death Wish II and other similar films.
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown is a 1987 American vigilante action-thriller film, and the fourth installment in the Death Wish film series. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson, and features Charles Bronson, who reprises his leading role as Paul Kersey. In the film, Kersey is once again forced to become a vigilante after his girlfriend's daughter dies of a drug overdose. He is recruited by a tabloid owner, Nathan White to take down various crime figures of the Los Angeles drug trade.
Death Wish V: The Face of Death is a 1994 American vigilante action-thriller film and the fifth and final installment in the Death Wish film series, written and directed by Allan A. Goldstein. Charles Bronson reprises his role in both his final theatrical starring role and his final appearance as the character Paul Kersey. In the film, Kersey tries to protect his girlfriend, Olivia Regent from brutal mobsters that are threatening her fashion business.
Death Sentence is a 1975 novel by Brian Garfield, the sequel to Death Wish.
Death Wish franchise is an American vigilante action-thriller film series based on the 1972 novel by Brian Garfield. The films follow the character Paul Kersey, portrayed by Charles Bronson in the original series, and Bruce Willis in the 2018 remake. While the first film received mixed reviews, the subsequent sequels, as well as the remake, were panned by critics. The series made $87 million against a combined production budget of $61 million.
Peacemaker is a 1990 American science fiction action film written and directed by Kevin Tenney. Executive produced by Charles W. Fries and Joel Levine, the film stars Robert Davi, Lance Edwards, and Robert Forster, and follows a doctor who becomes intertwined in a conflict between two extraterrestrials.
Death Wish is a 2018 American vigilante action thriller film that is a remake of the 1974 film of the same name and starring Bruce Willis as Paul Kersey, a Chicago doctor who sets out to get revenge on the men who attacked his family. The film is directed by Eli Roth and written by Joe Carnahan. The film also stars Vincent D'Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Dean Norris, and Kimberly Elise.
Krodham (transl. Fury) is 1982 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller film, directed by A. Jagannathan. The screenplay and story were written by Prem Menon and dialogue written by K. Rangarajan respectively. Music was by Shankar–Ganesh. The film stars Prem Menon, Rani Padmini and S. A. Ashokan. Inspired by the American film Death Wish (1974), it revolves around a man who becomes a ruthless vigilante after his wife is murdered by street punks, after which he randomly goes out and kills would-be muggers on the streets after dark. In 2000, Prem Menon acted and directed the sequel to this film Krodham 2.
Peter Parker, also known by his alter ego Spider-Man, is a fictional superhero portrayed by Tobey Maguire that is based on the comic book character of the same name. He is the protagonist of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film in 2002, its two sequels, and in tie-in video games. This version of the character was followed by Andrew Garfield's portrayal in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man duology (2012–2014), with a further iteration being portrayed by Tom Holland set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) (2016–present). Maguire reprised his role as a supporting character in the MCU film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), appearing as an older version of himself alongside his two successors' versions of the character. To distinguish himself from the two other versions of himself, he is nicknamed "Peter-Two" by them, referred to by Marvel's official website as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and in the film's script as "Raimi-Verse Peter" and "Raimi-Verse Spider-Man".
Peter Benjamin Parker, also known by his alias Spider-Man, is a fictional character and the protagonist of Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man film series. Adapted from the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name, he is portrayed by Andrew Garfield and appears in the films The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as well as being a supporting character in the Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), appearing as a slightly older version of himself alongside two alternate versions of himself from the wider multiverse.