| Death Wish 3 | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Michael Winner |
| Produced by | Menahem Golan Yoram Globus |
| Written by | Brian Garfield (characters) Michael Edmonds (screenplay) |
| Starring | Charles Bronson Deborah Raffin Ed Lauter Martin Balsam Gavan O'Herlihy |
| Music by | Jimmy Page |
| Cinematography | John Stanier |
| Editing by | Arnold Crust |
| Distributed by | Cannon Films (Original Distributor) CBS/Paramount Television (Television Distributor) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Current U.S. Distributor/VHS and DVD Releases) |
| Release date(s) | November 1, 1985 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9 million |
| Box office | $16,116,878[1] |
Death Wish 3 is a 1985 action film starring Charles Bronson as vigilante killer Paul Kersey and is the second sequel to the 1974 film Death Wish. It was written by Don Jakoby (under the pseudonym Michael Edmonds). The film would be the last Death Wish to be directed by Michael Winner.
Despite being set in New York, some of the filming was shot in London to reduce production costs. The film sees Kersey do battle with New York street gangs while receiving tacit support from a local NYPD lieutenant (played by Ed Lauter).
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Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) has come back to Brooklyn after being banned since the events of the first film to visit his Korean War buddy friend Charley, who is attacked by a gang in his apartment. The neighbors hear commotion and call the police. Paul arrives as Charley collapses dead in his arms. The police mistakenly arrest Paul for the murder. At the police station, chief Richard Shriker (Ed Lauter) recognizes Paul as "Mr. Vigilante". Shriker lays down the law before Paul is taken to a holding cell. In the same cell is Manny Fraker (Gavan O'Herlihy), leader of the gang who attacked and killed Charley. He and Paul fight. When he is released, Manny threatens Paul. Manny arrives on his “gang turf” and slashes fellow gang member Hector (David Crean), possibly for betrayal. The police receive daily reports about the increased rate of crime. Shriker offers a deal to Paul -- to kill all the punks he wants, as long as he informs Shriker of any gang activity he hears about so the police can get a bust and make news.
Paul moves into Charley's apartment in a gang-turf war zone. The building is populated by elderly tenants terrified of Manny's gang. They include Bennett Cross (Martin Balsam), a World War II veteran and Charley’s good buddy, plus Mr. and Mrs. Kaprov, an elderly Jewish couple, and a young Hispanic couple, Rodriguez (Joseph Gonzalez) and his wife Maria (Marina Sirtis). After a few violent muggings, Kersey goes into action. He buys a used car as bait. When two gang members try to break into the car, Kersey shoots them with a .38 Colt Cobra revolver. Kersey twice protects Maria from the gang, but is unable to save her a third time. She is raped and later dies as a result of her injuries.
Kersey orders a new gun, a .475 Wildey Magnum. He spends the afternoon with Bennett handloading ammunition for it. He then tests the gun when The Giggler (Kirk Taylor) steals his camera bag. Paul is applauded by the neighborhood as Shriker and the police take the credit. Kersey also throws a gang member off a roof. A possible love interest develops with public defender Kathryn Davis (Deborah Raffin). She is moving out of the city and Kersey offers to take her to dinner. While waiting in his car, Kathryn is knocked unconscious by Manny and the car is pushed into oncoming traffic. It slams into another car and explodes, killing Kathryn.
Shriker places Kersey under protective custody, fearing he is in too deep. Bennett takes matters into his hands with a German MG-42. After his taxi shop is blown up, he tries to get even but his gun jams. The gang cripples Bennett. Kersey is taken by Shriker to the hospital, where he escapes after Bennett tells him where to find a .30 Browning M1919 machine gun. Kersey and Rodriguez collect weapons. They proceed to mow down many of the criminals before running out of ammo. Other neighbors begin fighting back as Manny sends in more reinforcements.
Shriker decides to help and he and Kersey take down much of the gang together. Kersey goes back to the apartment to collect more ammo, but Manny finds him there. Shriker arrives just in time and shoots Manny, who falls to the floor, apparently dead. Shriker is wounded in the arm (but his life is saved by a bulletproof vest). As Kersey calls for an ambulance, Manny rises (he was also wearing a bulletproof vest) and turns his gun on the two men. As Shriker distracts him, Kersey finds a way to obliterate Manny once and for all. He uses a mail-ordered M72 LAW rocket launcher to blow up Manny. As Manny's girlfriend screams in horror, what remains of the gang rush to the scene and see Manny's smoldering remains. One of the other gang members attempts to retaliate, but Manny's girlfriend stops him. Surrounded by the angry crowds of neighbors ready to fight back even more, the gang realizes they've lost and flee the scene. As the neighbors cheer in celebration and with police sirens in the distance, Shriker gives Kersey a head start. Kersey gives a look of appreciation and takes off.
Even though Death Wish 3 takes place in New York City, some parts of the film was shot in London to make the production less expensive. As a result, some of the extras (both police and gang members) were British. When filming was complete, Michael Winner solicited the help of U.S. Air Force military personnel stationed at High Wycombe Air Station in the UK to provide dubbing with their New York accents for the accents of the British extras.
Weapons used in the film include a Wildey .475 caliber handgun, a .38 caliber snubnose revolver, a German WWII MG-42, a Browning .30 machine gun and an anti-tank rocket launcher.
When first released in theaters, Death Wish 3 was greeted with primarily negative reviews, particularly from critics like Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Some lambasted the film for sadistic, overly-violent content and the fact that a 64-year-old Charles Bronson was thrown into a Rambo-like situation. Leonard Maltin panned the film: "Same old stuff; Bronson's 'ordinary guy' character is no longer convincing, since his entire immediate family was wiped out by the end of Part 2."
In recent years, it has gathered a cult following, possibly due to its over-the-top nature, including lengthy action scenes (particularly the shoot 'em up finale), stylized violence, cheesy dialogue, and memorable one-liners. While it currently holds an average rating of 5.6 at IMDB, it has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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