History Film / Deathwish

* GunNut: Ames, a client of Paul's firm who takes him out to a target range is a fairly pleasant man despite his vocal disdain for liberals. He ends up giving Paul the gun that he later uses in his rampages.

A 1974 action-neo-noir-crime-drama film based on [[Literature/DeathWish the 1972 novel]] by Brian Garfield (who also wrote ''Film/DeathSentence''). The film was directed by Creator/MichaelWinner and stars Creator/CharlesBronson (the actor, not [[Film/{{Bronson}} the prisoner]]).

* {{Deconstruction}}: The first movie was one toward the "vigilante revange flicks" of its era.

* AgonizingStomachWound: The first mugger, Thomas Leroy Marston is shot in the stomach and thrashes on the ground in clear pain for several seconds. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Paul stares at his handiwork]] and then runs off, throwing up once he returns to his apartment. [[ItGetsEasier The experience doesn't stop him going out the next night]] looking for more criminals to avenge himself on.

* BlandNameProduct: ''Time'' Magazine appears as "Tempo".

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:The three rapists and killers from the first film, who start Kersey on his road toward vigilantism, are (presumably) never caught by the cops or killed by Kersey. In the sequels, however, the trope is averted; if you're a bad guy, then you're not leaving the movie alive.]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:The three muggers and rapists from the first film, who start Kersey's road toward vigilantism, are (presumably) never caught by the cops or killed by Kersey. In the sequels, however, the trope is averted; if you're a bad guy, then you're not leaving the movie alive.]]

* FingerGun: Paul Kersey does this to a group of thugs at Chicago's Union Station in a freeze-frame shot at the end of the film, signifying that his days as a vigilante are not yet over.

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. 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.

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 CreatorBacklash in Trivia), but it was seen as speaking to a growing mood in the United States as crime rose during [[TheSeventies the 1970s]].

* FingerGun: Paul Kersey does this at the thugs at end of the movie in a freeze frame shot, signifying that his days as "the Vigilante" are not yet over.

-->'''Ames:''' ''(laughs)'' Oh Christ, what a guest to bring to a gun club! You're probably one of them knee-jerk liberals; thinks us gun boys shoot our guns because it's an extension of our penises.\\

* TheQuincyPunk: Like most CannonFilms, the thugs are primarily punks and all punks are thugs.

* BoisterousWeakling: One of Paul's more conservative coworkers who is a supporter of the vigilantism doesn't' take him up on a dare to walk though a bad part of town and see if crime really is down.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown:

* AgonizingStomachWound: The first mugger, Thomas Leroy Marston is shot in the stomach and thrashes on the ground in clear pain for several seconds.

-->'''Ames:''' I suppose you're one of those liberals who think [[FreudWasRight our guns are a substitute for our penises]].
-->'''Kersey:''' I never thought about it that way. Maybe it's true.
-->'''Ames:''' Maybe. But this is gun country.

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 ([[UnintentionalPeriodPiece 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.

* AdultFear: The thought of your loved ones getting brutally raped and/or murdered when you're not around to help is a pretty potent fear for most people.

* BerserkButton: Paul is an equal-opportunity vigilante crook-killer, but he is a lot more vicious when dealing with rapists, muggers and drug addicts, [[spoiler:all of whom were responsible for his greatest tragedies.]]

* [[spoiler: TapToTheHead: Brutally averted. Mrs. Kersey is realistically rendered unconscious for just a few seconds after a few hard punches to the head. When she comes to she’s horribly disoriented and barely able to move. Then a final blow proves to be fatal (It’s possible she would’ve died anyway.)]]

* RealityEnsues: In the original the hoodlums who rape Paul's daughter and murder his wife are never seen again. Being as it was just a random act of violence by assailants with no connection to the victims and the only witness is catatonic [[KarmaHoudini there’s no way anyone will figure out who they were.]] This is completely averted in sequels.

* BadassMustache: Paul sports one.

* Anti-Hero: Paul. When you're a vigilante, you kinda fall under this category.

* [[spoiler:BigBad:]] [[spoiler:[[AvertedTrope Averted]], as there is no singular main villain.]]

* INeedAFreakingDrink: Paul drinks a couple of time in the film to deal with the stress in his life.
* IWasNeverHere: Ochoa tells the patrolman who finds Paul and evidence of his crimes to forget he saw Paul’s gun.
* [[spoiler:KarmaHoudini:]] [[spoiler:The three muggers and rapists from the first film, who start Kersey's road toward vigilantism, are (presumably) never caught by the cops or killed by Kersey. In the sequels, however, the trope is averted; if you're a bad guy, then you're not leaving the movie alive.]]

* VigilanteMan: ''Death Wish'' is probably the TropeCodifier for this character type in media. Also an UnbuiltTrope as the film pioneered the urban vigilante concept, but it also showed how dangerous it would be.

* UnbuiltTrope: The ''Death Wish'' saga pioneered the urban VigilanteMan concept, but it also showed how dangerous it would be. The ViolenceIsDisturbing and graphic but infrequent, and the men who kill and rape Paul's wife and daughter are not sadistic arch-villains, they're a couple of random, violent mugs [[spoiler:who just disappear into the night [[RealityEnsues and are never seen again, as Paul has no idea how to find them.]]]] Basically, the first film avoided all of the cliches that its many sequels and imitators would go on to play unabashedly straight.

* FamousLastWords:
** "Just leave her alone!" Joanna Kersey
** "Gimme your money, or I'll bust you up!" Thomas Leroy Marston

* RealityEnsues:
** Only in the first film where the attackers are never seen again. Sadly with that type of crime, and forensics at the time, the only evidence would be the description of a traumatized victim. Modern day audiences likely assume the climax will be a confrontation with the guys who raped his daughter and murdered his wife, but how would he even know who they are?
** Being a vigilante is ''really dangerous''. There are two separate occasions where Paul is seriously injured by the muggers he's fighting, once where he's stabbed, another where he's shot.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Paul is a pacifist, but he learned to use guns during his younger years [[spoileddespite later serving as a combat medic in the UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar.]] And it shows.