Death Wish

Starring:Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats, William Redfield, Stuart Margolin, Stephen Elliott, Kathleen Tolan, Jack Wallace, Fred J. Scollay, Chris Gampel, Robert Kya-Hill, Edward Grover, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Logan, Gregory Rozakis, Floyd Levine, Helen Martin (II), Hank Garrett, Christopher Guest
Director: Michael Winner
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Customer Reviews:

IS IT JUST MY IMAGINATION..........2007-05-03

... or were certain scenes edited from this DVD version just like Paramount did with "Thief Of Hearts"? I could have sworn the rape scene was originally longer and more graphic.

Good Drama.......2007-03-09

The rape scene at the beginning is very graphic but is essential to the story about Charles Bronson's character becoming a vigilante. We have to know why he is so frustrated into taking matters in his own hands. It is interesting to see how the police chief breaks the case and how he handles it in the end.

Replacement.......2007-03-09

Liked it 20 years ago and like it now. I lost my original(loaned it out one too many times). This is a replacement.

A product of its time.......2007-02-16

A lot has been said,HERE,in various reviews,about how this film reflects the time in which it was made..while true on many levels,few have ventured to guess why such a film may have mirrored its time so well..Paul Kersey,the Bronson charecter,the vigilante,was portrayed as a fortyish fellow which,in 1974,would have given him a birthdate before the second world war..Now while world history may have been in turmoil during the '30s,the '40s,and even into the '50s,local history,the history of american neighborhoods and communities,lumbered along pretty much as it always had...most people more or less trusted most of thier neighbors,doors were not always double-bolted,violence was from gangsters or as a result of some flare-up between friends or relatives...it was not random,it was not gratious..
The perpetrators in"Death Wish",dope addicts,muggers,random sadists,belong to a later generation,twenty or so years younger than Kersey..thier world is a world fueled by drugs,by freedoms without responsibility,and they inhabit a world that was rapidly turning to manure..laws had no teeth...communities were fragmented,over race,over the viet-nam conflict,over politics..Kennedy and King were not even a decade in thier graves...The court system,along with the lawyers,had begun taking a generation-long run at the laws necessary to hold the world in check..Victims were secondary to thier victimisers in terms of the legal community and the court system,and the police were restrained from both protecting the innocent or doing any real damage to the guilty...
This is the world in which this film operates...Kersey,a product of that other,older world,expected some protection for himself and his family,expected that the law would function as it should,and was horribly surprised to find that it did not..His world was shattered,and nothing whatever was done to rectify it...
Becoming a vigilante,while a step,was not one that was without precedent..at about this same time,in New York where this film was set,the real world had just encountered Bernard Goetz,the so-called"subway shooter"..a meek nebbish,Goetz had claimed that he was subject to threats and harrassment,on a subway car,from several youths,some of which Goetz had then shot...Given the criminal records some of his victims had,Goetz became something of a hero to the same sort of people as our mister Kersey,although,as in the film,law-enforcement took a very dim view of Goetz or his solution to this sort of problem...Indeed,despite the ample evidence that Goetz was indeed threatened by at least some of the youths involved,he,and not they,was the focus of police activity...
So then,do we have here a film that saw a real event and then re-wrote it to adapt better as a screen thriller,or do we have a film that absorbed much of what was going on in real life at that time and regurgitated it back as a harrowing vision?
This first film was the best of the lot..All of the others that came afterward had less and less to say about why such a fellow as Kersey might be able to operate as he did,opting instead to raise the blood and body-count levels.ironicly playing to the same sense and senibilities in the audience as Kersey the killer was gunning down on the cinematic streets...For as the death wish films repeated themselves endlessly thier core audience seemed more interested in violence and less interested in motivation,or consequences...and the Kersey charecter became a mere killing machine,piling up the bodies,but offering no solutions other than becoming the same sort of offender as those he turned his guns upon...
For Bronson,"Death Wish"was something of a turning point..In many of his films before he had cultivated a neat sort of personna,a half bad good guy,seen in"The Mechanic",
"The Magnificent Seven"and a number of other similiar vehicles..This film allowed Bronson to act,rather than to re-act,and it showed that he was more able to do so than was perhaps generally thought at that time...Alas,after"Death Wish"Bronson more or less gave in to the urge to become a"star"rather than remaining an actor..much of what he pumped out afterwards,with few exceptions,played to a core audience that went to see gunfire,blood and lots of violent activity,with little plotline and even less acting...
Is"Death Wish"a good movie?Yes,in it's way..It says a lot about the way we were,and even more about why we are the way we are now..

The original and the best!!!.......2007-02-15

Although, I was only exactly four years old on July 24, 1974, the date in which this movie was released but from all the accounts I have read from that time,and even from some of the reviews written here already, New York City`s crime rate was rather high. This movie tapped into what people`s feeelings were as far as the crime issue goes during that time.
Unless you lived in that era, it is hard to see how a film like this could be so controversial at the time. But the very thought of an ordinary citizen taking the law into his own hands was unheard of. After many years of insipid sequels and countless imitators, Death Wish still shines like a gem.
This is one of Bronson`s best performances. He is the peaceable middle aged, longish haired,liberal architect Paul kersey until his world is shattered. Scenes that are noteworthy of Bronson`s acting are;
a)When kersey is waiting at the hospital withis son in law, Jack about news relating to his wife and daughter.
b) When he receives news that his wife has died, he starts to break down.
c) Before plugging his first victm, kersey is overcome with fear. Does he shoot or hand over the money. The former option wins out and after shooting his would be mugger, Kersey is just watching his victim writhe in pain . He is in a state of hesitancy and shock before he hightails it back to his apartment.
d)Whe he arrives at his apartment, Kersey feels nauseous and weak from what he has just done. The liberal architect turned vigilante races for the toilet and vomits.
The fim explores kersey`s transformation into a vigilante who becomes more cocksure of himself . He rides on a subway train carrying a bag full of groceries and in a diner, he counts out large amount of bills openly in order to lure muggers into his trap.
And another favorite scene of mine is when kersey and some of his associates are sitting at a resturaunt, there is a televised press conference in which the NYPD commissioner is urging the vigilante to desist from his one man crusade and turn himself into the police. The patrons are all attentive to the Tv set, unaware the vigilante is amongst them. Our hero simply smirks at the commissioners suggestion to turn himself in while he`s downing his dinner, almost as in a taunt; `No, let`s see if you can try and get me.'
Eventually, the police do get their man after Kersey is injured by muggers during his vigilante quest. Inspector Ochoa orders Kersey at his hospital bed to leave NYC, but it doesnt mean that Kersey won`t stop his his crusade. Once he arrives at the main Chicago train sation, he sees a bunch of skells harassing a young woman. Kersey goes over to help her gather her luggage which was strewn all over the place by the skells. The skells see this and start mocking him. Our vigilante smiles and points an imaginary gun in their direction.
This is a great movie and a provactive one at that. Many critics were split in their opinions with no middle ground. They either loved it or hated it. And the public flocked to this movie in droves. It was one of the top ten movies in `74.
Unfortunatley, the lameness of the sequels and countless imitators have diluted the impact of this classic somewhat. But it still remains a gripping, intriguing movie.
This is one of Charles Bronson`s best performances and he is very convincing and believable as the conscientious objector turned vigilante. His later performances in the subsequent sequels were as emotional amd involved as a wet dish rag. Steven Keats is excellent as the beleagured son in law, Jack, and Vincent Gardenia shines as the police inspector Frank Ochoa who is determined to apprehend the vigilante.

Average customer rating:

a keeper
Two thumbs up!
A Son's Promise

Son's Promise
Starring: David Andrews , Dan Biggers , Veronica Cartwright , Stephen Dorff , and Grayson Fricke
Director: John Korty
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Customer Reviews:

a keeper.......2007-06-17

This type of story is a difficult one to pull off, but this movie does it. Not a dull moment. Things keep changing all the time. The emotional tension remains tight all the way through, yet the movie never becomes oppressive. There are a number of relieving moments of achievement, of aid from other people, of being befriended by strangers. The characters, especially the father, are all realistic. No stereotypes here. The father is a real horror. Unfortunately, such people are not only real but not uncommon.

Rick Shroeder does an excellent job with the acting and with the Georgia accent. Not a trace of his natural southern California accent comes through in any of the scenes.

Good movie for the whole family. Worth watching again.

Two thumbs up!.......2007-05-07

WONDERFUL movie starring Ricky Shroeder about an older brother trying desperately to hold his siblings together as a family, despite an alcoholic father who tries to defeat him at every turn, and greedy people who try to take advantage of his good fortune when things start to turn around. Ricky portrays an older teen with just the right mix of confidence, confusion, exhaustion and frustration. He definitely makes you believe in the character.

A Son's Promise .......2004-12-17

This is story is such a touching and very loving story. I would recommend this story to all my friends.

Average customer rating:

Sleazy and scuzzy ..........
Graphic
eight years after the first , death wish2 comes out to join the action 80's
Pure Revenge
deathwish 2

Death Wish 2
Starring: Charles Bronson , Jill Ireland , Vincent Gardenia , J.D. Cannon , and Anthony Franciosa
Director: Michael Winner
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000YEEQM
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Description

Paul Kersey is not your ordinary victim: He fights back Â- with a vengeance! Legendary tough guy Charles Bronson resumes his trademark role as the hard-as-nails urban avenger in this hard-hitting, action-packed sequel! With the murder of his wife and the revenge against her killers now behind him, Kersey begins a new life in L.A. But tragedy is never far from his door, and when a group of local hoods viciously assaults his daughter, they unleash a wrath unlike anything the city has ever seen. Kersey has the face of each of them branded in his memory, and he will not rest until he tracks every one of them downÂ...and puts them all in the ground!

Customer Reviews:

Sleazy and scuzzy .................2007-02-15

As with most great movies, sequelidas has to follow and the original classic , Death Wish was not spared from this. Number two followed eight years later.
Th gang rape scene has to be one of the most gratuitous and unpleasant moments in movie history. I know rape is not supposed to be a pleasurable experience, but was it really necessary to have it as long as it was? I dont know about anyone else,but I was squirming thorugh this. The rape scene from the first movie was brutal too, but it only lasted a few minutes and was used effectivley in conveying that senseless crime . This scene from Death Wish 2 seems to convey director Michael Winner`s sick fantasies.
Ironically, the actress who played Bronson`s gang -raped maid gives the best peformance of the entire movie. The late Bronson,his wife Jill Ireland(never one of the better actresses in history), and surprisingly, Vincent Gardenia ,turn in weak, ineffective performances. Bronson`s peformance is statuesque and I dont mean on a grand scale..He demonstrates the emotions and range of a statue.
This is poorly directed, cheap and grainy film making if you can call it film making. After the brutalization and murders of his daughter and maid, Bronson embarks on a dreary chase for the thugs in which he surprisingly remembers all their faces from two brief encounters. Predictable results follow, obviously, since there were three more sequels on the way.

Graphic.......2006-11-28

I have to agree with the highlighted review above. This film is very disturbingly graphic in the depiction of the group rape scene. I do have to doubt the validity of that whole scene being there in the first place. It is definitely not for under 18 viewers, and in some cases, not for those weak at heart/ emotions.

That being said, overall , it follows as a decent sequel to Death Wish 1. Not a buy, but you can rent it out on a Saturday night when your bored and definitely *NOT* with your loved one or family..

eight years after the first , death wish2 comes out to join the action 80's.......2006-06-02

really this is just an action movie that was made to cash in on the 80's action craze. this has very little to do with the 1974 origanal, which was a serious study of crime and the vigilante mind set! this is just an action movie and while the cast looks like they are sleepwalking through the movie it is fun in the action movie mode(if it is very excessive this time it's because it is just following the trend by this time)!
not a great one but it still is better than the last two in the series!

Pure Revenge.......2006-04-24

Charles Bronson picks up where he left off in the famous "Death Wish" movie of 1976, going after punks and eliminating them. The only differences: he's moved from New York to Los Angeles and the violence is more graphic.

Despite the B-movie feel to this (produced by the kings of the cheapo movies of that era (70s and early 80s) : Golan/Globus, it still is very enjoyable and satisfying - if revenge is your thing. Here, Bronson revenges the death of his daughter. At least her death is quick and bloodless, unlike the unpleasant rape-and-murder scene in the first film.
Also, unlike the first film there is no need for a long setup. Bronson gets back in his vigilante mode in a hurry here and never lets up. If you want a short dose (an hour and a half) of action, this is your movie. One of the gang members in here, by the way, is a young Laurence Fishburne.

The negatives are (1) sub-par acting performances by Bronson and his real-life wife, Jill Ireland; (2) some blatant credibility problems with the story ( such as how Bronson could get across town all bloody but never be noticed;) and (3) not exactly the most intelligent dialog!

Yet, this is still an appealing movie to our conditioned satisfaction for instant revenge. So, if you've had a bad day and need a release of your hostilities, this is a good remedy!

deathwish 2.......2006-03-10

excellent film this is the full uncut version bronson at his best however the group rape scene is very diturbing not recomended for under 18 due to the graphic scenes

Average customer rating:

This is the best movie of this series... I love it!
My least favorite of the series
"Who's Wildey?"
Violent. Violent. Violent. And Funny.
Cidade de Kersey, or the Problem with Being Pally with Paul

Death Wish 3
Starring: Charles Bronson , Deborah Raffin , Ed Lauter , Martin Balsam , and Gavan O'Herlihy
Director: Michael Winner
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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ASIN: B0000YEEQW
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Description

Paul Kersey doesn't seek out violence. It just seems to find him. But when it does he's not about to back down! Charles Bronson brings out the heavy artillery in this gun-blazing, no-holds-barred thriller! Road-worn and battle-weary, Kersey longs to leave his fighting days behind him. Butwhen he arrives in New York to visit an old friend, he finds him brutally attacked and gasping for breath in a pool of blood! Now the silent avenger must wage war once more on the city's punks, thugsand hoodlums. But this time he's brought a small arsenal of guns, knivesand even a bazookato help him!

Customer Reviews:

This is the best movie of this series... I love it!.......2007-03-11

The video quality of this DVD is reason enough to give it 5 stars. They definately used good cameras to film this movie, and it shows in this DVD. So it's unusually good for an 80's movie. The only extras are trailers. And yes, I could watch this movie over and over, espically the last half hour. The scenes where someone tries to steal his car and his camera are priceless too.

My least favorite of the series.......2006-12-01

Of all the Death Wish movies, this one is my least favorite. Though Bronson's performance is fine and consistent as always, the other actors in this film are mostly not very good.

For one thing, there isn't much plot in this film. Its like a big excuse to have Bronson shoot people.

The bad guys in this film are 80's punks. Well, I used to be one of those back then and frankly, this movie portrays punks in a rediculous way. If anyone actually walked around looking as bad as these people do, they'd have been laughed out of the Village! Plus, they all look much too old to be acting like a bunch of teenage thugs, so instead of seeming threatening, they're like mentally challenged, homeless idiots. The leader of the gang, especially so. Its completely not believable, all the way down to the idea that these weirdos would actually be living in that horrible section of what I believe was Brooklyn in abandoned buildings. Its also rediculous that they would come into people's apartments on a regular basis and steal from them.

The cops are as unbelievable as the punks and the most annoying character of all was a little old lady with a super-annoying fake accent! She and everyone else kept referring to the gang as "creeps" and nobody says that in a more annoying voice than this old lady did. Between that voice and her stupid grimaces, I wished Bronson would have put her out of her misery along with the gang members.

Frankly, this movie is comical and rediculous. Tons of shooting but little plot or substance. I would have given it no stars if Bronson wasn't in it, but his performance is worth the 3 stars I gave this film.

Buy it used as cheap as you can. Its not worth full price.

"Who's Wildey?".......2006-11-01

They just don't make movies like this anymore.

The third entry of this excessively violent series has our
man Kersey on his way to visit his ol' buddy Charlie, who just
happens to live in an extremely seedy neighborhood overrun by
coked-out gang members with too much time on their hands. As soon
as Kersey gets off the bus he is bumped by a few gang members,
apparently this man attracts street trash like a magnet. Never
getting a moments peace, Kersey listens over the phone as
his old friend's insides are pulverized into mush.

Kersey apparently entered New York with his luckless buddy Murphy as
he steps into his murdered friend's apartment only to be
quickly apprehended by the local authorities. Enter the rights
violating police chief, whom gives Paul an ultimatum:
either help them clean up the streets or spend the rest of
his life behind bars. Of course he chooses the
former -- hell, heads need to roll for the death of Charlie.

Soon, Kersey is welcomed by a few of the warm-hearted,
victimized tenants that each have their own grievances
to share. Little time is spent fraternizing for Kersey has
an obligation to fill; to fill with bullets. One of the
most comical moments is when Kersey non-chalantly gets up
from a Jewish couples' dinner table to deal with a few
lowlifes attempting to steal his car. The dialogue is classic.
This overtly defying act gets the attention of the gang leader
who soon declares war on Kersey, the downtrodden tenants of the
rundown building and anyone casually walking home carrying a
bag full of groceries.

Our man actually manages to fit in a little romance
in between filling punks with lead. An aggressive lawyer quickly
becomes infatuated with Kersey soon after his release from
jail. She literally travels to the same crime-filled neighborhood
that Charlie died in so she could ask the infamous vigilante out to dinner.
Unfortunately she was unaware that it doesn't pay to know Paul Kersey, and she learns this lesson painfully. The romance seemed too forced and awkward and the director obviously seen fit to end it
abruptly. This loss however is no real heartache for our
desensitized hero for it took time out of his murderous schedule.

Soon after, a war breaks out as the streets are inundated
by gang members shooting civilians and cops as Keresy makes his
own giant holes in any fool even resembling a gangster. It truly
becomes an action parody in the latter parts of this film.

There are no bonus features worth mentioning. All we get
is the original theatrical trailer. Hopefully some time
in the near future we will see a Special Collector's Edition.

Violent. Violent. Violent. And Funny........2006-10-15

DEATH WISH 3 is, for its time, an extremely violent movie. Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is a seemingly placid soul who goes about killing several hundred thugs and crooks in 1980's NYC. The "plot" finds Kersey returning to NYC where he visits an old war buddy, whom Kersey finds dying on his apartment floor, a victim of intruding gangs. Having lost his friend, Kersey decides to move into his buddy's old apartment and take up a war against the gangs overrunning the neighborhood. I wouldn't even say this is a tale of revenge, because you never get the sense that Kersey gives a damn about his friend's death. It's basically an invitation to kill, something Kersey accepts when a police commissioner asks for "help" in thinning out the criminal herds.

Kersey, a character born from the "silent majority" of the Nixon Era, has no character arc, no narrative, no place to go where he will eventually find peace. This movie is a showcase for violence-- funny, absurd, over-the-top violence. Whether on purpose or not, there are several classic moments that make this movie worthwhile. And Bronson's deadpan delivery makes his sparse dialogue memorable. This is crude, terrible filmmaking that I greatly enjoyed to the very end.

Cidade de Kersey, or the Problem with Being Pally with Paul.......2006-08-19

For Death Wish 3, director Michael Winner knew he couldn't just follow the same template he had on the first two films. It had worked for those, especially as the first was a bit rough, feeling a bit like trying to find one's way in the darkness, and the second almost perfected the formula, even if that meant stumbling into a contradictorily attractive sewer. Of course, Death Wish 3 still basically a revenge flick featuring Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey, an oddly charismatic architect turned vigilante taking out hordes of theatrical punks, but Winner expands on the previous films here, bringing in allusions to other genres and films, and giving Death Wish 3 added thematic and emotional dimensions.

One of the new dimensions may have been somewhat unintentional, but it's one of my favorite modes, so it worked extremely well for me--an absurdist humor that stems from the context of all three Death Wish films as a continual story. By this point in the series, Kersey has such incredibly bad luck--it seems that to be or become chummy with him in any way is virtually a death sentence--that it is hilarious. This aspect is amplified by the fact that Bronson deadpans his way through the film. So when he expresses hesitation for a romantic relationship because of past events, and both reassurance and disaster quickly follow, it's as funny as tragic in context of the three films. Winner also incorporates a lot of intentional humor and irony as the film progresses.

Winner doesn't caricature his crime-ridden city as much as he did previously, but his gangs, or at least some gang members, still have a bit of Broadway to them. However, it's much easier to take the setting's anarchic state seriously, especially since Death Wish 3 is set in Brooklyn (the East New York section) during the tail end of its worst crime period. There is a bit of the feel and probably an influence from The Warriors (1979) here.

The major way that Winner breaks his previous plot template is that this time most of Kersey's Brooklyn neighbors join in the fray. The idea is a lot of fun. It not only gives us a couple handfuls of attractive, new characters to root for, but it gives Death Wish 3 the opportunity to mix its usual mood with elements from both war films and westerns. The Mad Max films (1979 and 1981) also seem to have been an influence, and Aliens (1986) was to expand its plot in a similar way the following year.

To make the war-like scope of Death Wish 3 believable, Winner also makes the smart move of putting the head of police, Richard S. Shriker (Ed Lauter), on Kersey's side, after a pleasantly gritty and surprising opening that first has them at loggerheads.

Winner was also smart to retain most of Jimmy Page's score for Death Wish 2. That it's the same score isn't at all a minus, as Page primarily composed a series of leitmotifs for characters and moods, so they serve to give Death Wish 3 a more solid continuity from the previous film. The additional music here, which wasn't by Page, isn't nearly as good, which is making me a bit anxious about Death Wish 4, because Page's music was dropped there.

For me, this is an odd series to this point because of the continual rise in the series' quality. I still have never watched Death Wish 4 or 5, so it will be interesting to see if the series can continue the trend. There isn't much further up to go.

Average customer rating:

An Excellent and Riveting Drama - Not to be Missed
Extremely touching movie!
A Rare Movie without a Male Ego at its Center
Sentimental, just like me
a real tearjerker! you will not live '"without" it....

My Life Without Me
Starring: Sarah Polley , Amanda Plummer , Scott Speedman , Leonor Watling , and Deborah Harry
Director: Isabel Coixet
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00013WWSY
Release Date: 2004-02-24

Amazon.com

It sounds like Love Story, but with an intriguing twist. 23-year-old wife and mom Sarah Polley has spent her entire life sacrificing for others and living on the economic fringe; when she discovers she has only a few months to live, she resolves to keep the news secret. In her remaining time, she plots a course for various unfinished plans and deferred dreams: write a journal, leave future messages for her kids, make a stranger (Mark Ruffalo) fall in love with her. Obviously, the danger of sentimentality lurks in director Isabel Coixet's concept, and the film does have a few soggy moments. Some critics lost patience with the main character's seeming selfishness (a good post-movie conversation starter). Yet there is something powerful in her insistence on claiming a small piece of existence exclusively for herself. Polley (Guinevere) gives a typically honest performance, with fine support by Scott Speedman and Deborah Harry. --Robert Horton

Description

Sarah Polley stars as Ann, a young wife and mother who's recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness. After vowing to keep her terrible news a secret, Ann begins living with an intensity she never thought possible. With senses heightened and passions rekindled, she quickly begins putting her life in order. Gripping, joyful and sensitive, My Life Without Me is a touching tale for today that challenges us to live as if there were no tomorrow. Sarah Polley (eXistenZ, Sweet Hereafter, Go, Mark Ruffalo (You Can Count on Me, In the Cut),Scott Speedman (Underworld, TV's Felicity),Deborah Harry (Spun, Blonde).

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent and Riveting Drama - Not to be Missed.......2007-01-10

What would you do if you knew your time was almost up? Sarah Polley carries this film beautifully with a phenomenal performance as a young mother knocking on death's door. But she does not rollover gently into that good night. Instead, she takes action to make sure she lives life to the fullest while secretly preparing her family for the future without her. Do not miss this excellent and riveting drama.

Extremely touching movie!.......2006-09-14

I bought this movie just because I really loved Isabel Coixet's
"Things I never told you" film. But "My life without me" blew me away cos it was so moving. I saw lots of movies about some people who are going to die cos of some illness, but i never experienced one who was THAT touching. Though i still can't understand why the lead character refused to tell anyone of her loved ones of her tumor, i couldn't help but cry during many scenes. And just like in "Things i never told you",there's a laundromat scene where two people get together ( but here it plays differently than in the Lili Taylor film ). And like always, is Isabel Coixet a master of great production design which is the i - point to this great movie. One of the best Dramas ever made!!! If you enjoyed this movie, please check out these other great (touching) films:

Things I never told you (by Isabel Coixet)

Paris,Texas (by Wim Wenders)

In a year with 13 moons (by R.W.Fassbinder)

Arizona dream (by Emir Kusturica)

A Rare Movie without a Male Ego at its Center.......2006-08-31

Never mind the supposed hackneyed plot of imminent death, and what other reviewers have to say about it; I think "My Life Without Me" is essentially director Isabel Coixet's fantasy of picking up a handsome yet vulnerable stud in 24 hour laundramat. View it as such and nothing more; that is, if you're in too distracted a mood to do something more edifying like, say, reading a book. But don't expect this film to be the least bit enlightening or profound. It's full of gaffes that you'll be forced to ignore if you want to enjoy it. But the music is pleasant and, let's face it, seldom do we get to see FEMALE fantasies indulged. So accept that part of it for what it's worth, but don't dwell on it.

Sentimental, just like me.......2006-07-31

This is the second time I have seen this film and I enjoyed it just as much this time as the last. It is sad and sentimental with a touch of love and sex and very real. I can't imagine what I might do in her situation but I don't think I could do better than she did. Lovely, a real weepy.

a real tearjerker! you will not live '"without" it...........2006-05-22

you will not forget this one easily . the acting is superb all around but mark ruffalo steals the show wonderfully. if you liked "pieces of april"you should see this one . a very good satire of life .the writer/director done good with her job.

Average customer rating:

excellent addition to the series
Deathwish Resurrected
Great Death Wish installment
Death Wish 4
Playing with our expectations in the cracktown

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
Starring: Charles Bronson , Kay Lenz , John P. Ryan , Perry Lopez , and George Dickerson
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
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Death Wish V - The Face of Death
Death Wish 2
Death Wish
The Mechanic
Mr Majestyk

ASIN: B0000YEERG
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Description

The streets are filled with death and destruction. Ruthless drug traffickers prey upon the poor, the lonely, the helpless. L.A. is a city desperate for deliverance until now! Charles Bronson returns as Paul Kersey, the original urban vigilante and one-man demolition force in this pulse-pounding, take-no-prisoners thriller! Two rival drug gangs have a death-grip on L.A.'s battle-torn inner city. But their brutal reign of terror is about to come to a violent end. One man is out to avenge the cocaine-induced death of his girlfriend's teenage daughter. His name is Paul Kerseyand he's armed, dangerous and mad as hell!

Customer Reviews:

excellent addition to the series.......2007-03-09

The Death Wish series is an interesting collection of films, featuring revenge ("Death Wish 2", "Death Wish 5") and vigilante ("Death Wish", "Death Wish 3", "Death Wish 4") tales and starring Charles Bronson as "The Vigilante" Paul Kersey. The first three films in the series were surreal, hyped-out urban fever dreams with the first two being believable and serious (and with DW3 beginning seriously and slowly turning into an all-out cartoon culminating in an all-out street war with chainguns, rocket launchers, Home Alone-esque booby traps, and entire buildings exploding like a war zone). The first three films featured Bronson fighting various thugs, rapists, muggers, and "creeps". In "Death Wish 4", he abandons the street war and starts dismantling white collar criminal drug empires.

"Death Wish 4" takes a different direction than the first three by amping up the plot and easing back on the sleazy feel that permeated through the original Michael Winner-directed trilogy. Once again Bronson is propelled to vigilante action when a loved one dies, but this time the circumstances are different. Instead of a direct rape and/or murder, it's drugs that are the killer this time, so instead of attacking lowlifes, Bronson sets to work against the drug kingpins ruling the trade in LA as a favor to Nathan White (in a performance that goes from distinguished and calm in the beginning to hilariously over-the-top in the finale....those who have seen this know what I mean). It shouldn't be spoiling anything to say that, more or less, Bronson accomplishes his goal in no time at all, but to his chagrin White is more than what he seems.... The directing of J. Lee Thompson (Guns of Navarone, Cape Fear) gets the job done and the musical score is excellent (some have complained that the excellent Jimmy Page score featured in "Death Wish 2" and "Death Wish 3" is missing, but it seems fitting as Page's score had a more discordant and twisted feel that meshed well with the films' atmospheres, whereas almost all of that scummy atmosphere is gone in "Death Wish 4").

This is an excellent 80s actioner and a definate improvement over "Death Wish 3". Bronson does what he does best and John P. Ryan gives a hilarious and memorable performance ("I warned you.....I'd kill her!!). Fans of Bronson and these types of movies should be pleased.

Deathwish Resurrected.......2007-01-28

After the classic original Deathwish, numbers 2 & 3 may have supplied the violence, but lacked the heart that made Paul Kersey an interesting character. Unexpectedly, in #4, Bronson brings back the heart and soul of this remarkably unmarketed series (c'mon, where's the Vigilante action figure with assorted Punks and Gangsters?). This episode reminds us of the baggage Kersey carries and truly portrays him as a man who is unconcerned about his own survival unless it prevents him from fulfilling his mission of death without mercy. This is what sets the Bronson character apart from other great action heroes: he is never confused or hesitant in his killing. He is the Messenger of Bad Karma. His targets are already damned, he just stamps their ticket on the way to Hell.
Not only is this second only to the original in quality, but it does a nice nod to an excellent earlier film of Bronson, The Mechanic. His "hits" involve interesting technique showing us that Kersey is no amateur; he's really gotten damn good at what he does. The battle at the oilfield looks like lost footage of The Mechanic, and is surreal as Bronson slowly approaches his kill to the spooky metallic sounds of oilfield pumpjacks. The ending presents a terrible philosophic conclusion: Evil has been soundly thrashed, but the collateral damage goes on and the world seems no better. Obviously, Bronson's work is never done.

Great Death Wish installment.......2006-12-01

Once again, this is a major improvement from DW3. Bronson is as great as ever and I really loved his performance here. The plot is okay, not oscar material, but acceptable. At least it has more to it than just shooting people.

Very good movie for Bronson fans.

Death Wish 4 .......2006-11-10

I would highly recommend this seller. The order was filled in an accurate and prompt manner.

Playing with our expectations in the cracktown.......2006-08-31

The Death Wish films strongly follow a formula that was set by the first film: Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson), an easygoing architect either in New York City or Los Angeles, at some point with a female significant other and usually some kind of daughter figure, experiences violence towards his loved ones by anarchic gangs. The violence often involves rapes, severe beatings and murders. Fed up, especially since law enforcement can't take care of the problem very efficiently, he goes into a vigilante mode and starts racking up dead punks. He takes on an alternate identity and utilizes impressive armories, all while remaining suave and easygoing. Meanwhile, law enforcement tends to play under-the-table games with him, since the public tends to be sympathetic with vigilantes taking scum off the streets and the police realize that the vigilante can circumvent the system and do the job with no bureaucratic hassles.

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown is no exception to using this formula. But new writer Gail Morgan Hickman and new director J. Lee Thompson use the formula in a very creative way for fans of the series--they let it ride along implicitly and then play with our expectations based on it. (By the way, Thompson was new to the Death Wish series, but he had directed Bronson six times previously, beginning with St. Ives (1976), then in The White Buffalo (1977), Caboblanco (1980), 10 to Midnight (1983), The Evil That Men Do (1984), and Murphy's Law (1986). They later went on to work together in Messenger of Death (1988) and Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989).)

So we begin with a typical Death Wish scene--an attractive woman ambushed in a lonely parking garage by three thugs and raped, only to be interrupted by Kersey bearing high velocity leaden gifts. But it turns out to be an opening out of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) instead, as Kersey was simply dreaming. Awake, he gets on with his architectural life. We see him with a serious girlfriend who has a daughter, and we figure it spells trouble for their wellbeing. It does, but the trouble begins abruptly, in an unexpected way.

And then, after briefly flirting with the usual Death Wish route of Kersey hitting the streets and seeing what the punks look like for himself so he can mop up the gutters with them, Hickman and Thompson make a left turn, and Death Wish 4 has Kersey functioning something like a mob hitman instead. He has a mysterious benefactor feeding him with information on crime bigwigs instead of piddly gang members, and in an echo of Death Wish 3, he effectively enters a guerrilla war with them, only this time Kersey has no help; he's a one-man army. Thompson continues to play with our expectations in many ways, including a fairly shocking occurrence near the end of the film (after a very fun scene in a roller disco).

In addition to the clever meta-level stuff, the set-up of the film results in it basically being a series of action vigilante/hitman set pieces. There are still a number of stories threaded throughout to provide unity, but the set pieces have all of the creativity, uniqueness and thrill of going through the various levels of a great contemporary video game. It wouldn't be surprising if Death Wish 4 were one of the inspirations for a modern game or two (even though the film isn't exactly kind to video games--again, see the roller disco scene).

On the forest level, Death With 4 certainly isn't unpredictable, although on the trees level it very often is. But that's not needed in a Death Wish film, anyway. The basic requirement is for Bronson to be able to kick butt in entertaining and suspenseful ways, and Thompson gives you as much or more bang for your buck on that end as any other film in the series.

Average customer rating:

ONE OF MY NUMBER ONE ACTORS
Reuss in Loomis
Vengance is Mine...
Much better than DW3
Not a bad film, but still the weakest of the series

Death Wish V - The Face of Death
Starring: Charles Bronson , Lesley-Anne Down , Michael Dunston , Lisa Inouye , and Robert Joy
Manufacturer: Vidmark / Trimark
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Death Wish 4: The Crackdown
Death Wish 2
Death Wish
The Mechanic
Death Hunt

ASIN: 6305245487
Release Date: 1999-01-26

Amazon.com

Drifting as far from Michael Winner's original and interesting 1974 Death Wish as possible, this belated sequel in an often ugly series is nevertheless a harmless, fairly conventional thriller featuring a watchable cast. After his life of loss and misery at the hands of criminals, vigilante Paul Kersey is ready to settle down in romantic bliss with a fashion designer named Olivia (Lesley-Anne Down). Unfortunately, the lady happens to be the target of her mobster ex-husband (Michael Parks), who has a tight grip on New York's garment district. Disfigured and finally murdered by her former spouse, Olivia is avenged in very creative ways by Paul, who resorts to such esoterica as using a remote-controlled soccer ball to deliver an explosive punishment. Bronson largely phones it in for this potboiler, though even in the winter of his life he can look quite compelling in his stoic way. Helping to keep things interesting is Parks's kinky cruelty and Saul Rubinek's vaguely bemused performance as a well-meaning prosecutor. --Tom Keogh

Album Description

Canadian DVD of the final film in the Death Wish series. Starring Charles Bronson & Lesley-Anne Down. Originally released in 1994.

Customer Reviews:

ONE OF MY NUMBER ONE ACTORS.......2007-06-08

FOR SOMEONE THAT LIKES MOVIES CHARLES BRONSON IS A GREAT ACTOR YOU CAN'T GO WRONG ON ANY OF HAS MOVIES.

Reuss in Loomis.......2007-02-18

I like Charles Bronson. Amazon.com has all his movies and they ship my orders fast and efficient! Thanks, Reuss.......

Vengance is Mine..........2007-01-18

If you like revenge, you'll love this. Ive always loved the "Good" guys go after the bad ones. That'll teach them to fool around with others. I rate this and all like this fantastic. It kind of removes my frustration, especially when I think of all the bad people living on this earth. 'Do Unto Others" My Adopted Motto!

Much better than DW3.......2006-12-01

This movie is so much better than the third. There is more of a plot to this one and most of the actors are much better than in the previous DW. Bronson looks great and is as wonderful as ever as Paul Kersey.

Not a bad film, but still the weakest of the series.......2006-09-04

In the context of the Death Wish Series, Death Wish V: The Face of Death is definitely the weakest entry. On its own, this isn't a bad action-thriller, especially if you're a Charles Bronson fan. But it doesn't have the entertainingly squalid gang caricatures or brutality of the first two films, it doesn't have the war-like scale of the third and fourth films, and it doesn't have the tongue in cheek qualities of the third or the playful meta-level irony of the fourth. Bronson also doesn't have the same intensity or charisma here, particularly in the earlier sections of the film, although the final reels are satisfying enough.

This time around, Bronson and crew went for a fairly straightforward action-thriller film in a typical early 1990s style. The basic Death Wish plot elements are still there (see my review of Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987) for a summary), but with respect to those elements, they're a bit bare bones this time. To make things a bit different, Death Wish V is more of a mob film. The threat comes from Bronson's new significant others' ex-husband. Bronson's beau is a famous fashion designer, and her ex worked himself into her businesses to use them as a money-laundering front.

For most viewers, Death Wish V probably unfolds a bit too predictably. You know how Death Wish films tend to go, and you know how action-thrillers and mob films tend to go. There aren't many surprises on any end. Given how straightforward the film is, it may have been a mistake to not give Bronson a larger number of opponents to battle. But the army of thugs thing had been done a couple times previously, and it was probably felt that they had to do something different. When different amounts to pedestrian and formulaic, though, and you can't think of a novel angle instead, it's not a bad idea to give viewers more of the same, as contradictory as that sounds.

Still, there are one or two surprises here, the "set pieces" are all very well constructed, there are a couple pretty brutal scenes, and a few action sequences are intense.

Death Wish V should be watched with lowered expectations, but it should still be watched.

Average customer rating:

The Bullet missed its target!
Should You Take This Ride?
Its not scary and its not brilliant
good start to a giant turd -5
Strange Things Can Happen On A Lonely Dark Country Road!

Riding the Bullet (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: David Arquette , Jeff Ballard (II) , Erika Christensen , Tony Cuzela , and Keith Dallas
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
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Quicksilver Highway
Stephen King's Desperation
Nightmares & Dreamscapes - From the Stories of Stephen King
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The Night Flier

ASIN: B0007NFMB2
Release Date: 2005-04-19

Amazon.com

A vintage Stephen King concept unfolds in Riding the Bullet: a college kid, circa 1970, must hitchhike a very long (and very dark) hundred miles to visit his hospitalized mother. The ghosts waiting for him along the way are either real or of his own mind (which seems to be a dark place itself). As a King short story, this might have been a usefully frightening premise, but it's almost entirely literary; on screen, it boils down to a guy walking down a road at night. Jonathan Jackson is suitably tortured in the lead role (or roles--he frequently appears double on screen, arguing with himself), but the movie is stolen by David Arquette, rocking it up as a '50s greaser who died in a car crash years earlier. Barbara Hershey and Erika Christensen are wasted in support. There's a strain to make the Woodstock-era setting relevant, but this doesn't seem to have a great deal to do with the private demons of the protagonist. (And if you're going to set it in 1970, how hard is it to catch dialogue anachronisms?) Director Mick Garris is a longtime King conduit (The Stand), but this one is misconceived from the start. --Robert Horton

Description

Riding the Bullet is based on, the master of macabre, Stephen King's first e-book and was directed by Mick Garris (The Stand). Alan embarks on a 100 mile hitch hike to see his mother in the hospital. Along the way he must confront his many demons - both living and dead - and in the end make the ultimate choice that will mean life or death for him and his mother! "A nifty standalone supernatural drama that features some truly terrifying scenarios, while also offering up a bit of well-placed humor and poignancy." - Horror.com

Customer Reviews:

The Bullet missed its target!.......2007-06-25

I've never seen a horror movie with a plot like this before. It's absolutely original. The first half of the movie is engaging. Some frightening and suspenseful scenes happened while he's walking on the street at night. For example, the moment when he was chased into a car cemetery by two strangers.
The second half is boring and repetitive. The worst thing is it turned out they all came from his own imagination!

It's worth watching once.

Should You Take This Ride?.......2007-04-06

Once again Mick Garris is at the helm of another Stephen King adaptation. Garris has made many King movies(if it's a mini series or tv movie, you can bet it was most likely Garris), and while his contributions aren't as memorable as efforts by other directors, Garris tries his damndest to stick as close to the source material as possible. Plus he is one of the most active and dedicated individuals in the horror scene, and for that I respect him quite a bit. But I can't honestly say he made a great movie here. Not bad, but nothing worth a second viewing. Much more plot has been added to the story in order to fill out the 90+ minute running time. A story like this(which if I recall was around 50 pages, give or take) should have been done as one of Garris' Masters Of Horror episodes rather than a full length movie. But when Garris is on, he's on. Alot of the dialogue is straight from the story. A big problem with this movie is Garris' repeated use of the daydream gimmick. You know those scenes in film when something happens to a character(usually horrific and outrageous), then the scene quickly flashes back to the character before the horrific event and you realize that it was all in the character's imagination? This movie is full of these. In fact, it may actually have set a record for uses of this movie trick. It seems to happen at least once every two minutes and quickly becomes silly and then downright annoying. Plus we add a bunch of hallucinations and the main character continuously talking to himself(two of the same actor onscreen at once) and it dulls the suspense and seems like a desperate attempt at being flashy. Plus, the film takes place in 1969, but every now and then we get a blast of very modern sounding music. Personally I can't stand anachronistic music in a film that's supposed to be taking place in a different time period. But even with all of my yapping and whining, Garris managed to pull off another passably entertaining and fairly accurate King adaptation. Just not a terrible memorable one.

Its not scary and its not brilliant.......2006-09-04

Its kind off like Stephen king meets Twilight Zone. Dont get me wrong both are brilliant but i appreciate King as more of an "Epic" 3 hour mini-series kind of storyteller and not the hitchcock short story kind of guy.

It really feels like you have just watched a short story from Twilight zone at the end of the day. The character development and storyline is just too limited to be worth the 2 hours.

If it was one of 3 stories on a ("twilight zone like") compilation and only an hour or so in length, it would have been 5 stars!

If you want an epic tale by King (like Rose Red, Storm of the centuary, the Shining) rather look for something else because this will dissapoint you.

(Please forgive me Mr. King)

good start to a giant turd -5.......2006-04-14

i also love every adaptation of kings books even storm of the century & rose red was cheezy but had good acting & was semi scary. this started out really good & like the others. once he begins his journey its over from their, first you find out that he is a supper wimp that tries to act cool, a character that is saposed to not be the main charcter unless a comedy, he is afraid of even an old weak man. david arquete cant act his way out of nut sack, so theirs no saprise that this is his worst movie ever. they try to play every sceen with at lease 3 ways that the situation could happen in his head but dosent come true, that is a great use of showing horror or scary elements that dont happen but thats the whole movie, no one really dies except he has a vision of his dad blowing his head off but just shows the wall splatter, but hese already dead before the movie starts & his mother at the end but she died of lung cancer, he dosent even really get hurt although he gets fakly attacked several times. the end of the movie will possibly make you throw up its so bad, they try to monolague the rest of his life that ends making him look even more pathetic than he was throught the movie, which is a lot more trust me or watch for your self. i have no idea how this got an r rating due to no severed parts, light swearing, no nudity, & the only part that i could say is his dad blows his head off but ive sceen worst in pg-13. they must have begged to get the ratting because i wont watch those sad pathetic pg-13's unless just cause. im not sure what the rest of you saw giving this 4 & 5 stars. yall must love the cry wolf & all the pg-13 horror garbage, so if thats your style this movis is ripe for your picking.

Strange Things Can Happen On A Lonely Dark Country Road!.......2006-03-05

Every once in a while they manage to film a really good Ghost Story and they have done it with this movie. The viewer is introduced to Allan, a College kids back in the 1970's who is hitchiking to Lewiston in Maine to visit his ill mother. Allan is confronted by the ghosts of his past and present during his long lonely walk to the hospital. This movie is dark, eerie and very atmospheric and this is one film which I would have liked to have watched on the big screen. The extra feature included in this DVD is Allan's sketch book which is alone makes this movie worth watching. Bravo to all concerned with the making of this film.

Average customer rating:

Interesting story--but multiple cast flashbacks just never work for me
A marvelous ensemble cast
Closing Time
Last rites?
A small gem

Last Orders
Starring: Michael Caine , Tom Courtenay , David Hemmings , Bob Hoskins , and Helen Mirren
Director: Fred Schepisi
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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Cause Celebre
Critical Care
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ASIN: B000069HQ4
Release Date: 2002-08-13

Customer Reviews:

Interesting story--but multiple cast flashbacks just never work for me.......2007-06-02

The novel was fascinating, but executing it on a big screen obviously was a huge challenge. Both my spouse and I got lost when the film flashed far enough back to change cast members. Much of the quips were wonderful, dry British humor--and if I just kept up with them, it was fine. It also helped to have read the book recently enough to make connections with the characters.

A marvelous ensemble cast.......2006-10-30

What a beautiful film, with a marvelous ensemble cast. Michael Caine (as "Jack") is brilliant and in a class by himself; and his love of acting is evident in each role he plays, always superbly. And the addition of Helen Mirren (as his wife "Amy") brings together two of the world's finest actors, and worldwide treasures. Bob Hoskins is always terrific, as is David Hemmings, and of course Ray Winstone (as Jack and Amy's son, "Vince"). It is so nice to see Tom Courtenay (first acclaimed in "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" and "Doctor Zhivago"), as well as the lovely Kelly Reilly (as young Amy).

For those who love British films at their best, in contrast to crass American special-effects movies, this is well worth viewing. The four men set out on a journey to honor Jack's final wishes; and it is moving in ways that are soft and tender, and beautiful. Amy adds that special touch, both in her youth and the winter of her life. Ah, to be a fly on the wall watching these great talents bring their magic to the silver screen--after waiting two and a half years for the money to make the film.

"Last Orders" is also about a father and son, who pretend that they do not need each other, but who need and love one another very much, which is true of most fathers and their daughters too. Also, right at the height of something--as director Fred Schepisi reminds us in the "Special Features" that are included on the disk--something goes wrong. Or as John Lennon reminded us in prophetic words from his last album: "[L]ife is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

Closing Time.......2006-06-19

Fred Schepisi's film adaptation of Graham Swift's brisk novel about death and Britishness, or the death of Britishness, is a textbook case of how a bad script can stymie a brilliant cast.

The screen comes alive whenever Michael Caine's on it, even when he's in a hospital bed. But he's never on for more than a few minutes before a flashback sweeps you back to his disturbing younger double, or shifts to one of his four mates, all of whom have stories and flashbacks of their own that need to be crammed in. Despite all the cuts, the snippets themselves are amazingly static for a film--four men driving in a car, four men standing at a pub, a man and a woman sitting on a bench: that's about 80% of the screen time right there.

The characters seemed representative rather than real personalities: East Enders who fight in the War, bet on horses, run family butcher shops, go hopping of a summer, and mark their major life events down the local felt too pat, too pasteboard, to interest even the actors. London appears through a warm gauze of color and memory that doesn't really do justice to the personal histories the film sets out to tell. The cast is a Who's Who of the last 40 years of British cinema--I wish they'd been given more room to stretch out and pour their own histories into the characters.

Last rites?.......2006-01-10

Viewers should beware of films which use flashbacks spanning so many years that two (or more) separate casts are required to portray one set of characters. This film is no exception. The actor representing the Michael Caine character (30 or so years earlier) was the only moderately credible such casting, there being a strong physical resemblance; though Field could also have played