Death Wish 3

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:

GREAT film, but a terrible American DVD release.......2007-08-20

Death Wish 3 (1985.) The third film in the Death Wish series.

INTRODUCTION:
In 1974, the widely-loved (and widely controverisal) Death Wish, starring Charles Bronson, arrived in theatres. The film got a mixed reaction from moviegoers and critics alike. Seven years later, the sequel arrived, and got a mixed reaction. But how does the third installment fare?

OVERVIEW:
Death Wish was released in 1981. The film stars Charles Bronson and co-stars Ed Lauter and Alex Winter, among others Michael Winner directed it. The film's musical score is by Jimmy Page, and is basically "rearranged" versions of music he wrote for the previous films.

BASIC PLOT:
Paul Kersey (Bronson) has returned to his old home city of New York to visit an old Korean War buddy - only to find him dying in his apartment when he arrives following a vicious attack by a local gang. Being that Kersey carries a gun and he was at the scene of the crime when the police showed up, he was arrested. Although initially loathed by the crooked police chief (Lauter), he reluctantly agrees to free Kersey - as long as he agrees to be "up to his old tricks" in the middle of the gang warzone part of town where his buddy was murdered. Once out there, he meets some new friends, and shops by phone for what he needs to waste punks.

FILM OPINIONS:
Of all the Death Wish films, this is probably the one that gets the biggest mixed reaction. It's hated for its "doesn't take itself seriously" attitude and "over the top", almost parody-like action, as well as a paper-thin love story. But it's loved for the simple fact that there's more action and weaponry here than in any other Death Wish movie. And I think all this stuff together makes this what is arguably the series' best installment. The action scenes are awesome, and Lauter is great as the shady police chief. It's a radical departure from the last two films, but a change of pace is just what the franchise ordered.

DVD:
The Death Wish films got screwed for their DVD releases. Not only are all the films cropped and fullscreen, but most of them feature scenes that have been EDITED. This is most noticable in the rape scenes in the first and second film. For the first two films, import the Region 4 DVD that combines the first two films. For 3 and 4, import the Region 2 European DVDs. Or if you can find it, get the import Vigilante Collection that has all five films in widescreen. Just be sure you have a multi-region player first!

OVERALL:
Say what you will about this film, I love it. There's plenty of action here, and things never slow down. This is Death Wish done right, even if it is a bit wacky and over the top when compared to the other films. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Just don't be expecting the same thing as the first two films.

Good Fun.......2007-07-28

Plenty of people here have summarized what the film is about, so I won't. I'll try to add something original to the mix, so forgive me if I don't confine myself to describing the film's plot. The popularity of this film cannot be explained without a wider understanding of cultural conditions and sentiments at the time of its release. Death Wish was a bombshell, as it gave voice to how hundreds of thousands of people were feeling, sentiments people felt and may not have publicly expressed for fear of backlash from the PC movement. In a few sentences, the cultural circumstance referred to was a growing discontent with what was growingly considered to be misguided attempts to solve society's "problems." In the sixties the government gave itself the responsibility to "fix" many problems, from teenage pregnancy to poverty to drug use to discrimination to crime, with social "programs," judicial activism and new legislation. Ironically, ALL of these problems were already rapidly decreasing in the early sixties. Crime was HALF what it was in 1930, even if you don't control for the increase in the population!! Poverty was lessening each and every year. What happened after the social programs of the late sixties and the generation of the welfare state? Well, the crime rate literally exploded. So did teenage pregnancy. Poverty quadrupled. Another thing that happened was the rewriting of law to lessen the punishment of criminals to the result that even the criminals that were arrested and successfully prosecuted often ended right back out on the street in a matter of months to commit even more crimes. People were sick and tired of this crap. Some filmmakers new it, and tapped into this sentiment with wildly popular films like Death Wish, The Stone Killer, and Dirty Harry. An entire genre of "vendetta/revenge/let's take out the human garbage" films was born, and Charles Bronson, after Death Wish, was for a decade the most popular actor in the world. Bronson's presence is undeniable. The seventies threw up some wonderfully gritty films drenched in utter realism, and the Death Wish films are some of the greatest of all time. Death Wish 3 is a fun entry in the series. I'll never forget the teeth in the board!

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.

Average customer rating:

Tender and Compassionate
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

My Life Without Me
Starring: Sarah Polley , Amanda Plummer , Scott Speedman , Leonor Watling , and Deborah Harry
Director: Isabel Coixet
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: 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:

Tender and Compassionate.......2007-08-08

This subtle and sensitive film begins with a poetic monologue. Ann (Sarah Polly) is standing in the pouring rain, her eyes closed, drenched to the bone, describing exactly what she feels...hearing the raindrops patter against the leaves, feeling the grass beneath her bare feet beginning to dampen...she then tells us that she has never been that type of person to sit and watch a sunset or lay on the beach observing the waves of the ocean for hours nor stand in the pouring rain. But life for Ann has changed and with it a new appreciation for life.

Married at 17 to a loving father and husband, Don (Scott Speedman) with two pretty daughters, at 23, Ann's life is her cleaning job at the local university, her family, living in a trailer in the back of her mother's (Deborah Harry) house and the simple banalities of surviving from day to day. One morning she collapses in her kitchen and later tests are done that determine she has tumours in her ovaries growing and accelerating towards her liver. The condition is untreatable thus she is told she has two to three months to live.

The utmost courage this young woman shows us once receiving her death sentence is laudable in the truest sense. Rather than run home and tell her family and friend's about her imminent death, she chooses to keep it to herself to spare them of the sorrow. After receiving the news, she sits in a coffee shop and makes a list of twenty things she would like to do before she departs. Under these dire circumstances, one would assume the list to include going to Europe, climbing Mount Everest or a road trip around the United States, however her items are simple actions like saying what she feels, seeing her father who she hasn't seen in ten years because he's in jail; getting a new hair style and her nails done. The most radical item on the list is to make love to another man because aside from her husband she has never had an encounter of this type thus she wants to know how it feels. Enter a handsome man (Mark Ruffalo) who has been watching Ann in the coffee shop making her list. There is no pre-meditated "seduction" from either of them which has been stated in all the blurbs for the story. There is chemistry and attraction which is followed up and consummated though this is not a "one-night-stand" situation because, unexpectedly, true love enters the picture.

Ann now proceeds to make a series of recorded tapes for her children to be listened to on their birthdays till their 18. She makes a tape for her mother, her loving husband and of course her lover.

This film is indeed modest lacking in any self consciousness, kind and compassionate.

How we behave when facing our death can reveal our true character, and in Ann's case, she has integrity and courage coupled with humility that was inspiring to watch.

My Life without Me is a wonderful film.

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.

Death Wish 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 Collection (5 Pack)

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Death Wish 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 Collection (5 Pack)

ProductGroup: DVD
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Product Features:

Part 1: Widescreen
Part 2-5: Full Screen
Language: English
5 Disc Set

ASIN: B000REOCSA

Product Description

Part 1: In this explosive story of revenge and urban violence, Charles Bronson plays Paul Kersey, a bleeding-heart liberal who has a change of opinion after his wife and daughter are violently attacked by a gang of thugs in their apartment. His daughter is raped, his wife raped and murdered. Bronson then turns vigilante as he stalks the mean streets of New York on the prowl for muggers, hoodlums and the like. A violent, controversial film which is frank and original in its treatment of urban crime and the average citizen's helplessness in dealing with it. ~~~~~~~ Part 2: Charles Bronson returns with a vengeance in this sequel to the popular crime thriller DEATH WISH. Bronson reprises his role as vigilante Paul Kersey, whose family is once again victimized after moving to Los Angeles from New York. Kersey is mugged by a gang of street punks who later break into his home and brutally assault his maid and daughter, resulting in their deaths. ~~~~~~~ Part 3: Paul Kersey has moved from LA to New York City to escape the crime and begin anew. But after an dear friend is murdered, the architect-turned-vigilante begins to deliver his own inimitable kind of street justice. The rugged Mr. Bronson is back again as Paul Kersey, the Korean War vet who loves to lure street thugs to surprise endings. ~~~~~~~ Part 4: When his girlfriend's daughter overdoses on toxic "crack," vigilante Paul Kersey explodes into action in an all-out war to exterminate the cocaine network in L.A. ~~~~~~~ Part 5: Aging ex-vigilante Paul Kersey has made a quiet life for himself: he's now a teacher, and engaged to a lovely woman, Olivia. But when Olivia's clothing business is menaced by mobsters -- led by her sadistic ex-husband -- Paul reverts to his old gun-totin', thug-wastin' tendencies, as he attempts to deliver his own brand of justice in a variety of grisly ways.

Hollywood DVD Classics, Toontown Big Shots

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Hollywood DVD Classics, Toontown Big Shots

Manufacturer: Double D Distribution
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Charles Bronson stars as Chino Valdez, a half-breed, who wants nothing more than to live a peaceful life as a successful horse breeder.

ASIN: B000JOIGZS

Product Description

All Regions DVD from Hollywood Classics DVD.

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 3 - If Wishes Were Horses

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The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 3 - If Wishes Were Horses
Starring: Paul Ridley , Oliver Cotton , Lisa Palfrey , Paul Copley , and Gillian McCutcheon
Director: Alrick Riley
Manufacturer: WGBH BOSTON
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009OUC6O
Release Date: 2005-08-02

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