There are films that are classics because of the artistry with which they are crafted, and there are films that are classics for having an outsized impact on our culture, but Death Wish is neither, it is a film that is important because it captures the mood of an age.

I have never watched the entire film. Not because of a stand to refuse to participate, but simply it never was around in a form for me to watch at the time and place where I had an interest. I had seen scenes and I had even seen the closer couple of shoots, but never the entire film, and certainly never in one go from front to back. It is an interesting experience, particularly from a position 40 years after it was released, and after it had spawned a franchise of its own.

Death Wish is at heart a political film buried in the national psyche of the United States during the 70’s. For those not around during that time, it was dreary and depressing for America. Vietnam had fallen, the Arab oil embargo had shocked the economic system, Watergate had destroyed faith in the government, and the idea that things were bad and only going to get worse ruled the day. The Stark motto from the Games of Thrones would fit perfectly the mood, ‘Winter is Coming.’ In addition to out of control inflation, energy storages, government corruption, terrorism, crime began surging during the decade.

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