Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Brian Garfield (characters)
Gail Morgan Hickman (written by)

Release Date:

6 November 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

The biggest Death Wish ever!

Plot:

Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey takes on the members of a vicious Los Angeles drug cartel to stop the flow of drugs after his girlfriend's daughter dies from an overdose.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Drug Cartel | Vigilante | Violence | Architect

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Paul Kersey
Kay Lenz	...	Karen Sheldon
John P. Ryan	...	Nathan White
Perry Lopez	...	Ed Zacharias
George Dickerson	...	Detective Reiner
Soon-Tek Oh	...	Det. Phil Nozaki (as Soon-Teck Oh)
Dana Barron	...	Erica Sheldon
Jesse Dabson	...	Randy Viscovich
Peter Sherayko	...	Nick Franco
James Purcell	...	Vince Montono
Michael Russo	...	Danny Moreno
Danny Trejo	...	Art Sanella
Daniel Sabia	...	Al Arroyo
Mike Moroff	...	Jack Romero
Dan Ferro	...	Tony Romero

Runtime:

99 min | Finland:91 min (cut version) | Norway:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1988) (cut) | Finland:K-16 (1990) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (2005) (uncut) | Iceland:16 | Belgium:16 (video rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) | USA:R (certificate #28741) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:R | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Denmark:15 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Singapore:M18 | UK:18 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cannon Group

Trivia:

To cut down on budget the scene where Kersey goes to cinema to meet Nathan, was actually at Cannon Film viewing theater.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the shootout at the oil field, a man's head goes through the side window of a vehicle. It is obviously not normal side window safety glass since it breaks as if it was regular window pane glass.

Quotes:

Ed Zacharias: [as Kersey walks to him] Who are you?
Paul Kersey: I'm the guy that set you up.
Ed Zacharias: Why?
Ed Zacharias: [Then Paul opens up his coat pocket and shows the picture of his girlfirend's daughter to Ed] I don't know the girl
Paul Kersey: I DO!
[Then Kersey shoots Ed dead]

Movie Connections:

Features Un complicato intrigo di donne, vicoli e delitti (1986)

Soundtrack:

In Some Brazil

Trading Rape for Action in #4

"Death Wish 4" is easily my favorite of the DW series, even though I really like most of the first entry. But you see, I find graphic, luridly depicted rape in films distasteful. I could take it in the first film, because there was at least some thematic and emotional need for it (though I still think it was overboard and gratuitous). Parts 2 and 3 escalated the rape and humiliation sequences and writer/director Michael Winner actually seemed to be trying to get us to enjoy the sight of tortured, crying, beaten, naked woman as much as he obviously did; combine this with zero plot, zero character development, and inept action, and you had some really, really bad flicks. Number four was directed by J. Lee Thompson, a frequent collaborator with Bronson since 1976's "St. Ives." Thompson took the usual DW revenge formula, eliminated the obligatory rape sequence, and ratcheted up the action. So what we have is a Death Wish picture more similar to "Murphy's Law" than any of the other films in the series. Of course Bronson's 80s films are often the butt of jokes (to those who remember them at all, that is) but I happen to enjoy them immensely--there's just something I dig about this charismatic, elderly guy running around shooting bad guys; I can't even explain it. If you dig the salt and pepper Bronson as well, then give DW4 a try.