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Awards  Death Wish  Share this movie on  Plot & Details  This
drama about a man who takes the law into his own hands was
wildly controversial upon first release, sparking much debate
about the perceived pro-vigilante stance of the story, and
established Charles Bronson as a major box office draw in the
United States. Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is a liberal
architect living in New York City. One day, a group of drug-
crazed thugs break into his apartment while he's gone, killing
his wife Joanna (Hope Lange) and brutally raping his married
daughter, leaving her comatose. When the police are unable to
find the culprits, Kersey arms himself and begins patrolling the
streets, killing muggers and thieves as he encounters them.
While his obsessive search for street justice sickens him at
first, in time Kersey begins to enjoy it and becomes a hunted
man himself, as Police Detective Frank Ochoa (Vincent Gardenia)
tries to find the man who is doing the poli