40 Years of Death Wish 3: A Celebration

It is almost hard to fathom, but it has been 40 years since the conception of the bloodiest and violent 80’s Action movie ever….Death Wish 3. Our Senior and beloved Movie Critic, Matt Cale loves 80’s Action, The Unsung, the Assholes of the Cinema and the 80’s Action Hall of Fame, but nothing will ever trump his love affair with his favorite movie of all time. My words are inadequate to describe Matt’s ~~fascination~~ obsession with Death Wish 3. Move over Ebert, and everyone else, Matt is the Godfather of all things Death Wish 3. If you disagree with me, you are wrong. Here are his words:

The Summer of 1985. While I was spending six weeks in Indiana with my maniacal grandmother, learning that yes, a 12-year-old can indeed conjure up vivid fantasies of mass murder, director Michael Winner, via MGM and Golan-Globus, was putting the final touches on the greatest motion picture ever released. Naturally, his vision involved Charles Bronson, as all visions worth a damn must, and before the year was out, he’d so re-define 80’s Action, he’d all but corner the market forever. No film – then or now – has so influenced demented obsessives such as yours truly, nor contributed so heavily to a single website. In many ways, the day Death Wish 3 first hit America’s screens, Ruthless Reviews was born. They’ve been intertwined ever since.

While my life may not add up to much in the end, and every waking night is teeming with brutal thoughts about everything I’ve squandered, I know this: I’ll die having been given the title as the foremost authority on Death Wish 3. At least I hope that’s the case. While my legacy may only mean something to a handful of fellow nitwits, it’s enough that no one – and I mean no one – has devoted more time to this particular movie. If I’ve spilled a barrel of ink, I’ve spilled thousands, and there isn’t a soul alive who can tell me it’s been a time waster. When you’re in love, you’re in love, and you want the entire world to know. As I plod along in my 50’s, enjoying life a little less by the day, I can look back on maybe 100 total hours of fun. Pure enjoyment. Unapologetic bliss. And yes, at least 97 of those hours have been spent in the company of this craptastic masterpiece.

So join me – join us – in this 40^th anniversary celebration of the greatest work of art to ever flow from the mind of man. Cherish the performances. The dialogue. The endless parade of death and despair. Yes, folks, cops can and will violate your Constitutional rights. Ex-members of Happy Days will be killing little old ladies, just for you. Men will be murdered in cold blood while stealing cameras. Brooms will send others to their doom. There will be others on fire, still others in pieces, and don’t flinch at the sight of a killer plunger. There are bare breasts, sadistic grandmas, and enough firepower to re-stage the D-Day invasion. It’s all here, unparalleled and unmatched. Forty years of brilliance, forty years of smiles, forty years of Paul Fucking Kersey. Like God intended.

If that is not enough, here are the links to Thirteen passionate articles written about Death Wish 3.