Story Synopsis:
From the novel by Brian Garfield, Death Wish stars Charles Bronson as a “bleeding-heart liberal” businessman with a loving wife (Lange) and beautiful daughter. His world is shattered, however, after his wife and daughter are brutally attacked in their apartment by a gang of thugs (Jeff Goldblum’s film debut as “Freak 1”), and Paul Kersey becomes no longer a man of peace and understanding but a vigilante gone “postal” by attacking every mugger, gang member, and street thug he can lay his hands on. Also watch for Christopher Guest as “Patrolman Reilly.” Controversial in its time for the level of violence portrayed. (Laurie Sevano)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD exhibits generally pleasing image quality. The picture is sharp and detailed, though clarity and definition and wanting. Film grain is quite noticeable at times, but the picture is solid otherwise. Though dated, colors are well balanced, with rich hues, and deep blacks. Minor edge enhancement and pixelization are apparent. For its age, the picture is nicely rendered. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital 2.0 soundtrack is big fat mono. When ProLogic®-decoded, the audio is properly placed in the center channel. The inherent audio quality is poor and has a uncomfortable “tinny” sonic signature at reference level. The restoration is rather good with reasonably low background hiss. (Perry Sun)