Death Wish II (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Michael WinnerRelease Date(s)
1982 (November 25, 2025)Studio(s)
Filmways Pictures (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)- Film/Program Grade: C-
- Video Grade: B+
- Audio Grade: B+
- Extras Grade: B
Review
Michael Winner’s Death Wish II was a belated sequel to his controversial 1974 vigilante film, released eight years down the road after the rights to the story had jumped from Dino De Laurentiis to Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus of Cannon Films. That’s arguably an “out of the frying pan, into the fire” situation, at least from a creative perspective—although to be fair, it ensured that the franchise would continue for years to come, since De Laurentiis was already sliding inexorably toward financial ruin. Regardless, the world had changed significantly during that eight-year span, offering plenty of opportunity for reflection, contemplation, and re-evaluation. Yet Golan-Globus wasn’t particularly interested in anything like that that, and Death Wish II ended up delivering exactly what they wanted. Still, it’s the complete lack of reflection in Death Wish II that remains one of its most interesting qualities, because it’s a film that stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the passage of time.
Contrary to popular opinion, the movie business doesn’t really set trends as much as it reacts to them—it’s reactionary, not prescriptive. It is a business, after all, so following the popular zeitgeist is often a clear path to raking in profit. That’s especially true of franchise filmmaking, where there can be some significant cultural shifts between installments. For example, when Dirty Harry was released in 1971, it was in reaction to the expansion of civil liberties under the Warren Court, exploiting populist fears that the increased rights for the accused were handcuffing the ability of the police to deal with crime. Right or wrong, Dirty Harry was criticized for having a fascistic point of view, so when the follow-up Magnum Force was released two years later, rogue cops were now the villains. After flirting with fascism in the first film, Harry Callahan had now become antifascist, and a reactionary film got an equally reactionary sequel. Further sequels would continue to explore different concepts that were more in sync with the popular culture of the times in which they were released.
Like Dirty Harry before it, the original Death Wish had been accused of condoning vigilantism, so with eight years to reflect on those complaints, Michael Winner had plenty of time in order to formulate a response—and respond he did, although not in the expected fashion. Death Wish II is indeed a reactionary film, but Winner’s reaction to valid criticism was to double down on everything that some people found offensive about first film. It’s a giant middle finger to critics of Death Wish, offering more of the same, only more so. David Engelbach’s script had tried to find some nuance in getting Paul Kersey back behind the trigger, but Winner rewrote it heavily, eliminating the nuance and maximizing the sleaze. Engelbach didn’t include any rape scenes, so Winner added not one, not two, but three. Not only that, but when one character is gang-raped early in the film, Winner methodically took the time to show each and every rapist taking his turn one after the other. Another character isn’t merely raped, but she’s also killed afterward in a manner that wouldn’t have looked out of place in The Omen. Death Wish II isn’t merely an ugly film; it’s ugly by design—and for Winner, all of that ugliness is a feature, not a bug.
Bronson returned in the role of Kersey, as did Vicent Gardenia as Lieutenant Frank Ochoa, although Robin Sherwood replaced Kathleen Tolan as Kersey’s daughter Carol—and she’s treated about as well by Winner’s shooting script as you would expect. (The world in which we live can be a harsh one for many women, but in Winner’s world, there’s no escape from the brutality.) The rest of the cast is filled out by reliable character actors like Jill Ireland, J.D. Cannon, Paul Lambert, Anthony Franciosa, Larry Fishburne, and Kevyn Major Howard, but the simple fact is that Death Wish II isn’t their show. And while Bronson may be front and center throughout, it’s not really a Charles Bronson movie, either. Instead, it’s unmistakably a Michael Winner film, with all that entails (for good and for ill). It’s not just a giant middle finger to critics of Death Wish; it’s a double-fisted salute accompanied by a loud Bronx cheer.
Death Wish was never intended to launch a franchise, but Death Wish II ended up laying the groundwork for three more installments featuring Bronson, the last of which was released in 1994, and a remake of the original in 2018. While the later films leaned more heavily into the absurdity of Paul Kersey’s continued vigilantism, openly embracing the cartoonish nature of the situation, Death Wish II occupies an awkward median between that kind of wretched excess and the more grounded tone of the original film. It’s still preposterous, but its preposterousness is treated quite earnestly. Needless to say, that means that Death Wish II will not be for all tastes. It’s too ludicrous to be taken seriously, but it’s also too serious to be enjoyed merely as mindless entertainment. Yet it’s the film that Winner wanted to make, and so it remains a fascinating example what can happen when a filmmaker no longer cares what anyone else thinks.
(Note that both the uncut and theatrical versions are included here, with the former running 92:11 and the latter 89:07, although there’s about 28 seconds of logos at the beginning of each version. While the differences aren’t substantial, the rapes are more prolonged and graphic in the uncut version, so caveat emptor.)
Cinematographers Thomas Del Ruth and Richard H. Kline shot Death Wish II on 35mm film using Arriflex cameras with spherical lenses, framed at 1.85:1 for its theatrical release. Kino Lorber isn’t providing any information about the master used for this release, but it appears to be from the same digital restoration as Vinegar Syndrome’s 2022 UHD/Blu-ray combo set, not the tired old 1080p master used by Shout! Factory for their 2016 Blu-ray. It’s based on a 4K scan of the uncut camera negative, although unlike Vinegar Syndrome, Kino is also offering the theatrical cut via seamless branching. The image is nicely detailed and nearly spotless, with a heavy layer of grain over the top that’s typical of Vinegar Syndrome transfers from that era—the grain almost looks sharpened, and nothing like what would have been on a fourth-generation theatrical print. It also displays their tendency toward overcooked reds that’s most noticeable in the flesh tones, although that’s a little less pronounced here in SDR than it was in HDR. On the balance, despite any minor nitpicks, it’s a very pretty presentation of an inherently grotesque film.
Audio is offered in English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio, with optional English subtitles. It’s fairly robust for a mono track, with clear dialogue and some heft to the sound effects. The ostentatious score was written by Jimmy Page, whose only feature film scoring credits include this one and the follow-up Death Wish 3. It’s... well, it’s interesting, to put it politely, but it sounds as good as it can here.
Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray release of Death Wish II comes with a reversible insert that features alternate theatrical poster artwork on each side. The following extras are included:
- Commentary by Paul Talbot
- Commentary by Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
- Death Wish Trailer (HD – 2:20)
- Death Wish II Trailer (HD – 1:55)
- Death Wish 3 Trailer (SD – 1:40)
- Death Wish 4: The Crackdown Trailer (SD – 1:34)
- Death Wish V: The Face of Death Trailer (SD – 1:00)
Kino has ported over Vinegar Syndrome’s 2022 commentary featuring Paul Talbot, author of Bronson’s Loose! and Bronson’s Loose Again!. Needless to say, he’s a big fan of the Death Wish franchise, and it shows. He’s a fountain of information regarding the making of the film, including its background, writing, production, and release, as well as details about all of the actors and many of the crew who were involved. Talbot notes that in addition to doing an uncredited rewrite, Winner co-edited the film under his pseudonym Arnold Crust, and he acted as an uncredited on-set producer as well, so Death Wish II truly was a Michael Winner film. Talbot also offers one explanation for why there are two credited cinematographers for the film: the original DP, Thomas Del Ruth, quit in protest over the way that Winner was shooting the first rape scene (although there’s another version of that story, but more on that in a moment). Talbot covers the differences between the R-rated and uncut versions of the film—which unsurprisingly comes down to rape)—and notes scenes that were shot but not included in either version, some of which were included on the Greek VHS version. Talbot also spends some time on the reviews from 1982, which weren’t exactly charitable. It’s an interesting commentary track that won’t necessarily redeem Death Wish II for those who have already dismissed it, but it’s always valuable to hear a defense of any film, good, bad, or ugly.
Kino has also added one new extra for this release: a commentary track featuring filmmaker/historian Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson from Mondo Digital. They acknowledge Talbot’s track up front while saying that they’re going to try to overlap it as little as possible, and while there’s inevitably some of that, they do approach the film from their own angles. That includes some of the broader context surrounding the making of Death Wish II, like more details about the history about Cannon Films (including other titles like Lifeforce) and Filmways Pictures. They note that as rough and meanspirited as Death Wish II may be, it still breaks the formula from the other films, like the way that one key character escapes a relationship with Paul Kersey relatively unscathed. (It seems like Winner wanted him to have at least a shred of a life outside of his vigilante escapades.) Mitchell and Thompson also break down other films in Winner’s filmography, talk about real life in L.A. compared to the hellscape of Death Wish II, and go through a few of the negative reviews from 1982—Roger Ebert was particularly harsh, giving it zero stars. Talbot’s commentary is still the best place to start, but Mitchell and Thompson’s commentary supplements it nicely.
Missing from Vinegar Syndrome’s version are interviews with David Engelbach, Robert F. Lyons, Robin Sherwood, and Todd Roberts. They also included the television version of Death Wish II, which changed dialogue, used alternate footage to replace objectionable material, and added extra footage in order to compensate for the number of cuts that had to be made. As a result, it ran over three minutes longer than the unrated cut, and it contained approximately nine minutes of material not included in either the theatrical or unrated cuts. The 2017 Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment in Australia also included the Greek VHS cut, but that hasn’t ever been offered elsewhere on digital disc.
Vinegar Syndrome’s 4K version of Death Wish II is now out of print, so for the time being, Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray is the best option—although they may be doing their own 4K version sometime in 2026. If you’re not 4K capable and can’t wait, this is a solid release that keeps all of Winner’s intentional ugliness intact. But if you’ve never seen it before, be aware that it’s decidedly not for all tastes. Even members of the cast and crew ended up feeling a bit depressed after seeing an early screening of the film—and some of that discomfort had already been present during the production. Thomas Del Ruth may indeed have been unhappy with the way that Winner shot the first rape scene, but it was actually an argument between the two of them while watching dailies that resulted in his unceremonious exit from the film. Death Wish II isn’t a happy film, and it wasn’t a happy set, either. Yet it’s still the film that Winner wanted to make, so if that’s what you’re looking for, then Kino Lorber has the disc for you.
- Stephen Bjork
(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).