Bronson's Loose Review

An unofficial companion to the Death Wish Series. 
By Paul Talbot. Forward by Andrew Stevens. 
Published by iUniverse, Inc., Lincoln, Neb.

A definite treat for the people who paid to watch Charles Bronson shoot creeps. Talbot's 161-page book gives us the best, and maybe the only, history of the making of these cult films we're likely to get. It was put together using information from 10 interviews the author conducted between 2004 and 2005. Among those interviewed were Michael Winner, director of the first three entries, Brian Garfield, author of the original novel, and Kevyn Major Howard, the guy who played "Stomper," a punk with the cross hanging around his neck in"Death Wish II." I came across a mention of it on a "Death Wish" fan site on the Internet, then ordered it from Amazon.com. Glad I did. This thing took me back in time. I flashed back to the first time I saw the original. It was on an RCA SelectaVision CED Video Disc in 1981. A picture of the back of that disc is on page 29. The time I saw "Death Wish II" in the movies, I'll never forget. Something happened in that film, a strange marriage of sorts. The image of Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey dressed down Goodwill style, dinky and all, stalking the streets to a hellish Jimmy Page grind. Movie magic. Made hairs stand up on the back of your neck. I've always wondered about the behind the scenes stories, how Bronson felt about these films, how directors and actors felt working with Bronson, how the actors managed to shoot those crazy rape scenes, etc. This book answered a lot of my questions. I sat down with it every night for a week, glued to it. Authors who write books about movies sometimes provide reviews, or strongly suggest which films they prefered over others. It seems Talbot's a big fan of the original "Death Wish." The second best directed, he said, was number four, "The Crackdown." Personally, I was always a big fan of parts 2 and 3. But Talbot tries to do justice to every entry, and for that I salute him. This book made me nastalgic, made me remember how much I liked watching Paul Kersey dish out his brand of justice. "You believe in Jesus...Well you're gonna meet 'em." BLAM! BLAM! By the way, there's an intro by Andrew Stevens, an actor who worked with Bronson in "Death Hunt (1981)" and "10 to Midnight (1983)." I remember Stevens from his performance as the antagonist from "The Seduction (1982)."


		*BRONSON'S LOOSE:* *The Making of the 'Death Wish' Films*

		An unofficial companion to the Death Wish Series. By Paul Talbot. Forward by Andrew Stevens. Published by iUniverse, Inc., Lincoln, Neb.
		By Stephen Pytak A definite treat for the people who paid to watch Charles Bronson shoot creeps. Talbot's 161-page book gives us the best, and maybe the only, history of the making of these cult films we're likely to get. It was put together using information from 10 interviews the author conducted between 2004 and 2005. Among those interviewed were Michael Winner, director of the first three entries, Brian Garfield, author of the original novel, and Kevyn Major Howard, the guy who played "Stomper," a punk with the cross hanging around his neck in"Death Wish II." I came across a mention of it on a "Death Wish" fan site on the Internet, then ordered it from Amazon.com. Glad I did. This thing took me back in time. I flashed back to the first time I saw the original. It was on an RCA SelectaVision CED Video Disc in 1981. A picture of the back of that disc is on page 29. The time I saw "Death Wish II" in the movies, I'll never forget. Something happened in that film, a strange marriage of sorts. The image of Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey dressed down Goodwill style, dinky and all, stalking the streets to a hellish Jimmy Page grind. Movie magic. Made hairs stand up on the back of your neck. I've always wondered about the behind the scenes stories, how Bronson felt about these films, how directors and actors felt working with Bronson, how the actors managed to shoot those crazy rape scenes, etc. This book answered a lot of my questions. I sat down with it every night for a week, glued to it. Authors who write books about movies sometimes provide reviews, or strongly suggest which films they prefered over others. It seems Talbot's a big fan of the original "Death Wish." The second best directed, he said, was number four, "The Crackdown." Personally, I was always a big fan of parts 2 and 3. But Talbot tries to do justice to every entry, and for that I salute him. This book made me nastalgic, made me remember how much I liked watching Paul Kersey dish out his brand of justice. "You believe in Jesus...Well you're gonna meet 'em." BLAM! BLAM! By the way, there's an intro by Andrew Stevens, an actor who worked with Bronson in "Death Hunt (1981)" and "10 to Midnight (1983)." I remember Stevens from his performance as the antagonist from "The Seduction (1982)."
"Copyright 2006 by Stephen Pytak.