I’d actually forgotten al about this remake of the 1974 controversial hit about a man who, after his wife is murdered and daughter raped, takes to the street to kill punks and hoodlums. For a while both Paramount and MGM were interested in doing it, and both were pursuing Bruce Willis in the role that Charles Bronson played in five movies. Eventually both studios opted to collaborate. The project went through several scriptwriters and directors. Originally, Joe Carnahan was to both write and direct, but since then Dan Gilroy and Graham Yost have had a go, and the final script is credited to Carnahan, Scott Alexander, Michael Ferris and Larry Karaszewski. Meanwhile Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado of Big Bad Wolves were going to direct but that role has now been taken over by Eli Roth.
Roth was interviewed by Mick Garris on his podcast Post Mortem, and said this about Death Wish:
“MGM was terrific. I actually said, ‘Look at what David Cronenberg with the kill scenes and the tension, and look at how all of that works in A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, that’s what I can bring to this. You can take the Hostel torture scenes, and they can translate to Death Wish, because I will give you spectacular set-pieces.”
I can’t be the only one who is a little depressed at what he says here. Does a Death Wish remake really demand torture scenes? What is it about Roth and torture? And do we need a Death Wish remake after all as there have been so many similar [and sometimes better] movies since it came out?
Vincent D’Onofrio and Elisabeth Shue also star. The film is due out some time next summer.
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