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Originally Posted by Michael Elliott
I also find it strange that director J. Lee Thompson would throw so much "slasher" stuff into the film when two years earlier he really screwed up a real slasher in HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. It seems like the violence and gore in 10 TO MIDNIGHT should have been used in HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
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Which is a good time to throw in again that this is why I don't subscribe to the "auteur theory"
for every director. It's rubbish to use as a general rule. While there are "signature" directors like Kubrick or Hitchcock whose style you can almost immediately feel and point out, someone like J. Lee Thompson is no "auteur". You could tell me that different directors made 10 TO MIDNIGHT, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES and DEATH WISH 4, and I wouldn't know the difference. But then again, Thompson originally made CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES very violent and it had to be cut before release.
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I was going to watch all five DEATH WISH films this weekend but got caught up in some Griffith stuff. I seem to be close with your ratings, although I think the 3rd and 5th films are three star movies. DW3 wasn't originally a DEATH WISH film so that explains the wacky nature at the end but I love it. DW4 is the weakest to me yet I think it has the best and most possible story. The film just comes off very tired, slow and boring. We've debated DW2 countless times but I prefer the R-rated cut even though I've seen both many times.
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If you revisit these I'd be interested in an update, to see if you feel the same about all the movies. I agree that PART 4 is the least, and it's funny, really, because it's got a decent director and it's possibly the most slick, and with a workable story, as you've said. Yet, in the case of movies like DW, perhaps a more involved story isn't even required!
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Do you plan on renting DEATH SENTENCE? It's from the novel, which was the original sequel to DEATH WISH. I watched it over the weekend and enjoyed it but I'll post my full review later.
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I'll have to learn more about this. Maybe it will be worth it.