Death Wish 4: The Crackdown - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Death Wish 4: The Crackdown or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Death Wish 4: The Crackdown

[edgar]

Third and final "Death Wish" movie made during the 1980s. The others were Death Wish II (1982) and Death Wish 3 (1985).

[mathew]

Gail Morgan Hickman original script was more existential but Cannon kept making him change it to appeal to "the Death Wish audience". Eventually, the only scene that remained from the first script was its incredible opening scene.

[richard]

J. Lee Thompson's desk was flooded with premises and spec scripts from writers wanting to pen the next Death Wish (Brian Garfield himself even had a go) but the job ultimately went to Gail Morgan Hickman, who'd recently written the Charles Bronson vehicle Murphy's Law (1986) for Cannon.

[mathew]

Gail Morgan Hickman had previously contributed rejected scripts for Death Wish 3 (1985) and the script of another Charles Bronson film, Murphy's Law (1986).

[javier]

The only "Death Wish" sequel in which Paul Kersey does not revert to vigilantism due to an act of violence against a loved one. Erica (Kersey's girlfriend's daughter whose death motivates him to renew his sudden justice) died of a cocaine overdose taken completely willingly. Technically, she did not get murdered and certainly did not get raped.

[ethel]

Gail Morgan Hickman wrote three different script for the film. The first featured Paul Kersey struggling with a crisis of conscience and trying to reconnect with Geri Nichols from Death Wish II (1982). It was rejected because Jill Ireland faced her own struggle with breast cancer and was unwilling to reprise her role. The second had Kersey going after an international terrorist, and was rejected due to another upcoming film, Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986). The final script had the premise of Kersey playing two gangs against each other. Hickman was influenced by the use of this premise in Yojimbo (1961) and A Fistful of Dollars (1964).

[kim]

Kay Lenz is only 13 years older than Dana Barron, who plays her daughter. However, this is conceivable, as Jack Nicholson's mother was only 13 years older than him.

[marc]

Gail Morgan Hickman re-wrote the entire script while filming. Charles Bronson constantly had problems with the dialogue and he requested further rewrites of certain items of dialogue and action scenes. Hickman recalled going through several rewrites on a daily basis.

[ivan]

According to a printout read by a policeman, Kersey lives at 8200 Wilshire Boulevard in west Los Angeles, yet when he returns home (before he is collected in White's limo) he drives into the garage of a house with "351" painted on the curb.

[jesse]

The previous three films of the series featured youthful street punks as villains. The fourth film covered new ground featuring adult representatives of organized crime.

[bernice]

The only "Death Wish" film in which no bare breasts appear on screen.

[aaron]

The highest selling "Death Wish" title on the home entertainment market in the U.S. The film easily eclipsed all the other titles when it was released in 1988.

[jessie]

The Cannon Group, Inc. announced the film in 1986, estimating that it would be ready for release by spring 1987. However, the company was by this point facing financial problems. Its greatest box office hit was still Missing in Action (1984) with $38 million domestic gross. Cannon had lost money on box-office flops such as Pirates (1986). Consequently, it tightened the budgets of upcoming films to under $5 million per film.

[ella]

For this film, Cannon reached an agreement with independent producer Pancho Kohner, son of Paul Kohner. The senior Kohner was the agent of Charles Bronson. Pancho himself had produced (or co-produced) seven previous Bronson films, including St. Ives (1976), The White Buffalo (1977), Love and Bullets (1979), 10 to Midnight (1983), The Evil That Men Do (1984), Murphy's Law (1986), and Assassination (1987).

[ken]

Unrelated to the movie: As of June 1, 2020, this is the only one in the series where Amazon Prime lists it as $14.99 plus tax while the other titles come free with the Prime subscription. You might would find the full series on a dvd or blu ray set for $15. Additionally: June 4, 2020, the issue was resolved and is now free with Prime membership, although the $14.99 version is still available.

[duane]

The release of this movie represented the shortest window between "Death Wish" sequels. It was only two years after [Death Wish 3](/category/5599/death-wish-3) (1985), whereas the third picture followed three years after [Death Wish II](/category/5598/death-wish-ii) (1982) which had followed the original Death Wish (1974) by eight years. Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994) was not made for another seven years.

[tamara]

Michael Winner, director of the first three films, showed no interest in directing this one because he had heard that Charles Bronson had a terrible experience filming Death Wish 3 (1985). He was also preoccupied with filming Appointment with Death (1988).

[linda]

At 66 Bronson was almost twice the age of love interest Kay Lens (34).

[dustin]

The Cannon Group, Inc., wanted a more muscular-sounding score for the action scenes and decided to re-use much of the music from its past action efforts Missing in Action (1984) and Invasion U.S.A. (1985).