Unbelievable Movies of the 70s

Random lunch-time thought ...

I finally got around to seeing "Death Wish" with Charles Bronson the other night. I may have seen one of the 80s spinoffs back in the day, but those are clearly parodies of the original. What's interesting about the movie is that, as well as it captured the "big city + fear of crime" motif of the 70s, the movie itself was pure dreck in several regards.

Say what you will of the film's exploitative aspects, but my first point of contention is the over-the-top stereotyping of certain characters - both good and bad guys. Watching the Arizona developer drop Bronson off in a car with, not one, but two longhorn toppers on the vehicle made me yearn for the more subtle stereotyping of "Dukes of Hazzard."

Secondly, there's the very surreal aspect of the muggers/beatnicks, all sifting out their mugging opportunities, only to think "Yeah, the real tough looking guy ... that's our target!." I mean, seriously ... even Chuck Norris knew better than to mess with Charles Bronson. A case in point: