By Lee Pfeiffer

Director Michael Winner has died in his native England at age 77. Winner's star rose in the early to mid 1960s with a string of innovative comedies such as The Jokers and I'll Never Forget What's'isname, that perfectly tapped into the emerging London "mod scene".  His eclectic range of movies covered many genres, from Westerns to WWII to urban crime thrillers. Among his more notable titles were Lawman, Chato's Land, Scorpio, Hannibal Brooks, The Games, The Sentinel, The Nightcomers, The Mechanic and The Stone Killer. His greatest and most unexpected success was the 1974 film Death Wish starring Charles Bronson which was released at a time when societies worldwide were bristling at an explosion of urban crime and the perception that the current laws were not protecting them. The film tapped into a vigilante sentiment in its depiction of a New York liberal who takes the law into  his own hands after his wife is brutalized by a gang of thugs who also rape his daughter. Response to the film was unnerving to many, with audiences screaming in approval with the death of every bad guy. Director William Friedkin told Cinema Retro that the response of the audience in the theater where he saw the film was the most "visceral" he had ever witnessed. Death Wish and the controversy surrounding the film afforded Winner a second career as a political pundit in England. Ironically, it also marked the high water mark of his screen career. His work got lazier and less inspired in the years to come, resulting in forgettable duds such as Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood, Dirty Weekend and Bullseye. He also directed two sequels to Death Wish that were financial successes but critical disasters. He was accused of grabbing for the low-hanging fruit and directing both films in order to make a fast profit. Winner's star eroded in America but he had remained a high profile personality in England, often making outrageous statements that offended seemingly everyone. Denied a knighthood, Winner scorned the offer of being honored with an OBE by saying it was suitable for people who "clean toilets". His political punditry in favor of the Tories made him a regular fixture on British TV where he would rail against the perceived dangers of liberalism. His long-running restaurant reviews in the Sunday Times also caused controversy and instilled fears in chefs whose creations he disapproved of. Ironically, it was his fixation on exotic gastronomical delights that hastened his death. Winner had suffered from a series of terrible health complications relating to certain dishes he had dined on. He never fully recovered. For more on his life and career click here