Dirty Harry
Reviews
John Chard
More than iconography here in dynamite Siegel/Eastwood teaming. The film opens with a shot of a memorial wall in praise of the San Francisco Police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, a SFPD badge is prominent as the camera scrolls down the ream of names on the wall. Cut to a rooftop sniper shooting a girl taking a swim in a swimming pool, cut to the coolest looking cop you have ever seen making his way to the rooftop scene, he stands and surveys the whole of the San Francisco bay area, this is, his area, and we know we are in for a very special film indeed. Dirty Harry is now something of an institution, the film that pushed the boundaries of cops versus bad guys movies, some of the film's dialogue became part of modern day speak, and it's the film that propelled Clint Eastwood into the stratosphere of super stardom. Often tagged as a fascist film, I think it's more a cynical look at the rights of criminals because Harry is everyone who has ever been a victim of crime, he will do what it takes to take down the criminals festering in society, you break the law and Harry will get you any way he can. Here Harry is on the trail of Scorpio, a ruthless sniper killing at random, Scorpio kidnaps a teenage girl and demands $200.000 from the city or she will die in the hole he has her buried in. Harry is just the man for the job of delivery boy and this sets the wheels in motion for what becomes a personal crusade for Harry to take Scorpio down at all costs. Director Don Siegel crafts a masterpiece here, creating a western within the big city landscape, the pace is energetic at times yet reeling itself in to provide genuine suspense when needed. Siegel should also be praised for sticking by Andy Robinson as Scorpio, for it's an insanely great performance from him. Yet it might never had happened since Robinson was petrified of guns, but Siegel stood by him and coaxed him through it. The result is a maniacal turn that scares and amuses in equal measure - witness his mad singing during a bus kidnap scene, you will not know whether to laugh or be afraid. Yet as good as Robinson is, he gives way to a seamless piece of magnificence from Eastwood as Harry Callahan, note perfect and enthusing the role with the right amount of dynamic cool and gusto, it's no surprise that the character became a cinematic legend after such a great acting performance. Finally I must mention the wonderful score from Lalo Schifrin, jazz/electro/beat combinations segue perfectly into each scene with maximum impact to cap off one of the finest films of the 70s, and if you don't believe me then you can go argue with Harry. 9/10
Andres Gomez
The directing is remarkable but, the most interesting side of this film is the character created by Eastwood, a policeman who decides to take the law by his hand disregarding any kind of right or procedure. Quite like his characters in the far west ... but in nowadays U.S. The story itself is, plainly, bad and grotesque.
talisencrw
Recently I've considered drastically negatively re-appraising Clint Eastwood's work, both directorially and as a thespian, as a knee-jerk reaction to his constant defense of the more racially-bigoted face of conservative America, but because of what his work has meant to me as a cinephile over the years, plus in tribute to everyone else's work involved in this film, particularly director Don Siegel's, that simply wouldn't be fair. As well, you're basically getting, boiled down in its 103-minute timespan, 45 years after the fact, the main dilemma facing the USA. Whose rights are more important--the good guys' or the bad guys'? If they're equal, should they be considered equal, and what does that mean to the law enforcement and judicial systems? Quite simply, THE most important American-made film of the past 50 years. NOT my very favourite (that's '2001: A Space Odyssey'), but the most significant. And it hasn't aged a single day because of it.
r96sk
Surprisingly straightforward story-wise, but very enjoyable all the same. <em>'Dirty Harry'</em> is no doubt stylish, features an eye-catching plot and has a very good lead performance from Clint Eastwood; he really does own the role. With that noted, I was surprised at how simply the story unfolds. That's not necessarily a criticism, I just presumed it would've been more than just 'event one, event two, event three etc. ... the end'. I enjoyed it, which is all that truly matters. It's, for me, an entertaining, solid film. I have no real issues with it.
KayP97
I can't imagine anyone else playing Harry Callahan other than Clint Eastwood. He will always be an iconic character with his tough demeanour and his means to get justice no matter how many rules he needs to break. Some of the scenes at the start have nothing to do with the investigation and while feel quite unnecessary to the plot, they still bring entertainment and shows us just what type of character Harry is. Andy Robinson is fantastic as Scorpio and while the investigation does take a little while to get going in the beginning, the cat and mouse game between the two really ramps up towards the end and I particularly loved the climax. Excellent film that still holds up well today. 8/10
CinemaSerf
This is one of these films that you can watch time and time again and still enjoy. Certainly, it's not the best crime story ever committed to film: the actual plot is comparatively straightforward with little by way of anything subtle, but I doubt you will readily find a more charismatic leading man who manages to combine humour, menace and style than Clint Eastwood ("Callahan"). He is a no-nonsense cop who is on the trail of a seriously psychopathic serial killer. After a few red-herrings, we discover quite quickly who the perpetrator actually is - that chase isn't really the point. It is what ensues now - a tense and suspenseful battle of wills between Eastwood and the wonderfully seedy, menacing and maddening Andrew Robinson whose performance here has to be up there with the best, all round, characterisations of any antagonist I've ever seen. Don Siegel keeps the action alive and the cast tightly knit; the dialogue - aside from the now infamous pithy quotes from "Callahan" - is potently sparing. The tension builds-up excellently using the cinematography of the city and a superb score from Lalo Shifrin whilst simultaneously exposing us to what is essentially the seamy, gritty underbelly of San Franciscan sub-culture. It is violent, brutal even - but never graphically. The imagery is designed to horrify but not, in my view, to scare. Eastwood expertly epitomises this cop - a maverick, almost vigilante, police officer and leaves us thanking the lord he is (sort of) on our side. Terrific film.
JPV852
Seen this one a few times over the years and still holds up so well and just another all-time classic from the glorious 1970s. Thoroughly entertained through its perfect 100-minute running time. Eastwood is fantastic of course but Andrew Robinson and his shrieking/screaming was unsettling. The influence this had on future crime-dramas cannot be understated. **4.5/5**
Movie Recommendation
Magnum Force1973-12-13"Dirty" Harry Callahan is a San Francisco Police Inspector on the trail of a group of rogue cops who have taken justice into their own hands. When shady characters are murdered one after another in grisly fashion, only Dirty Harry can stop them.More...
The Enforcer1976-12-16Dirty Harry Callahan returns again, this time saddled with a rookie female partner. Together, they must stop a terrorist group consisting of angry Vietnam veterans.More...
50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments2011-07-27To mark the release two weeks ago of the eighth and final movie in the series, Robbie Coltrane narrates a countdown of the movie franchise's best moments. From Harry's first meeting with Ron and Hermione aboard the Hogwarts Express through to magical mysteries.More...
Sudden Impact1983-12-08When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.More...
Two Mules for Sister Sara1970-03-02When a wandering mercenary named Hogan rescues a nun called Sister Sara from the unwanted attentions of a band of rogues on the Mexican plains, he has no idea what he has let himself in for. Their chance encounter results in the blowing up of a train and a French garrison, as well as igniting a spark between them that survives a shocking discovery.More...
The Dead Pool1988-07-13Dirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of actors and musicians. By the time Harry learns that the murders are a part of a sick game to predict the deaths of celebrities before they happen, it may be too late...More...
Harry Brown2009-11-11An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.More...
Kelly's Heroes1970-06-22A misfit group of World War II American soldiers goes AWOL to rob a bank behind German lines.More...
White Sister1972-03-31A strange love story between a devoted young nun and a young Marxist determined to help run the hospital wards where the nun is the head nurse.More...
Dirty Harry: The Original2001-11-20A retrospective look at the five Dirty Harry films (1971-88), starring Clint Eastwood.More...
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic2017-10-28A thrilling journey through legends, belief and folklore, this film goes behind the scenes with the British Library as they search to tell that story through objects in their collection, in an ambitious new exhibition: Harry Potter: A History Of Magic. J.K. Rowling, who is lending unseen manuscripts, drawings and drafts from her private archives (which will sit alongside treasures from the British Library, as well as original drafts and drawings from Jim Kay) talks about some of the personal items she has lent to the exhibition and gives new insight into her writing, looking at some of the objects from the exhibition that have fired her imagination.More...
Roma1972-03-16A virtually plotless, gaudy, impressionistic portrait of Rome through the eyes of one of its most famous citizens.More...
Hang 'em High1968-04-12Marshall Jed Cooper survives a hanging, vowing revenge on the lynch mob that left him dangling. To carry out his oath for vengeance, he returns to his former job as a lawman. Before long, he's caught up with the nine men on his hit list and starts dispensing his own brand of Wild West justice.More...
The Beguiled1971-01-23Offbeat Civil War drama in which a wounded Yankee soldier, after finding refuge in an isolated girls' school in the South towards the end of the war, becomes the object of the young women's sexual fantasies. The soldier manipulates the situation for his own gratification, but when he refuses to completely comply with the girls' wishes, they make it very difficult for him to leave.More...
When Harry Met Sally...1989-07-12Sex always gets in the way of friendships between men and women. At least, that's what Harry Burns believes. So when Harry meets Sally Albright and a deep friendship blossoms between them, Harry's determined not to let his attraction to Sally destroy it. But when a night of weakness ends in a morning of panic, can the pair avoid succumbing to Harry's fears by remaining friends and admitting they just might be the perfect match for each other?More...
Deconstructing Harry1997-12-12Writer Harry Block draws inspiration from people he knows, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to become alienated from him as a result.More...
The Gauntlet1977-12-17Phoenix cop Ben Shockley is well on his way to becoming a derelict when he is assigned to transport a witness from Las Vegas. The witness turns out to be a belligerent prostitute with mob ties—and incriminating information regarding a high-ranking official.More...
Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd2003-04-14This wacky prequel to the 1994 blockbuster goes back to the lame-brained Harry and Lloyd's days as classmates at a Rhode Island high school, where the unprincipled principal puts the pair in remedial courses as part of a scheme to fleece the school.More...
High Plains Drifter1973-04-19A gunfighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago. After gunning down three gunmen who tried to kill him, the townsfolk decide to hire the Stranger to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.More...
In the Line of Fire1993-07-08Veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan is a man haunted by his failure to save President Kennedy while serving protection detail in Dallas. Thirty years later, a man calling himself "Booth" threatens the life of the current President, forcing Horrigan to come back to protection detail to confront the ghosts from his past.More...
Similar Movies
Things to Do in Denve...
1995-12-01Five different criminals face imminent death after botching a job quite badly.Basic Instinct
1992-03-20Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.Short Sharp Shock
1998-10-15Gabriel, Bobby and Costa are old friends from Altona, a multicultural hood in Hamburg. Just out of prison, Gabriel wants to turn his back on crime, but the others continue to operate as petty criminals. Friendships are tested as the trio navigate a dark world of mafia bosses and deals gone wrong.Batman Forever
1995-06-16In the looming shadows of Gotham City, two villainous souls devise twin schemes of revenge against the city's dark guardian. Two-Face, disfigured by chance and fueled by vengeance, is obsessed with destroying Batman, while the Riddler, a disillusioned genius, pursues the destruction of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Together they've hatched a plot to absorb and control the minds of all of Gotham City's residents, and only Batman and his new partner, Robin, can stop them! But the Dark Knight is hindered by a mystery from his own childhood. He must hope that a new found love can help him overcome the incident that made him what he is. In the end, he must decide: will he be Batman—forever?Vertigo
1958-05-28A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.Cube
1998-07-11A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a maze-like prison. It soon becomes clear that each of them possesses the peculiar skills necessary to escape, if they don't wind up dead first.Cube 2: Hypercube
2002-04-15Eight strangers awaken with no memory, in a puzzling cube-shaped room where the laws of physics do not always apply.Cube Zero
2004-10-10A young programmer whose job is to watch over the reality-warping Cube defies orders to rescue an innocent mother trapped in one of its rooms.Caché
2005-10-05George, host of a television show focusing on literature, receives videos shot on the sly that feature his family, along with disturbing drawings that are difficult to interpret. He has no idea who has made and sent him the videos. Progressively, the contents of the videos become more personal, indicating that the sender has known George for a long time.Klute
1971-06-23A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.Bonnie and Clyde
1967-08-13In the 1930s, bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.Drugstore Cowboy
1989-10-20Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.Shaft
2000-06-15New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.Shaft
1971-06-25Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.Shaft's Big Score!
1972-06-08John Shaft is back as the lady-loved black detective cop on the search for the murderer of a client.The Green Mile
1999-12-10A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.Reservoir Dogs
1992-09-02A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. Orange, psychopathic parolee Mr. Blonde, bickering weasel Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie -- unravel.Monster
2003-12-24An emotionally scarred highway drifter shoots a sadistic trick who rapes her, and ultimately becomes America's first female serial killer.Marnie
1964-07-17Marnie is a thief, a liar, and a cheat. When her new boss, Mark Rutland, catches on to her routine kleptomania, she finds herself being blackmailed.Killing Zoe
1993-10-01Zed is an American vault-cracker who travels to Paris to meet up with his old friend Eric. Eric and his gang have planned to raid the only bank in the city which is open on Bastille day. After offering his services, Zed soon finds himself trapped in a situation beyond his control when heroin abuse, poor planning and a call-girl named Zoe all conspire to turn the robbery into a very bloody siege.