Surprisingly straightforward story-wise, but very enjoyable all the same.
'Dirty Harry' 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.
When a deranged sniper picks victims at random and personally taunts the San Francisco police department, he draws the ire of the grumpiest cop on the force. Harry Callahan, played with typical take-no-prisoners panache by Clint Eastwood, isn't here to make friends or to feel good about himself. He exists solely to conduct court on the streets, rulebook be damned; to shoot first and ask questions later. Presumably because the weapon he carries, an iconic, big-barreled Smith & Wesson, doesn't leave enough of its target to raise any objections.
Although everyone clearly despises him on a personal level, it's hard to see Harry positioned as anything but the banner-waving antihero: he gets to spout the sweet quotes, wear the cool sunglasses and strike a bunch of badass poses, so his opinions become the film's opinions. That’s a problem when the themes grow more ambitious, addressing the shaky ground between what's legal and what's arbitrarily "right." Harry sees everything in stark black-and-white, flying into a seething rage when a high-profile collar walks free due to his own brutish interrogation tactics, and we're meant to cheer when he stalks and eventually forces a second confrontation with the freed criminal. The pursuit itself makes for gripping entertainment - messy, gritty and intense - but the overt political messaging makes it more complicated than a simple yay-rah get-the-bad-guy.
The film uses its antagonist, the aforementioned sniper, as incendiary proof of the holes in the justice system. If more situations were handled outside the courtroom, I guess, we'd see far fewer hijacked school buses or tortured kids. Odd that the fallacy of this argument is lost on Harry, who's earlier beaten to a bloody pulp by three yokels. Believing what they see, and refusing to wait for the whole story, they jump to conclusions and take him for a peeping Tom. Harry licks his wounds and carries on, blissfully unaware of the poetic irony.
This isn't just your basic gunsmoke action movie. I might not agree with its conclusions, but I appreciate the debate it inspired within me. It's always good to test one's own beliefs. Also good to soak up a healthy dose of raw '70s atmosphere from time to time, which is something Dirty Harry has in spades.
Still one of the best. Andy Robinson is the ultimate creep.
One of the defining film of the 1970s.
Beautifully shot and classically badass. I love the use of black or darkness in the film. Truly not being able to see in the dark wondering if the shadows and figured are friends or foe really put you on edge in an attempt to give you the experience of the officer. Obvious allusions to the zodiac killer are peppered throughout with imagery pulled straight from the case, from letters taunting police, to astrological monikers, and school buses on windy roads with these to pick of the kiddies that come bouncing out. More action, less crypticness and occult themes than the real case or similar films. But an experience to be had.
Now I know what you're thinking. Was the thrill worth 1 star or 5 and would I enjoy it? Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kind of lost track myself. But being this is a classic action film, from one of the best decades for ultra violent Cinema, and could be argued that it helped to define a genre, you've got to all yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?"
Well, do ya, punk?
https://boxd.it/YQcrH
Clint in the first film of his star role
I have the feeling its main character inspired at least a dozen other movie protagonists.
Its best asset is easily the soundtrack, and stylistically it has aged pretty well in general, some great, atmospheric visuals in here.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t take nearly enough risk with the storytelling. It’s a very straightforward police procedural that doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles. Because of that, it has lost a lot of its charm with age, certainly more so than a lot of other classics from the New Hollywood era.
I also don’t like the fascist messaging we have going on in here. Sure, a lot of action movies have fascist undertones boiling under the surface. But when you look at a character like Batman, it kinda works because he operates in a world where everyone and everything surrounding him is compromised. Here we have a protagonist who places himself above the law because it’s an inconvenience to his job. I might let that slide if they’d let it hang in the background, because that’s what most action movies end up doing (ignore the moral implications of what you’re seeing), but this thing makes a very conscious effort to constantly draw attention to the fact that our protagonist needs to be dirty in order to do his job well, it integrates it into the story and rewards him for it.
So, while that part of the movie hasn’t aged well, there are still a lot of good scenes.
6/10
"Uh uh. I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?"
I still love, love the scene above. Clint Eastwood delivers the lines like such a damn badass. We also have the gritty San Fransico location, a great bad guy in Scorpio played by Andy Robinson and boy he can give you some crazy looking expressions. I also still love the scene at the stadium. I love the scene with the mayor about Callahan (Eastwood) shooting the guy chasing a woman. No he wasn't collecting for Red Cross sir!
Anyway when I was young Dirty Harry was one of the first movies I saw with my dad while I was still a little 12 year old and I will always love it. The older I get the more I love the film for what it is, when I was a kid I just simply loved Eastwood's .44 Magnum, the shooting and the violence.
Lovely rewatch, next time I should watch it with my dad again.
"My, that's a big one."
I'm not sure if I was expecting more or what, this film was alright. Maybe the slow-yet-fast/consistent pacing and filmmaking had to do with that, not in the sense of that being a bad thing: but rather in the sense that, what was happening, didn't necessarily make up for it.
Take Nicolas Winding Refn's Too Old to Die Young for example. That's the only work of his I've seen so far, besides Bronson. And I don't remember much about its filmmaking. But I'm aware he's done his thing similarly before. That show/long film seemed to almost rely on these super long shots: and the camerawork; it seemed to express passion for one's craft. His style seems to be divisive: a lot of people hated that in the show, from what I've seen, in some of his films, too. I can understand that, but I liked it, possibly because the narrative was captivating.
In this film, that style could've been an aspect more negative than positive. At the same time, the story/narrative didn't seem all that captivating to me. That likely made the directing style stand out more which, in turn, affected the already-lacking captivation in a domino effect. If you're to go that route, the story should carry its weight, or that route will probably have the opposite effect.
The best aspects of this film were undoubtedly the directing, camerawork, the cinematography, and to a lesser extent, the soundtrack. At first, the soundtrack was alright; different. But upon some reflection, I concluded that 'different' is good, and it was eerie and all that, fitting each instance. The other aspects were the cream of the crop, though.
I liked that ironic scene with the monologue. The way Clint Eastwood did that scene, said that monologue, and his smirk at the end, were great, and how it came full circle at the end. The first time was so smooth and chill, which added to it tremendously. It's no wonder that moment became a classic. It's very memorable. I'd say that, and how it came full circle, was the best part of the film.
Performance-wise, it seems like people have commended Clint Eastwood. It didn't stand out to me. Neither did most of the performances, but not in a 'these performances are bad' way. But Andrew Robinson's performance was slightly notable, I suppose. Besides him, nobody's performances stood out like a sore thumb, in a good or bad way. They were all acceptable.
[Upon further reflection, Clint Eastwood's performance was pretty good. I don't know what I was thinking.]
One thing about the ending that stood out to me was the lack of a score. I'm not too sure how I feel about that. It was a change of pace from the usual; I guess that's good in and of itself. Not only that, it acted as a way to set that feeling of seriousness to what was happening. Yet, I don't know: something was lacking. That way of doing things should be utilized more, for sure. It just didn't seem to be cut out for this film.
All-in-all, I'm pleased with this film. It was an alluring watch due to the elements I've mentioned. It could've been more entertaining, but that's not a big deal. It's a good thing that I got lucky seeing this film on Youtube off to the side as I was watching another video. That's the reason why I ended up watching it. Who knows how far down the road it would've taken had that not happened. It'll probably be a while until I watch the next film in the series.
Other thoughts:
The woman at the beginning sort of looked like Maggie Lawson.
"Yeah, well, when an adult male is chasing a female with intent to commit rape, I shoot the bastard. That's my policy." vs. "When I see five weirdos dressed in togas stabbing a guy in a park, I shoot the bastards. That's my policy." in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! I'm guessing inspiration for that line came from this film.
I was shocked that this film wasn't a one-off but rather the first film out of a film series. Not even a trilogy: a series. I did not know that. At all. I think that was a mildly good thing, though. If I had known, I probably wouldn't have watched it yet. Film trilogies and film series make me feel obligated to watch all of them in a row.
Harsh and unforgiving - not just Harry but the film-making.
That 70s slowness that grates to a modern eye now. But it's a solid plot with little fat on the plot. Scenes in the dark were almost invisible on my TV but I blame HBO and their streaming!
Eastwood does best when he says little. And to give him two shots at his famous catchphrase set up a sequel right there and then...
(it has a passing comparison to the Zodiac killer in that there are letters used and a scene with some schoolchildren. But it's a lazy usage purely designed to take advantage of the news of the time)
7.5/10
There's a reason they kept making these movies. It's this one. This actually defined action movies for years: a singular rogue cop with an affinity for losing partners, recent widower, prone to expressing himself in one liners and extreme violence with an overpowered weapon...it all started here. And his captain isn't a fan! Sometimes overlooked is the great work by Andrew Robinson as the Scorpio Killer here. By far, the most interesting of the Dirty Harry villains is on full display here.
great film. i mean clint eastwood thats all u need to say
Not the Hairy Dirty movie I was looking for
Clint in the first movie of his starring role.
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I have seen bits and pieces of this over the years but never the whole thing. It was interesting to see this film after having seen Gran Turino. It was everything that I expected it to be - a tough-guy cop that takes on the world of crime. While it was the film that really spawned that genre I still think that it is better than the vast, vast majority of the movies that came after it.