Reviewed by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Clint Eastwood, a Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum (the most powerful handgun in the world), Harry Guardino,
John Vernon, Andrew Robinson, John Larch, John Mitchum, Reni Santoni, Ruth Kobart, David Soul, Mitchell Ryan,
Hal Holbrook, Felton Perry, Tim Matheson, Robert Urich, Tyne Daly, Bradford Dillman, DeVeren Bookwalter,
John Crawford, Albert Popwell, Paul Drake, Michael Currie, Pat Hingle, Mark Keyloun, Audrie Neenan,
Jack Thibeau, Sondra Locke, Patricia Clarkson, Liam Neeson, Evan C Kim, David Hunt, Jim Carrey
Written by Harry & Rita Fink, John Milius, Michael Cimino & others | UK certificate 18 | UK RRP £39.99
Runtime 506 minutes | Directed by Don Siegel, Ted Post, James Fargo, Clint Eastwood & Buddy Van Horn
"Go ahead. Make my day." Probably the most famous and oft-quoted line from the entire series. In one of the many, many interviews on this 7-disc set, Eastwood says it's probably been used on him 10,000 times. I reckon he's probably being conservative — much like his legendary character, unorthodox San Francisco homicide detective Harry Callahan. Often attacked as being an extreme right-wing fascist (particularly by the late New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael), Callahan was created as a reaction against the burgeoning political correctness and liberalism of the late 1960s, and growing sense that the rights of criminals were being put ahead of the rights of their victims.
At their most basic, the Dirty Harry films are simply police procedurals. They can also be viewed as modern westerns — Harry is the lone gunslinger, going up against the bad guys. But they are nothing less than thoroughly entertaining. And what's fascinating to see when watchng these films many years later is how well they've aged; except for the changes in fashion and cars, they all look and sound as if they could have been made today.
Dirty Harry (1971) The first, and still the best of the bunch. Originally intended to star Frank Sinatra, then John Wayne, then Paul Newman, the role finally went to Eastwood — it became his signature role, and cemented his place as a star. And Eastwood's portrayal of the cynical, unorthodox cop who is constantly going up against his incompetent superiors set the scene for a whole new genre of tough, gritty police dramas. The plot of this one concerned a serial killer who called himself Scorpio, and held the city to ransom. Scorpio was based on the real-life Zodiac killer, who was terrorising San Francisco at the time. David Fincher's 2007 film, Zodiac, even features a scene with the police detectives investigating the case going to a cinema to watch Dirty Harry. This is also the film that introduced the slightly longer, but no less iconic (or misquoted) speech: "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 kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"
EXTRAS: DISC 1 Audio commentary with journalist and Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel; two featurettes, one called Dirty Harry: The Original, the other Dirty Harry's Way; an Interview Gallery, featuring Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Patricia Clarkson, Evan Kim, Robert Urich, Arnold Schwarzenegger and others; trailers for all 5 films.
EXTRAS: DISC 2 A pair of documentaries — The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry, and Clint Eastwood: The Man From Malpaso.
Magnum Force (1973) Four rookie cops have turned vigilante and are killing drugs bosses, pimps and other lowlife, and it's up to Harry to stop them (the irony being that many people considered Harry himself to be a vigilante of sorts). Great to see "newcomers" David Soul, Robert Urich and Tim Matheson as the bad guys, led by veteran Hal Holbrook. And here is proof that sequels don't always suck, with Magnum Force easily the equal of the first film.
EXTRAS An audio commentary with Magnum Force writer John Milius; two featurettes — A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry, and The Hero Cop: Yesterday And Today; trailers for all 5 films.
The Enforcer (1976) A little lighter in tone than the first two, but still full of the trademark violence, as well as Eastwood's dry humour and laconic delivery. This time he's having to tackle a group of hippie terrorists who have stolen a cache of weapons (including some rather nasty rocket launchers) and ultimately take the mayor hostage. To add to his woes, Callahan is partnered with a new female inspector, played by Tyne Day who went on to star in TV's Cagney & Lacey.
EXTRAS An audio commentary by director James Fargo; two featurettes — The Business End: Violence in Cinema, and Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special in FIlms; trailers for all 5 films.
Sudden Impact (1983) A great plot and a decent script are let down by a poor actress as the female lead. A woman (Sondra Locke, who was Eastwood's girlfriend at the time) is hunting down and killing the gang that raped her and her sister. Meanwhile, Harry is sent to the small town of San Paulo to investigate a homicide and, of course, gets involved in the case. It's an interesting twist to see Callahan sympathising with a murderer, even though she's a victim herself, because it goes against his strict moral code. This could have been a much better film if the bland and wooden Locke had not been involved. This is also the film that gave us that immortal line: "Go ahead. Make my day", as well as being the the only Dirty Harry film directed by Eastwood.
EXTRAS An audio commentary with journalist and Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel; a featurette called The Evolution of Clint Eastwood; trailers for all 5 films.
The Dead Pool (1988) Considered by many to be the weakest of the series, on a fresh viewing (and after watching the first 4 again) it's really not that bad. By now Clint is starting to look a little old to be running around shooting bad guys, but he still manages to convey that quiet toughness and intolerance of the faults in the legal system. This time Harry must stop a secret contest to murder San Francisco celebrities, of which he is one of the targets.
EXTRAS An audio commentary with cinematographer Jack N Green and producer David Valdes, and a featurette called The Craft of Dirty Harry.
BOXSET EXTRAS ***** What a glorious package Warner Brothers has put together here — it truly is an ultimate collector's edition. Each film has been digitally remastered, and each one now has 5.1 channel sound. Each film has an audio commentary and bonus featurettes. There is also a bonus 7th disc, which has the documentary Clint Eastwood: Out Of The Shadows. The package also contains a 40-page hardcover book with behind-the-scenes photos from all the movies; a series of art cards with the theatrical posters; a Scorpio: Portrait Of A Killer poster, with a map of San Francisco detailing the hunt for the serial killer; replica production letter from Eastwood, Warner studio bosses, homicide police and more; and a replica wallet containing Inspector Callahan's police ID card and badge. This is an iconic series of films — they don't make cop dramas like this any more, and they certainly don't make stars like Clint Eastwood any more. If you're a fan of Callahan, then you really can't go past this collection.
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