Dirty Harry (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Diana Davidson, Diane Darnell, Joy Carlin, Maurice Argent, Tony DarioBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-06-03
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: 114827
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- Set in San Francisco in 1971, Dirty Harry is the gritty and suspenseful film that follows the story of Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood), who earns the moniker ?Dirty Harry? for his reputation of handling the dirtiest homicidal cases. The City by the Bay faces the terror of a serial killer known as Scorpio (Andrew Robinson), who viciously snipes at innocent victims and demands ransom throu
Movie Reviews of Dirty Harry (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Movie Review: I finally saw the whole thing, and was blown away.
Summary: 5 Stars
'Dirty Harry' has become a casualty of American political stupidity, with idiocy about its meaning emanating from both the right and left (and what, besides idiocy, emanates from either, anymore?). Like any good thriller, it capitalizes on the ideas and insecurities that were current at the time, and Americans were already prone to reading too much in in '71 (even the brilliant Pauline Kael, who at least still wrote wonderfully even when she lost her head a bit). Now that we have become a nation of simple-minded, extremist red and blue ninnies who can't see ANYTHING just for what it is, Harry is either a standard bearer for fascism or justice - depending on which direction your hysteric paranoia blows. In reality, he's neither.
Beautifully (and surprisingly stylishly) shot, and directed with electrifying economy by Don Siegel, who had been efficiently locating and hammering on nerves the audience didn't know it had since the 50's. This just might be San Francisco's best star turn since 'Vertigo.' It's a beautiful, threatening nightmare version of a city that's frequently too familiar in films (every time I see gratuitous, generic shots of the bridge I want to fine the studio responsible). This is San Francisco I recognize very well (the sense of geographic continuity is fantastic in this film), but haven't quite seen before. Seeing parts of 'Harry' on TV over the years, I wasn't prepared for the crisp, jaw-droppingly handsome and seductively kinetic widescreen camerawork. The movie looks fantastic and works fantastically, bringing something out of the locations that's unique to itself - no small feat.
The storytelling is solid - crude, but in an absolutely appropriate way. The filmmakers don't hesitate to push buttons, manipulate, and score points off our fears. 'Harry' grabs the audience by the short-hairs and drags, and that's exactly what it's supposed to do.
When the plot rudely crossed a really nasty psychopath with a school bus full of kids, I knew we were in the golden age before test-audiences. Oh, for the days of movies that weren't afraid to handle the us with the gloves off! Even the current, impotent trends in ultra-violence seem oddly wary of giving offense, even as they pat themselves on the back for shattering comfort zones. Rarely do we feel anything is at stake, rarely do we feel any real discomfort. (Granted, this could be less a matter of timidity, and more one of the decline in story craftsmanship that has blighted 21st century movies generally.)
Eastwood is, of course, perfect, and he is given a Zodiac inspired villain here so odious and nasty that when Harry disregards the rule of law in bringing him to justice, even an audience of committed pacifists could only say, "Put one in him from me!"
Which is fine - IN A MOVIE. Anyone who thinks that this is offering a road map for our troubled times has the mind of a child. Fantastical interpretations of this movie as a call-to-arms for American fascism are equally boneheaded. It seems pretty obvious that neither reading was intended. Harry's world is painted in the bold, general splashes appropriate to a genre entertainment. It isn't the movie's fault that many Americans now see the world in bold, general splashes - blind to the complexities that constitute reality. Sociopolitical retardation in the US should not spoil your enjoyment of this terrific film, though. 'Dirty Harry' is NOT aimed at intellectual degenerates, even though they may find it easy to love or hate.
There is nothing really complex here - and that's a virtue. I do, however, credit the film with a few grades more ambiguity and subtlety than a lot of people might. Harry's central issue (the law preventing its own enforcement) is bound to create feelings of conflict in thinking viewers, which is, I think, deliberate, and a good choice - but it's to the same end as everything else in the movie: the creation of tension. (Resolving it is something to do on your own time.) A lot of the sentiments people attribute to the film are ones they filled in themselves while Harry scowls silently into the camera. Any possible political positions are no more than implied by the action - they certainly aren't stated in the dialogue.
The action itself follows simple patterns. We see what Harry sees, and the people he wastes are people we would want to see wasted. Themes of justice, vendetta, etc. are older than the western, and are handled in pretty much the same terms - as fictional wish fulfillment. Like any number of other movies, the story borrows from contemporary reality in a bid to bring older elements up to date - but without even pretending to be realistic. It's all over the top, exaggerated, stacked, manipulative - everything a great action picture should be. The form is old as the hills, but the emotions are jacked up to panic levels that make this remain infinitely fresher than any current equivalent. That and the technical virtuosity on display make everything sing. It's absolutely riveting, but anyone who finds some kind of statement here watches way too many movies.
That said, 'Harry' needed context then, and it needs it now even more. I am writing this at a time when American culture has abandoned all sense of reality for an hysterical, cartoonish, stridently extremist and depressingly shallow sense of life and the issues governing it. Now a nation of lard-assed simpletons babbling received inanities as we wander through the fog of our own hyperbole and emotionalism - history clearly teaches that we won't grow up until we've gone too far. We are polarized to the point that neither side can do much better than scream, "stupid," at the other - oblivious to the fact that they're BOTH equally correct in that assessment (and equally wrong about everything else). Common sense, balance and perspective are extinct, and the available options all involve becoming some kind of deluded ass. It's like Americans have been peeing in the gene pool for the last thirty years. So, I'm glad 'Dirty Harry' doesn't really have anything to say, because, at this point, I am sick, sick, sick unto puking of hearing any of it. If 'Harry' were made now, the script would have him justifying himself for the benefit of an audience of idiots. (Witness the pathetic and interminable moaning over justice vs. vigilantism in 'Batman Begins' - clearly audience motivated, as opposed to dramatically motivated.)
If anyone thinks the way Harry cleans up America is bad, they should just be glad it's not ME, because I think MOST OF YOU are punks.
Summary of Dirty Harry (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Set in San Francisco in 1971, Dirty Harry is the gritty and suspenseful film that follows the story of Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood), who earns the moniker ?Dirty Harry? for his reputation of handling the dirtiest homicidal cases. The City by the Bay faces the terror of a serial killer known as Scorpio (Andrew Robinson), who viciously snipes at innocent victims and demands ransom through notes left at the scene of the crime. Callahan is assigned to the case along with his newest partner, Inspector Chico Gonzalez (Reni Santoni) to track down Scorpio and stop him. Using humiliation along with cat and mouse type games against Callahan, Scorpio is put to the test by the cop with the very dirty attitude. Special Features ? New Commentary by Richard Schickel -- Filmmaker and Eastwood biographer Schickel examines the landmark film that revolutionized cinematic crime drama for all time. ? New Featurette The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry -- An examination of the influence and legacy of Dirty Harry. ? Featurette Dirty Harry: The Original -- Clint Eastwood and the film?s creators look back at the birth of the modern action hero: Dirty Harry. ? Featurette Dirty Harry?s Way -- A promotional short on the movie Dirty Harry focusing on the toughness of the movies? main characters. ? Interview Gallery -- Includes interviews with Patricia Clarkson, Joel Cox, Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Evan Kim, John Milius, Ted Post, Andy Robinson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Urich. ? 1993 TV Special Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso -- A look at the life and career of actor/director Clint Eastwood, including scenes from his past film and television work and interviews with friends, fellow actors and crew members who have worked with him over the years. ? Trailer GallerySimilar DVD Movies
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