"Detective Harry Callahan. He doesn't break murder cases. He smashes them."
When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.
Clint Eastwood
Harry
Harry Guardino
Bressler
Reni Santoni
Chico
John Vernon
The Mayor
Andrew Robinson
Killer
John Larch
Chief
John Mitchum
De Georgio
Mae Mercer
Mrs. Russell
Lyn Edgington
Norma
When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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**
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