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Dirty Harry Callahan is back and you have to ask yourself, do you feel lucky punk?  Well do ya?

I grew up in the heyday of action movies.  During the 80’s, an action movie almost always got a sequel as long as it did moderately well in the theatres.  There are more than a few unnecessary sequels made and more than a few very successful ones.  Their heritage can all be pretty much traced back to one movie, Dirty Harry.  Films like Lethal Weapon wouldn’t exist if writer Shane Black hadn’t seen the Dirty Harry films.  Like Die Hard was the action movie template for the 90’s, Dirty Harry became the template for the 80’s. 

I haven’t watched the Dirty Harry films ever before.  Truth be told, they are a little dated and with today’s onslaught of police procedural dramas on television, the action and methods of Harry Callahan aren’t as risqué today as they were back in the 70’s.  But as a classic bit of filmmaking, Dirty Harry is pretty much the bible on how to make a cool rebellious cop that plays by the rules.  Warner Brothers has released all five films in the franchise in a great collection.  While not all are classics, you’ll want to own the whole series. 

Dirty Harry

The first film pits “Dirty” Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) against a serial killer named Scorpio (Andy Robinson).  Loosely based on the Zodiac murders that were plaguing San Francisco at the time,  Harry must stop Scorpio as he roams the city killing people and taunting the police with obscure clues.  That’s the basic story.  It doesn’t get much deeper.  None of the Dirty Harry movies delve deep into character studies.  What you see is what you get.

Each film follows the same template established here.  A crime happens, Harry is busted down for some overly aggressive stunt he pulls to bring in a criminal, the crimes escalate, Harry is assigned them and then he wins the day by any means necessary.  You are constantly reminded that Harry’s antics are outdated and he needs to come up to the times and get with the game.  There is a running gag though all five films as Harry gets a new minority partner with every film who in turn dies a horrible death.

It’s easy to see how Dirty Harry influenced cinema.  Lethal Weapon is basically Harry’s psyche split into two and the aggressive side is given to Riggs while the haggard policeman side is given to Murtaugh.  The films of Charles Bronson, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone can all be credited to this film.  It’s a testament to the longevity of the movie and its lasting impact.  Eastwood embodied the iconic character and it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the role. 

Warner Brothers has done a really great thing here.  Normally, I hate slipcases on DVDs. They are useless and wasteful and should be stopped.  Warner Brothers has finally make the slipcover cool and interesting.  Each of the Dirty Harry films is encased in a plastic sleeve.  On the front cover the sleeve is busted out like broken glass so that Harry’s magnum can stick through.  It’s brilliant and adds to the coolness value.

Dirty Harry comes in a two disc collector’s edition.  On disc one, you’ll find the movie and a commentary track from Eastwood’s biographer and film historian Richard Schickel.  Schickel talks about the movie like a fan does.  He fills the commentary with details about director Don Siegel’s directing, Eastwood’s relationship with the director, how Dirty Harry fits into the time it was made and lots of other great tidbits.  I wish more films would have tracks like this.  There is also a featurette called “Dirty Harry: The Original” hosted by Robert Urich (who has a role in Magnum Force).  It’s not great but there are some nice bits with Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Milius and others.  “Dirty Harry’s Way” is a short promo for the movie from 1971.  “Interview Gallery” has snippets of interviews with actors and directors that have worked with Eastwood over the years.  Finally, there is a trailer gallery with short trailers for all five Dirty Harry Movies.

Disc two has two great documentaries on it.  “The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry” shows the shadow that Harry has cast over film history and Eastwood’s career.  “Clint Eastwood: The Man From Malpaso” is an hour long television special from 1993.  It takes a look at the career of Eastwood from birth to Unforgiven.  It’s hard to believe that Eastwood has been working as long he has.  He was in his forties when he did the first Dirty Harry film. 

If you’ve never seen a Dirty Harry film, start with the first one and work your way though the series.  Dirty Harry might seem a bit dated by today’s standard but if wasn’t for Harry Callahan, the language of film today would be vastly different.

Rating:  5/5

Magnum Force

The second in the series is for my money, the best of the lot.  Written by John Milius (Apocalypse Now, Conan the Barbarian) and Michael Cimino (Deer Hunter, Year of the Dragon), the story takes a darker turn as Harry takes on a group of rouge cops that are taking the law into their own hands.  Gritter and darker than the first one, Magnum Force is the sequel that everyone knew would be made.  In the early 70’s a successful film didn’t always mean a guaranteed sequel.  Over the decade, that would change. 

When a mob hotshot Mr. Ricca is acquitted, a rogue cop kills him and his men.  The police are confused as to who would hit the mobster.  Soon, pimps, drug-dealers and thugs are being bumped off by someone using a magnum revolver.  Harry is assigned to the case and while he see nothing wrong with a scumbags getting their just deserts, he believes in the system and doing things the right way.

Magnum Force comes in at around two hours and you can see where it should have been cut in places.  Still, it’s a stronger story than the first film.  It’s obvious early one who the killer(s) is but the fun is watching Harry figure it out and gather the proof he needs to bust the dirty cops.  We get to further explore Callahan’s psyche and further abuse of minority partners.  Milius and Cimino’s script is pretty much a doppelganger of the first film but with more bite. 

Extras include a trailer gallery for all the films, a few featurettes and a commentary track.  “A Moral Right: the Politics of Dirty Harry” explores the times and concepts presented in the series by talking to filmmakers, historians, authors and others.  It should help place the Harry franchise in context for new fans and deeper appreciation for longtime fans. “The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today” is a 1973 promo piece from when the film was released.  Sadly, the extra I was most looking forward to is a bit of a letdown.  The commentary track with screenwriter John Milius is short and often not very interesting.  He has a few good stories but the whole track is less than half the runtime.

Magnum Force is the darkest and grittiest film in the franchise.  After this film, the next two really bring the franchise down before stepping up a notch with The Dead Pool.  Fans of Dirty Harry will want to watch this film before jumping to the last in the series. 

Rating: 4.5/5

The Enforcer

The Dirty Harry franchise starts to show its limits with the third entry into the series.  Having off’ed a Hispanic and an African American as partners in the first two films, this time Harry is partnered up with Tyne Daly.  Why?  Because they can.  Inspector Harry Callahan is back for his third outing when a militant group calling themselves the People’s Revolutionary Strike Force starts killing people and kidnaps the mayor. 

After being busted down to personnel because he ran his car through a liquor store in an effort to take down some scumbags that had taken hostages, Harry gets reassigned to Homicide Division to capture the PRSF and save the Mayor.  He’s teamed up with Kate (Tyne Daly), a rookie cop trying to prove herself.  With the help of a militant black group, “Uhuru”, Harry is able to track down the vile scum on Alcatraz and finish them off. 

If you’re a fan of the first two films, then you’ll be very disappointed by The Enforcer.  Most of the movie makes no sense and is really only there so we can see Harry uses a bazooka at the end of the film.  Directed by James Fargo, The Enforcer is the highlight of an otherwise unimpressive career.  There isn’t much here and it would be hard for a better director to add much to the horrible script.  Teaming Harry up with Kate seems forced and more for comic effect than the fact that filmmakers are trying to make a point about equality in the workforce.  After making a big stink about women being promoted despite lack of experience, it’s never mentioned again and when Harry is teamed up, it’s just accepted.

“Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special in Films” is a short piece that appeared on the 2000 release.  “The Business End: Violence in Cinema” is the main highlight on the DVD.  It features actors, filmmakers and other talking about violence in the movies and does it harm society.  As you can imagine, no one has a real answer.  Director James Fargo proves a lively commentary as he talks about how much the making of the movie was.  I’m glad it was fun for someone.

While not the worst in the Dirty Harry series, it certain won’t be anyone’s favorite.  It follows the Dirty Harry formula but to lesser effect.  If you’ve never seen the entire series, it’s worth renting at least once and only completist will want to own it.

Rating: 3/5

Sudden Impact

The only Dirty Harry film directed by Clint Eastwood, it’s easily he worst of the franchise.  In the 70’s and early 80’s, Eastwood had the bad habit of putting his girlfriends as the lead actress in his films regardless of talent.  He dated Sondra Locke for a long time and she starred in many of his films.  There is a reason most people have never heard of Sondra Locke, she’s not a very good actress and her horrible performance in Sudden Impact proves it.

After pissing off a mobster named Threlkis, Harry is targets for execution.  His superiors put him on vacation where he’s restlessly pursued mobsters and young punks he pissed off in the opening of the film.  After racking up an impressive body count while on leave, his superiors send him out of town to investigate a lead on a man that was shot in crotch and then in heart. 

Harry’s victim is the first in a series.  Jennifer Spencer (Sondra Locke) and her sister was gang rapped one night by group of local thugs leaving her sister in a catatonic state.  She’s vowed revenge on the men that did it.  Harry is shipped off to San Paulo to look into the history of Jennifer’s first victim.  While there more and more men turn up with bullet holes in their wiener and Harry does his best to piss off everyone around him.  As the film comes to a close, Harry must decide what justice really is.  Should Jennifer go to jail for her crimes or is she justified in her vigilante efforts.

Dull, plodding and uninteresting, Sudden Impact focuses less on Harry and more on Jennifer and her issues.  It would have been better if it was just another Dirty Harry clone that Eastwood did instead of another sequel.  The Gauntlet would have been a better Dirty Harry film instead.  Even though The Enforcer was ridiculous, it has some action.  Eastwood spends most of his time developing Jennifer and her backstory.  You can see Eastwood’s early directing style developing but he hasn’t worked out the balance yet. 

The bonus features include another commentary with Richard Schickel.  Regardless of what you may think of the film, the commentary is excellent.  Schickel gives lots of context for the film and how it fits into the Harry universe.  He doesn’t just inflate the film but gives equal time to the ridiculous aspects as well.  That’s followed by “The Evolution of Clint Eastwood”.  The featurette looks at Eastwood’s directing and has interviews with pretty much everyone they could find.  It’s a nice half hour that really pays tribute to Eastwood’s legacy. 

In my opinion, Sudden Impact is the worst of the films.  It’s dull, predictable and lacks the flair of the first three films.  The extras are first rate and if you’ve got the other Dirty Harry films, you’ll want this one as well.

Rating: 2.5/5

The Dead Pool

The last entry into the Dirty Harry franchise is 80’s film The Dead Pool. Featuring a very young Jim Carrey and Liam Neeson, The Dead Pool is a return to form for Harry. He’s out of touch, cranky and dangerous.  Between the release of this film and the first Dirty Harry, it’s been seventeen years.  Harry looks like he should have retired years before and he probably would have if there wasn’t a contract obligation with Warner Brothers.  A victim of its own success, The Dead Pool is a standard 80’s police action movie.  By now we’ve had Lethal Weapon and Die Hard so Dirty Harry just walking around grimacing wasn’t going to cut it.

When celebrities whose name is on a popular dead pool, a betting list on when celebrities are going to die, ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan is put on the case.  When it turns out that one of the actors on dead pool participant Peter Swan (Liam Neeson) turns up dead on his film set, Harry is hot on the trail.  After peaking at Swan’s list, he notices his name has been added to the list of targets.  Can Harry stop the killer before his name is added to the list of the deceased?  Well can he?

The Dead Pool is a far cry from the first film. Eastwood is almost a parody of himself by this time.  His character has become the cliché and he plays it up to great effect.  Gone are the social and political themes of the first two films.  There is a stab at celebrity and the nature of fame but it’s merely hinted at instead of having any in-depth insight.  Callahan gets bigger and better guns including a harpoon.  In truth, The Dead Pool has more in common with Italian black gloved killer films of the 60’s and 70’s than the rest of the franchise.  Sure he goes through the motions and all the beats are there but it’s more of a slasher flick. 

This entry is just pure fun.  Nothing is taken seriously and seeing Jim Carrey doing an Exorcist inspired music video to “Paradise City” is worth watching alone.  Add to that a high speed car chase between Harry and a remote controlled car and you’ve got nothing but a good time.  Also, look for members of Guns N’ Roses in the funeral scene.

As the last entry into the franchise, they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with anything.  “The Craft of Dirty Harry” rounds out the coverage of all things Harry Callahan.  From editing to scoring and everything in-between, this is the final examination of the Dirty Harry films.  Producer David Valdes and cinematographer Jack N. Green offer up a decent commentary track.  Green has lots to stay about filming in San Fran and they both have some interesting stories to share about the production process.  There are several dead places but it’s worth listening to.

The Dead Pool doesn’t bring the character back the way you know him, watching him evolve over seventeen years and seeing how the filmmakers adapt him to the changing climate makes it all worthwhile.  The last film in the franchise has lots of popcorn munching fun and holds up better than the two previous entries.

Rating: 3.5/5

While the Dirty Harry franchise feels a bit dated by todays standard, it’s easy to see the appeal.  Harry’s “get the job done any means necessary” methods are a staple of todays films and television.  I watched In Plain Sight this week and it’s basically Dirty Harry as girl. I wouldn’t be surprised it wasn’t pitched that way.  I would highly recommend picking up the whole series.  Overall, the films are fun to watch and have lots of repeat viewing value.

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