Rating: 
Summary: Guilty pleasure
Review: I would like to believe that this film is a knowing commentary on the frustration and impotence Americans feel because of high crime rates and how this can lead us to accept infringements on our civil rights just so long as those who do the infringing promise to produce results--all we need is a benevolent facist to take care of us and we'll be alright. Unfortunately, I can't quite make myself believe it. This film is a revenge fantasy that plays on our basest instincts--fear and anger. However, it does so so skillfully that I can't help but be caught up in it. The sequels were all garbage.
Rating:
Summary: A tough gritty cop gets the bad guy with minimum grace.
Review: Harry Callaghan (a grand Irish name!) is dirty Harry, a tough, mean cop dealing with brutal criminals, in an uncomprimising way! Dirty Harry is everything early seventies cops were all about: he goes through partners at a rate of several a month, he's a weird loner, doesn't care for himself or authority, he just wants to get the bad guys by the most direct route possible. Rights? Criminals don't have rights! And he applies this philosophy in a harsh, sadistic manner. He's as hard as nails, tougher than shoe leather, he growls out his lines through gritted teeth "I know what you're thinking, was it five bullets or six? But given that this is a magnum 44 that'll blow your head clean off, the question you gotta ask yourself is this: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"...or words to that effect. He's basically a good, intelligent cop, but with no time for the niceties of procedure. The story is of a psychopath holding various people hostage for ransom money from the city. Harry closes in, using illegal and unethical methods, and gets his man. But his illegal methods return to haunt him, so what does Harry do? Well you'll have to watch the film. The story line is gripping, and it'll keep you interested all the way. There are plenty of twists and turns, lots of action, drama, and tragedy. But what is really good about this film is the cinematography. This film was made in 1971, and the techniques used are quite dated, but give the film a real feel and atmosphere for the time. The camera shots tended to move with Harry as he walked along, they would pan around a bit shakily, following him from car, up steps, and into building. The sound effects were fab: every shoe step can be clearly heard, even on concrete! Harry goes into police HQ. What happens? A phone rings - that typical early seventies ring, a kind of aural signal that he's in a busy, hardworking office. (Every time anyone goes into a building with offices, a phone somewhere in the background rings. Its amazing!) Lots of other sounds are louder than they should be, in keeping with film-making style at the time: people's breathing was clearly audible, especially on the phone, gunshots were loud and clear, the noise of fist hitting jaw, body hitting ground - the sound was stark and unadorned. The whole style of the film was minimalist, realistic, no frills, bleak, plain, colourless. This is not a feel-good film, this is a film about violence, death, sadism, fear, crime and retribution. When you see this film, you'll see the genesis of all the 70's cop shows that this style spawned - Kojak and Streets of San Francisco for example - all had that gritty, realistic feel about them, sometimes happy endings, sometimes not, plenty of dodgy police behaviour, brutality, etc. In view of the above, the film probably sounds a bit depressing. And, in fact it is, but then sometimes life is, isn't it? It can't all be sweetness and light, and this film shows you some of the other side. Truly, a classic of its time!
Rating: 
Summary: This and Bullit are the best
Review: AWSOME! But I have to comment on somthing first its good that Steve McQueen didn't take this part because he already did somthing very similar in Bullit. Then the other mentioned in my opinion would have a tough time playing the part so Clint Eastwood was a great choice for the movie. As for the movie damm good you just have to buy it!
Rating:
Summary: A suspenseful, well-made thriller
Review: "Dirty Harry" on the surface might appear to be one cop's determination to bend or even perhaps break the law in order to bring down a villainous murder terrorizing the city of San Francisco. And it succeeds in doing just that. But the film goes deeper than that, and this is what I find most compellingly interesting about it. It is the first police drama of its time to raise pertinent questions/issues regarding its "socially redeeming value", for example. Is this the kind of cop we want on our police force in cities all over America? Is he a killing machine who shoots first then asks questions later or does he do his job conscientously even though at times, he needs to carry it out with a certain degree of recklesseness. Harry Callahan, I think, is the latter. He is a skilled and intuitive detective who is fed up with the police bureaucracy that, to him, does only one thing-stand inthe way of just not doing his job, but LETTING him do his job. The brass sees his function as being a means to an end-just stay out there, act like you're doing your job, don't make waves and there' a nice paltry pension waiting for you aftr twenty years of service. Harry, obviously sees only the end, which is bringing criminals to justice with little regard for the "system". That is primarily the basic conflict inherent in "Dirty Harry", which I thought was strikingly profound. It was more than just the big .44 and the "I know what you're thinkin' punk" dialogue. This is about a man with the temerity to rebelliously fight the system that he fully realizes only serves to "handcuff" a detective such as he who is truly dedicated to performing his job-dutifully protecting the citizenry of San Francisco. Critics at the time of the movies release, namely Pauline Kael, denounced the film as being "fascist" and "condoning police torture of suspects". But this is a movie, and by the time Harry first shoots Scorpio on the football field and proceeeds to dig his heel into an old leg wound that was earlier the result of Harry stabbing him just as Scorpio was about to kill him first-how can someone like Pauline Kael rant about victim's rights? Scorpio also, by this time, had shot a young female swimmer to death (the film's opening scence), murdered Charlie Russell, a ten year-old black boy, and also killed Ann-Mary Deacon, a fourteen year-old girll on her way to the movies. Given all this and Harry's heartfelt concern for these victims, how the hell can anyone root against this guy? A great film, and a compassionate one in its own right.
Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC ACTION MOVIE OF ALL TIME
Review: THE PICTURE AND SOUND REVIEW GIVEN BY "WIDESCREEN REVIEW" IS NOT ACCURATE AT ALL. THIS MOVIE LOOKS AND SOUNDS GREAT IN THE SURROUND SOUND FORMAT. FOR A MOVIE THAT IS ALMOST 30 YEARS OLD THIS IS A TRUE EASTWOOD CLASSIC. IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THEY RELEASED THE ENTIRE "DIRTY HARRY" FILMS AS A BOX SET. WHERE ARE THE REST OF THE "DIRTY HARRY" MOVIES ON DVD, "MAGNUM FORCE","THE ENFORCER",ETC.?
Rating:
Summary: QUALITY PICTURE AND SOUND
Review: THE PICTURE AND SURROUND SOUND ARE BETTER THAN THE REVIEW GIVEN BY WIDESCREEN REVIEW. THIS IS A CLINT EASTWOOD CLASSIC. IT LOOKS GREAT AND SOUNDS EXCELLENT IN THE SURROUND FORMAT. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY OF THIS MOVIE WHICH WAS FILMED ALMOST THIRTY YEARS AGO!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Phenomenon
Review: "Dirty Harry" is the ultimate cop movie in every sense of the word. In fact, the movie is actually dedicated to the cops of SFPD who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. SFPD homicide detective Harry Callahan is a cop motivated by justice and will do whatever it takes to nail cold-blooded criminals much to their detriment as well as to that of the bureacracy that often protects them. Contrary to what some people might say, Harry is not a Fascist. The villians in the sequel, "Magnum Force"(which is very good but not a phenomenal classic like this one) are however card-carrying Fascists and Harry takes them down just like he does other criminals. In the first installment of the series, a serial killer known as Scorpio is ruthlessly killing away innocents and extorts the city to make him stop. The mayor's office is playing right into his vile clutches but Harry knows Scorpio's game extremely well and will do whatever it takes to stop him no matter how many civil liberties and amendments he has to violate in the process. The film is relatively perfectly directed and builds the tension right from the start all of the way till the final showdown. People might say that the message is ambigious but I for one think it is very clear. When the question is between protecting the rights of victims or protecting the rights of criminals, victims come first no matter what. When the justice system fails to comprehend this, it does an atrocious injustice to the overwhelming innocent majority of society wom it's supposed to protect in favor of the guilty few it's supposed to suppress. Again Harry realizes this and as a result, the extremely satisfying ending comes as no surprise to the viewer.
Rating:
Summary: And In The Beginning...
Review: DIRTY HARRY started it all. Every police thriller from 1971 on has been a spinoff of Eastwood's Callahan character. Many have tried, but none have even come close to the hard charm Clint displays in this and the rest of the series. Classic Eastwood.
Rating:
Summary: Every dirty job that comes along. . .
Review: Released in 1971 to luke warm reviews, "Dirty Harry" is without question one of the best urban police action films ever made, and is a classic piece of American Cinema that's as relevant today as it was then. Beautifully filmed on location in San Francisco by Bruce Surtees, director Don Siegel's film captures the pulse and fears of the American public in a time of great social upheaval. The movie addresses those fears in a "law enforcement shackled by Miranda" theme, and draws the main characters in broad uncompromising strokes. Enter Inspector Harry Callahan of the San Francisco Police Department. Known as "Dirty Harry" within the bureau, Callahan works homicide and is regarded as a straight ahead, no nonsense investigator with a reputation for solving cases. Callahan is not politically correct and doesn't care for those who engage in its' posturing, which is the subtext and ignition point for the tension in this film. As the movie opens, Callahan is investigating the murder of a woman who is shot while taking a dip in a rooftop swimming pool. The crime occurs in the downtown area, and Callahan theorizes the murder was probably committed by a rifleman from an adjacent rooftop at some distance. The theory pays off when Callahan checks a neighboring high rise to find spent rifle cartridge casings. Near the casings a note is found from a serial killer named Scorpio, who threatens to shoot others in sniper attacks throughout the city should the Mayor's office fail to pay the ransom demand. This information is shared with the Mayor (played by John Vernon) who unhesitatingly agrees to pay the ransom to avoid a political firestorm of criticism should the demand ever become public knowledge. This only serves to further incense Callahan, who spends the rest of the film hunting for Scorpio as he battles internal pressure from the department as much as the danger on the street. Sterling performances are handed in by Eastwood, Andrew Robinson as Scorpio, and Reni Santoni as Chico , a young idealistic officer newly assigned as Callahan's partner. The movie is also aided by an excellent musical score by Lalo Schifrin. The soundtrack is at times slow and ethereal, then accelerates, beautifully accentuating action sequences. Reviews of this film in the early seventies (remember Pauline Kael?) were often wordy, unfair, and overly simplistic, concentrating on Callahan's worst personality traits and wringing them for all the sensationalistic print they were worth. But the film succeeds on several levels built around Eastwood's great performance as a frustrated cop who wants to put a murderer away. DVD version includes a theatrical trailer that deserves Kael-like criticism (you'll see what I mean). Strong Buy.
Rating:
Summary: On The AFI's list of The 100 Greatest Thrillers of All-Time.
Review: "Dirty Harry" from 1971 has the distinction on being put on The American Film Institutes' list of The 100 Greatest American Thrillers of All-Time which was announced in June 2001. I first saw Inspector Harry Callahan of the San Francisco Homicide division in the theatre way back in early 1972 soon after it was first released.When tickets were only one dollar.Even less for the matinees! I first got it on tape way back in the early '80's on Beta. Which I regret now because Beta is practically extinct. Later got it on VHS. Now the newest edition is better than ever,being digitally processed,letterboxed,in Dolby Surround,so it looks and sounds terrific.Now I can really appreciate Bruce Surtees' great cinematography. And, composer Lalo Schifrin's inspired bass pounding,pulsating jazz and rock score.All under the late great Don Siegel's masterful direction.
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