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This set is well worth the money. Not only do you get all 5 Dirty Harry films in top-notch quality, you also get a bunch of cool gifts like a replica of Dirty Harry's badge, a hardcover book about the movies, a map of San Francisco that details his travels in the first movie, glossy photos, and even a bonus DVD about Clint Eastwood's entertainment career.
"Dirty
Harry"
Film Series: "Dirty Harry", from 1971, is
the first TRUE action film as we know them today. Sure, there
were plenty of movies before then that had action in them, but they
were always westerns, horror, etc. Then of course there was the
first "James Bond" movie from 1962 (Dr. No), but that was more of an
adventure film. Before "Dirty Harry" there really was no such
thing as a strictly action genre.
It may surprise you that there were others considered for the role of Dirty Harry before Clint Eastwood came along. Frank Sinatra very nearly had the role until a wrist injury prevented him from filming. I don't care how big a fan you might be of Sinatra...you've got to admit that would've been pretty lame. It definitely wouldn't have had the edge that Eastwood gave the role...and there only would've been one film.
The original idea for the Dirty Harry character is that he was going to be a cop very close to retirement. Being a cop was making him unhappy because of all the foolishness a cop has to deal with. At the end of the film, after killing the bad guy, Harry was going to retire from the force. When Eastwood came along, they kept the same basic premise...but he was only in his early forties! Basically, the job gets to him and he's not really sure why he keeps doing it. We're led to believe that he's still a cop because he has nothing else to look forward to in life. His wife was killed in a freak car accident.
Dirty Harry #1- "Dirty Harry" (1971): Clint Eastwood firmly establishes the character of "Dirty" Harry Callahan in this, the first film of the five film series. The classic line "Did I fire six shots or only five?" ending with "Do you feel lucky punk? Well...do ya?" is first uttered. Dirty Harry goes up against the insane red-haired sniper Scorpio.
In real life, actor Andy Robinson who played Scorpio had a very bad time after this movie came out. He played the character a little too convincingly, and people thought he actually WAS crazy. It was hard to find other parts and he received so many death threats from people that he had to get an unlisted telephone number. It's a shame that things like that happen. He DOES, however, really bring this character to extraordinary realism. Scorpio was such an extremely psychotic and violent antagonist that it was really groundbreaking for mainstream film back then to feature him. The character of Scorpio was based on the real-life Zodiac Murderer sniper in San Francisco who was never caught, but fortunately disappeared.
Reno Santini, as Harry's sidekick, is as good as ever. Santini's good in movies (see "Cobra"). Unlike most of Harry's partners, this one DOESN'T get killed. He gets shot, though, and decides to leave the force. And Albert Popwell is the last bank robber Dirty Harry contends with near the beginning of the film and the one to whom Harry gives his famous "Did I fire six shots or only five?" line. It's funny the way Popwell's character says to Harry "I gots to know."
Dirty Harry #2: "Magnum Force" (1973): A team of renegade motorcycle cops is killing punks. What's the problem? They're also killing cops and anyone else who threatens to expose them. That's where Dirty Harry comes in. It's not explained how he got back into the police force after apparently resigning at the end of the last film. It's so good to see Harry again that we don't care. It's unique to see actors like Robert Urich, Tim Matheson, and David Soul, who would later become quite popular in their own projects, in this film as young motorcycle cops who Harry has to kill. I really liked Harry's sidekick in this film. Inspector Early Smith is played by a fine black actor named Felton Perry. He did a lot of other film projects after this, but his most famous is probably the character Donald Johnson from the "Robocop" movies. The character of Early Smith is very clever and it works. He could've been used in other Dirty Harry movies, but sadly he is killed in a mailbox explosion near the end of the film. That still ticks me off! Hal Holbrook plays Harry's boss in this film and although he gives Harry a hard time for using excessive force is actually the leader of the renegade motorcycle cops! He's dealt with rather efficiently.
Dirty Harry #3: "The Enforcer" (1976): Out of the first three "Dirty Harry" movies, this one is my favorite. Originally, Clint Eastwood wanted the "Dirty Harry" film series to be a trilogy. This was meant, at the time, to be the last "Dirty Harry" film. To say that this movie is intense is an understatement. It's intense both psychologically and physically. People are getting killed left and right by a group of terrorists made up of disgruntled Vietnam veterans and their women. The bad guys are definitely unstable, and Dirty Harry is more disgruntled and meaner than in the first two films. The main bad guy, another crazy redhead, has a penchant for knifing people. The bad guys also come across these things called LAWS rockets (rocket launchers). I like Tyne Daly in this movie as Inspector Kate Moore, Harry's sidekick. He isn't too thrilled working with her, but she proves herself worthy. I don't know why they felt they had to kill off her character, though. It adds drama, but isn't necessary.
Dirty Harry #4: "Sudden Impact" (1983): The first Dirty Harry film made in eight years. It was quite by accident that this film came about at all. Clint Eastwood wanted to direct a film like this, but not star. When coming across the script, someone suggested that they change the main character to Dirty Harry and Eastwood agreed. It spawned Harry's most famous catch phrase, "Go ahead. Make my day.". This has been used and parodied by people both publicly and privately ever since and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight to this saying's popularity.
Out of all the "Dirty Harry" films made, this is actually my least favorite. I don't mean to say that it's a bad movie...it's just not the best "Dirty Harry" film. The character played by Sondra Locke is too freaky. I don't like the whole got-raped/out-for-vengeance theme. Rape isn't anything that should be glamorized. It's kind of a downer, really. Plus, the filming of this movie is way, way dark. Most of the time it's hard to see what's going on. There is still a lot of action, though, and Clint Eastwood is still as cool as ever. I'm actually glad that they didn't continue Sondra Locke's character in the next film, although she lives. This is also the last Dirty Harry film in which actor Albert Popwell appears. He played a different character in each of the first four movies. It was definitely an institution...something a person expected and looked forward to seeing.
Dirty Harry #5: "The Dead Pool" (1988): The last and my favorite "Dirty Harry" film! The filming is much clearer than in the last entry, which is a very good thing. Psychologically this movie is just as, if not more, intense than "The Enforcer". Dirty Harry gets a Chinese partner, who lives! Evan C. Kim, who plays Inspector Al Quan, has a lot of personality and is just a really great actor who plays a very memorable character.
Dirty Harry is after a serial killer who pretends he's a famous controversial movie director. There is a list of names of people who have been killed or will be killed...and Harry's name is on it! Obviously, Harry doesn't like being a part of "The Dead Pool" game so he takes matters into his own hands. The killer is quite clever and sometimes uses explosive remote control cars to kill his targets. This is one of the neatest things you will ever see in an action movie! The sequence where the explosive remote control Corvette chases Dirty Harry is actually Eastwood's favorite part of the whole film! I really like Patricia Clarkson in this movie as the reporter who wants to do an exclusive on Harry Callahan and becomes a potential love interest. Clarkson is good in all her shows, and felt she was worth mention here. Plus, this film sparked my most favorite Dirty Harry phrase: "...And you know what that means. You're just sh** out of luck."
This movie is just as good today (2005) as it was back in 1988. You can hardly tell the movie is that old and a movie like this could still be shown in theaters and be very well-received.
It may surprise you that there were others considered for the role of Dirty Harry before Clint Eastwood came along. Frank Sinatra very nearly had the role until a wrist injury prevented him from filming. I don't care how big a fan you might be of Sinatra...you've got to admit that would've been pretty lame. It definitely wouldn't have had the edge that Eastwood gave the role...and there only would've been one film.
The original idea for the Dirty Harry character is that he was going to be a cop very close to retirement. Being a cop was making him unhappy because of all the foolishness a cop has to deal with. At the end of the film, after killing the bad guy, Harry was going to retire from the force. When Eastwood came along, they kept the same basic premise...but he was only in his early forties! Basically, the job gets to him and he's not really sure why he keeps doing it. We're led to believe that he's still a cop because he has nothing else to look forward to in life. His wife was killed in a freak car accident.
Dirty Harry #1- "Dirty Harry" (1971): Clint Eastwood firmly establishes the character of "Dirty" Harry Callahan in this, the first film of the five film series. The classic line "Did I fire six shots or only five?" ending with "Do you feel lucky punk? Well...do ya?" is first uttered. Dirty Harry goes up against the insane red-haired sniper Scorpio.
In real life, actor Andy Robinson who played Scorpio had a very bad time after this movie came out. He played the character a little too convincingly, and people thought he actually WAS crazy. It was hard to find other parts and he received so many death threats from people that he had to get an unlisted telephone number. It's a shame that things like that happen. He DOES, however, really bring this character to extraordinary realism. Scorpio was such an extremely psychotic and violent antagonist that it was really groundbreaking for mainstream film back then to feature him. The character of Scorpio was based on the real-life Zodiac Murderer sniper in San Francisco who was never caught, but fortunately disappeared.
Reno Santini, as Harry's sidekick, is as good as ever. Santini's good in movies (see "Cobra"). Unlike most of Harry's partners, this one DOESN'T get killed. He gets shot, though, and decides to leave the force. And Albert Popwell is the last bank robber Dirty Harry contends with near the beginning of the film and the one to whom Harry gives his famous "Did I fire six shots or only five?" line. It's funny the way Popwell's character says to Harry "I gots to know."
Dirty Harry #2: "Magnum Force" (1973): A team of renegade motorcycle cops is killing punks. What's the problem? They're also killing cops and anyone else who threatens to expose them. That's where Dirty Harry comes in. It's not explained how he got back into the police force after apparently resigning at the end of the last film. It's so good to see Harry again that we don't care. It's unique to see actors like Robert Urich, Tim Matheson, and David Soul, who would later become quite popular in their own projects, in this film as young motorcycle cops who Harry has to kill. I really liked Harry's sidekick in this film. Inspector Early Smith is played by a fine black actor named Felton Perry. He did a lot of other film projects after this, but his most famous is probably the character Donald Johnson from the "Robocop" movies. The character of Early Smith is very clever and it works. He could've been used in other Dirty Harry movies, but sadly he is killed in a mailbox explosion near the end of the film. That still ticks me off! Hal Holbrook plays Harry's boss in this film and although he gives Harry a hard time for using excessive force is actually the leader of the renegade motorcycle cops! He's dealt with rather efficiently.
Dirty Harry #3: "The Enforcer" (1976): Out of the first three "Dirty Harry" movies, this one is my favorite. Originally, Clint Eastwood wanted the "Dirty Harry" film series to be a trilogy. This was meant, at the time, to be the last "Dirty Harry" film. To say that this movie is intense is an understatement. It's intense both psychologically and physically. People are getting killed left and right by a group of terrorists made up of disgruntled Vietnam veterans and their women. The bad guys are definitely unstable, and Dirty Harry is more disgruntled and meaner than in the first two films. The main bad guy, another crazy redhead, has a penchant for knifing people. The bad guys also come across these things called LAWS rockets (rocket launchers). I like Tyne Daly in this movie as Inspector Kate Moore, Harry's sidekick. He isn't too thrilled working with her, but she proves herself worthy. I don't know why they felt they had to kill off her character, though. It adds drama, but isn't necessary.
Dirty Harry #4: "Sudden Impact" (1983): The first Dirty Harry film made in eight years. It was quite by accident that this film came about at all. Clint Eastwood wanted to direct a film like this, but not star. When coming across the script, someone suggested that they change the main character to Dirty Harry and Eastwood agreed. It spawned Harry's most famous catch phrase, "Go ahead. Make my day.". This has been used and parodied by people both publicly and privately ever since and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight to this saying's popularity.
Out of all the "Dirty Harry" films made, this is actually my least favorite. I don't mean to say that it's a bad movie...it's just not the best "Dirty Harry" film. The character played by Sondra Locke is too freaky. I don't like the whole got-raped/out-for-vengeance theme. Rape isn't anything that should be glamorized. It's kind of a downer, really. Plus, the filming of this movie is way, way dark. Most of the time it's hard to see what's going on. There is still a lot of action, though, and Clint Eastwood is still as cool as ever. I'm actually glad that they didn't continue Sondra Locke's character in the next film, although she lives. This is also the last Dirty Harry film in which actor Albert Popwell appears. He played a different character in each of the first four movies. It was definitely an institution...something a person expected and looked forward to seeing.
Dirty Harry #5: "The Dead Pool" (1988): The last and my favorite "Dirty Harry" film! The filming is much clearer than in the last entry, which is a very good thing. Psychologically this movie is just as, if not more, intense than "The Enforcer". Dirty Harry gets a Chinese partner, who lives! Evan C. Kim, who plays Inspector Al Quan, has a lot of personality and is just a really great actor who plays a very memorable character.
Dirty Harry is after a serial killer who pretends he's a famous controversial movie director. There is a list of names of people who have been killed or will be killed...and Harry's name is on it! Obviously, Harry doesn't like being a part of "The Dead Pool" game so he takes matters into his own hands. The killer is quite clever and sometimes uses explosive remote control cars to kill his targets. This is one of the neatest things you will ever see in an action movie! The sequence where the explosive remote control Corvette chases Dirty Harry is actually Eastwood's favorite part of the whole film! I really like Patricia Clarkson in this movie as the reporter who wants to do an exclusive on Harry Callahan and becomes a potential love interest. Clarkson is good in all her shows, and felt she was worth mention here. Plus, this film sparked my most favorite Dirty Harry phrase: "...And you know what that means. You're just sh** out of luck."
This movie is just as good today (2005) as it was back in 1988. You can hardly tell the movie is that old and a movie like this could still be shown in theaters and be very well-received.