Review of Dirty Harry (1971) by Anthony P — 28 Nov 2018

The film that solidified Clint Eastwood's status as America's leading man. Dirty Harry succeeds on every level with what it sets out to achieve. The music is amazing, especially in its exciting percussion and its incorporating of background effects.

The camerawork is neat, and the selective use of violence (eg we don't see the dead boy, only Chico's reaction) shows you the care and seriousness put into this film. The football pitch scene is astounding, but for me, the single factor that lifts this movie into legendary status is the astounding performance of Andy Robinson as Scorpio.

Cowardly, terrifying, human and yet emotionless, he is devoted to the part for every second and is a true portrait of the serial killer. A resounding scream of defiance to all the liberal attitudes of the sixties, Dirty Harry is a product of modern society, but unlike Death Wish the film doesn't want to stand up and celebrate him, only show how he is a necessary evil.

(A classic of the early 70s).