Review of Dirty Harry (1971) by Juan C — 12 Jan 2011

Essentially a riff on the Zodiac hysteria, this is Clint Eastwood at his best and landmark cinema in its purest form. The film itself is essentially an action-thriller before the genre was riddled with explosions and special effects. It is easy to understand the controversy this film raised as the violence acts as the exploitation that is trying to be suppressed. It plays on the darkest fears, of the kidnapping, raping and murdering of children.

Clint Eastwood is the star of the show and provides yet another iconic character. He is a tough nosed cop with a disdain for the filth of society, yet somehow intrigued by the sleazier aspects. His reconnaissance could be easily seen as the meddling of a Peeping Tom as he spies on the liberal hippies. Actually the amount of nudity allowed in a film of the 70â(TM)s is a great contrast to current cinema.

The villain is an equally memorable character and gives a performance that goes all the way. His amorality is akin to The Joker and his lack of reason helps him appear absolute in nature. Obviously inspired by Zodiac, his peace belt symbol is all class. Yet below this chilling exterior is a true coward that Eastwood reveals as he screams in agony at the slightest infliction. I was also glad the villain was not revealed in the later stages of the film. This would have made the film more generic and lessened the effect when he is set free. Done this way the freedom represents the broken system of justice that Eastwood is appalled with.

The film is also shot well with masterful set pieces and memorable shots. The sequence at the stadium and finale on the bus are magic. The shot of Eastwood standing on a bridge above the bus is engrained in my mind. A myriad of zingers are also interspersed throughout the film to make it an entertaining spectacle. The speech repeated at the end is also done with such vigour. It also manages to sidestep the buddy cop genre with a clever play on that arc. The only negative aspect is how the legal system allows Scorpioâ(TM)s release in a less than believable fashion.

The reach of the film is unmistakable inspiring even the likes of Die Hard 3 with the phone sequences. It is also a level above all of the sequels that finally devolve into a film featuring Jim Carey.