Review of Dirty Harry (1971) by Daniel K — 21 Jun 2010

2: I'd forgotten that this was the first picture to involve any of the details of the Zodiac serial killer case. It is certainly a far cry from the recent David Fincher film "Zodiac" though and doesn't even begin to inspire any sense of dread or fear.

I think the picture would have been better served if it had simply forgone any sort of comparison with the real life case. The killer here is quite ridiculous. One can certainly see why Dirty Harry acts in the manner he does, but I think our society would have more issues rather than less if everyone took this path.

Eastwood certainly created an unforgettable character and he is perfect for the role. I still prefer his own, more recent versions, of the two different sides of Dirty Harry, namely his characters in Unforgiven and Gran Torino.

Eastwood's character in Unforgiven resorts to similar measures, while his character in Gran Torino sacrifices himself for the greater good. These pictures wouldn't be quite as rewarding if Dirty Harry hadn't come first, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it all that much.

I must say I'm a bit disappointed with the first two out of five Dirty Harry pictures. I've never been a huge fan of 1970's American cinema anyway though and this is not it's finest hour.