Search - Dirty Harry on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children, Profanity Movie Release: 1971 DVD Release: 11/19/1997 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Edition: Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 0 hrs 10 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 5 Genres: Crime, Thriller, Action Thriller, Police Detective Film See Also: Dirty Harry [Special Edition Collector's Box], Dirty Harry, Dirty Harry [Special Edition], Dirty Harry [Blu-ray] [Digi Book Packaging], Dirty Harry [Deluxe Edition]

"You've got to ask yourself a question: 'do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" Dirty Harry provoked a critical uproar in 1971 for its "fascist" message about the power of one, as it also elevated Clint Eastwood to superstar status through his most enduring screen persona. Harry Callahan (Eastwood, in a role meant for Frank Sinatra) is a sardonic, hard-working San Francisco cop who can't finish his lunch without having to foil a bank robbery with his 44 Magnum, "the most powerful handgun in the world." When hippie-esque psycho Scorpio (Andy Robinson) goes on a killing spree, Harry and new partner Chico (Reni Santoni) are assigned to hunt him down, but not before the Mayor (John Vernon) and Lt. Bressler (Harry Guardino) admonish Callahan about his heavy-handed tactics. Racing against a deadline to save a kidnap victim from suffocating to death and unbothered by the niceties of Miranda rights and search warrants, Callahan brings in Scorpio, only to see him released on technicalities. "The law's crazy," opines Harry in disgust, before taking it upon himself to ensure that Scorpio doesn't kill again. Directed in violent and efficient fashion by Don Siegel, with a propulsive score by Lalo Schifrin, Dirty Harry was the fourth Siegel-Eastwood collaboration after Coogan's Bluff (1968), Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970), and The Beguiled (1970). Critics at the time strongly objected to the heroic image of a cop's violations of a suspect's Miranda rights, forcing Siegel and Eastwood to deny that they were right-wing reactionaries. All the same, Dirty Harry proved to be highly popular and spawned four sequels: Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983), and The Dead Pool (1988). ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Clint Eastwood - Harry Callahan
Harry Guardino - Lt. Bressler
Reni Santoni - Chico Sanchez
John Vernon - Mayor
Andy Robinson - Scorpio
John Larch - Chief

There is nothing new about the re-released disc for Dirty Harry (and part of the Clint Eastwood Collection), which is a shame since so much could have been done to make it even better than it is. That's not to say it's bad, but a well-loved film such as this really deserves more. Picture quality is certainly above average, and probably better than expected. The film is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on one side of the disc, which is anamorphic, with a pan-and-scan version on the other side. The image is mixed; bright scenes come off very good, with rich colors that are well defined, while darker scenes do not hold up -- blacks are inconsistent and at times very grainy. On a worse film it would be hard to overlook, but here it's not much more than a slight annoyance. The sound, which was remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, is good but not outstanding. There is some use of the surround speakers, but it's limited. The front left and rights do get a little more work, but primarily the soundtrack is focused up front. Dialogue is centered up front and contains no distracting elements that can so often be heard in "older" films. As with many of the older Warner titles, this disc also has a mono track in French and Spanish, along with subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. As for extras, this disc is minimal. Other than the theatrical trailer, it has biographies and filmographies for the cast and director, and some rather lengthy and interesting production notes. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide