Dirty Harry [MA]

The city of San Francisco is held ransom when a rooftop sniper, calling himself Scorpio begins committing random murders. In steps Detective Harry Callahan nicknamed “Dirty Harry” to take down the psycho at whatever cost, even if the law does not approve of his methods. 

Bringing that famous line “do I feel lucky?” to our vocabulary, Dirty Harry was a great rollercoaster ride of a cop movie that was loaded with action, violence, murder, a great script, and memorable characters. 

When a woman is murdered by a rooftop sniper, the city of San Francisco erupts in a panic. Calling himself Scorpio, the sniper has promised to continue committing random murders until the city pays him to stop. In steps detective Harry Callahan, nicknamed “Dirty Harry” to bring down the psycho at whatever cost, even if the law does not approve of his methods. 

I think the real appeal of Dirty Harry was the fact that it had closure, but you never really found out what the psycho’s deal was. I’ve always held a belief that the best villains are ones that keep you in the dark, that give nothing of themselves away, and that certainly was the case with the villain in this film. Played beautifully by Andy Robinson, Scorpio was a really memorable villain, one that gave nothing away and kept you on the edge of your seat, providing the film with its gripping edge. 

Essentially, Dirty Harry is a classic story of good guys Vs bad guy, but what’s really interesting about it is the twist of the plot that concerns the law and the American Constitution. Without wanting to give too much away for those who have not seen the film, the law plays a role in preventing the film’s closure from occurring sooner and really makes you question whether or not it is capable of ensuring our protection. It’s food for thought really. It was a very interesting point. 

Clint Eastwood stars as Dirty Harry and he was great. This was the first Clint Eastwood movie that I’ve ever seen and it’s kind of a strange one to start off with as he plays a character that is incredibly distant and frank. I’m not convinced that the role of Dirty Harry was that much of an acting challenge, but I am willing to say that Clint delivered a performance that was subtly menacing, but at the same time passive aggressive. He moved the film along, certainly. 

Starring Andy Robinson (who was the real star of the show), Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni, John Vernon, John Larch, John Mitchum, Mae Mercer, Lyn Edgington, Josef Sommer, Ruth Kobart, Woodrow Parfrey, William Paterson, James Nolan, and Maurice Argent, Dirty Harry was a rollicking ride of a cop movie loaded with gunplay, psychos, murder, action, chases, nudity, great lines, and memorable characters. It was a great ride form start to finish.  

But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself a question: “do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya punk?