Dirty Harry (1971)

Even if you've never seen Don Siegel's 1971 film starring Clint Eastwood, you probably will be aware of it's titular character and his famous quote: 

"I know what you're thinking, punk. You're thinking 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Now to tell you the truth, I've forgotten myself in all this excitement. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and will blow your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" 

That iconic scene has become part of cinema history and rightly so. It is phenomenal. But what about the movie itself? Is 'Dirty Harry' a classic? 

Set in San Fransisco, the story follows Eastwood's character, who is the archetypal hard-boiled detective - refusing to play by the rules but, damnit, getting results. He is singular to the point of being almost superhuman. You just get the sense that no matter the odds, with his trusted .44 Magnum by his side, Harry will always come out on top. That is until a killer springs loose, seemingly committing random murders for no other reason than to cause havoc. In 1971, this was a revolutionary concept and, despite being based loosely on the real case of the Zodiac, set the blueprint for many a movie villain thereafter. Heath Ledger's version of the Joker certainly owes it's lineage to this portrayal. The Scorpio, as the killer is known, kills for fun and taunts the police at every turn. The police, of course, turn to Harry. It's time to take names and kick ass. 

However, it's not that simple and The Scorpio, seemingly driven by pure nihilism, consistently outwits the police department leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. While he starts as a somewhat elusive, shadowy, enigmatic figure, the more we see of him the less scary he becomes. By the school bus scene he is almost a cartoon character. You could argue the same for Harry himself. I'm all for the cool, strong, silent types but this guy begins the feel more one-dimensional the more time we spend with him. He has one expression, and that is angry. He vaguely talks about his wife passing away at one point but, for the most part, he keeps to type. But, let's face it, we're not here for intimate character detail. We are here precisely for the archetypes on display. It is good guy vs. bad guy, locking horns and heading towards an inevitable final showdown. 

As action movies go, 'Dirty Harry' could quite easily lay claim to being the actual very first one. What I mean by that is that now, in 2024, we have become so accustomed to the action movie as a genre that we rarely sit back and go 'I wonder how this all started?'. I would argue the entire genre started here. Our hero is not flawed, he's not nuanced, he's not really that interesting. But is he cool? You bet your sweet ass he is. Does he kick massive amounts of arse while spewing casual insults? Yes he does. The aforementioned monologue alone should tell you that much. 

So what we're dealing with here is the birth of a new type of movie, not to mention the birth of Eastwood's career. Up until the release of this film, he was a western star, and the success of this film marked his crossover into the Hollywood elite. What makes this film interesting though is that it's an action film shot in 1971. Which means that it looks and feels very different to something like 'The Expendables part 17'. Stories were built more methodically back in these days. Shots are allowed to breathe. Everything is executed through the combination of visual storytelling, score, texture, and tone. There is undeniably more craft on display here and that makes for a much more interesting watch. By today's standards, this would probably be considered a wacky arthouse flick. But back then, this is how things were done. 

Speaking of score, Lalo Schiffrin's work on this film is banging. Its weird, skittering, acid-jazz rhythms pulse and gyrate their way through each scene and keep the tempo of this film humming along, making some scenes positively thrilling. From a cinematography standpoint, the daytime stuff is executed beautifully. Everything shot in delicious, over-saturated, high-contrast, glory. However, the high-contrast falls somewhat foul in the night scenes. Those blacks are blaaaack. You can't see half of what's going on. Usually I wouldn't mind such rough and readiness but on this occasion it felt like a step (exposure joke alert) too far. 

There is a political subtext at play too which caused quite a stir at the time of the film's release. The left hated the implication that the long dick of the law will always hit it's target and you could argue there are fascist undertones if you were so inclined, which I'm not. The right were shocked by the portrayal of The Scorpio being a sadistic killer, going about his business seemingly for fun. And then there's Siegel's obvious interjections regarding the futility of institutions, all of which makes for much more interesting fare than your average cops and robbers film. Coincidentally, this might also qualify as the first 'serial killer' movie ever released as well. So it might have actually birthed two genres. No mean feat.  

It's a taut, tight, thriller. Eastwood is Eastwood so don't expect depth. Expect grabbing a big bag of popcorn, enjoying the ride, and coming away from the experience with a toothpick in your teeth annoying your wife by continuously asking her if she feels lucky....punk. Given its groundbreaking nature, as a seminal piece of work it stands tall. It also does its job, without leaving much of a mark. As arguably all good action movies should. 

★★★☆☆

JB.