Thoughts on Dirty Harry (1971) · 2:03am Dec 19th, 2023
All right. First up on the final batch of movie reviews for the year... the original "Dirty Harry."
(First watched July 7th, 2023.)
I'm glad to have seen this one, though I wouldn't say that I loved it. Liked it well enough, sure, and glad to have finally gotten context on it, but I didn't love it.
Clint Eastwood really does the lion's share of the work in this movie, and if you like him, it'll work, and if not, not. Though Andrew Robinson as Scorpio is really good. He does a very fine job as a psychopath. (I know some people might see Scorpio as queer-coded or homophobic in how he is portrayed, though I personally wouldn't go that far. I definitely think he is some kind of counterculture, but I'd still read him as more of "psycho war veteran" than "deranged gay man".)
It's funny to see this movie and realize that for all of its impact, in popularizing the whole "maverick cop who can't work within the system" trope... Harry Callahan's story has a little bit more nuance to it. Yes, on the one hand, his enemy is a deranged scumbag; particularly when he goes after younger targets as the movie progresses. (Taking a school bus hostage is particularly chilling, and yet almost quaint in hindsight of so many subsequent real-life mass killings.) Yes, the professor who shows up to criticize Harry's violent antics is from UC-Berkeley, which really feels like a conservative dog-whistle...
But... Harry's violent actions leave him with no friends, within the police force or out. His brutalizing Scorpio to get information from him fails to do anything to save the victim in time, and only earns Harry a whole load of trouble from his superiors. And at the end of the film, Harry throws away his badge - in disgust with himself, or with the law that he so zealously sought to uphold? The ambiguity of that final moment adds a nice dash of grayness to the movie... even if the follow-up movies cheerfully ignored that whole bit. 
A few standout bits from this movie: I loved the payoff with regard to the iconic "Do I feel lucky?" speech that everyone knows the character for. The first time Harry does it, it's a cool moment that feels like a good joke at the expense of the robber he's intimidating. The final time it comes up, it's a deadly serious moment and Harry's voice practically drips venom when he delivers the line.
The race against the clock, when Harry has to run from phone to phone, is a very noir sequence full of suspense. (In fact, all the nighttime scenes in the movie feel quite indebted to film noir.)
And the climactic showdown between Harry and Scorpio is excellent too. Particularly, again, for the final moments of the movie.
Not sure if I'll seek out any of the other movies with Harry Callahan. Maybe "Magnum Force," but that's a maybe. All the same, I am glad to have finally seen this particular cornerstone of Clint Eastwood's career.
I personally think this movie IRONICALLY fits more as a.... DECONSTRUCTION of the Maverick Cop thing that later movies would try to approach.
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As I said in the write-up, it does more with the trope than its successors would ever do in terms of nuance.
Though really, in some ways that's nothing new. Misaimed Fandom has always been a thing. Just look at the Rambo movies. The first one was a dark and serious anti-war movie where John Rambo tries to avoid killing people, is tormented by PTSD and ends the film breaking down in anguish about the crap he's gotten as a Vietnam vet. The sequels... have him go back to foreign countries to kill bad guys in the name of AMERICA. Sheesh, talk about a way to miss the freaking point...
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ACTUALLY. While the THIRD sequel was that. The 2nd movie STILL tackled some heavy stuff such as how we DID intentionally leave POWs behind and that it's an incredibly shitty thing. The 4th one was more him rescuing some missionaries and exposing the ACTUAL IRL HORRORS of Burma and it's death squads which is as far as I know A STILL VERY REAL ISSUE.
"I still say this Clint Eastwood dishonored himself when he refused to...what was it?...play by the rules."
"Partner, your medieval upbringing has done left you unschooled in the ways of the moving picture."
"No, his proper duty is to his police captain. I see why they call him 'dirty'. He besmirches his honor."
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Fair enough about the fourth movie, but I still don't have much to say about the second movie due to lines like, "Do we get to win this time, sir?" To me, that says a lot about what the movie's ultimate slant and focus was.
(And not to be rude about it, but you didn't have to go quite so hard on the all-caps stuff in your response there. I'd get the point with some italics, writing some of that out in ALL CAPS just makes it come off like you're yelling the words at me. It's... really not conducive to feeling like we're having an actual conversation, at least imo.)
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God bless that exchange.
Interesting... I'll admit I never saw this movie, and had no prior knowledge aside from the 'do ya feel lucky' line, though I could be thinking that's from Taxi Driver... maybe.
Still sounds interesting. Glad you at least liked it okay.
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Thanks, Four. ^_^
Nah, the iconic line from Taxi Driver is, "You talkin' to me?" The iconic line from Dirty Harry is, "Do I feel lucky, punk?" (It gets misremembered as, "Do you feel lucky, punk?" but in the film itself, it's "I". Harry says it as part of a whole monologue to intimidate a thug.)
Here's the original moment in all of its glory:
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Sorry. I wasn't really trying to come across as that.
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It's okay. Just something to keep in mind for the future, yeah? ^_^