Dirty Harry - Limited Edition Collector's Set

Starring:Maurice Argent, Jo De Winter, Vince Deadrick Sr., Clint Eastwood, Lyn Edgington, Harry Guardino, Scott Hale, Craig Kelly, Ruth Kobart, John Larch, Mae Mercer, John Mitchum, James Nolan, Woodrow Parfrey, William Paterson, Andrew Robinson, Reni Santoni, Josef Sommer, John Vernon
Studio: Creative Design Art
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Whether or not you can sympathize with its fascistic/vigilante approach to law enforcement, Dirty Harry (directed by star Clint Eastwood's longtime friend and directorial mentor, Don Siegel) is one hell of a cop thriller. The movie makes evocative use of its San Francisco locations as cop Harry Callahan (Eastwood) tracks the elusive "Scorpio killer" who has been terrorizing the city by the Bay. As the psychopath's trail grows hotter, Harry becomes increasingly impatient and intolerant of the frustrating obstacles (departmental red tape, individuals' civil rights) that he feels are keeping him from doing his job. A characteristically taut and tense piece of filmmaking from Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Shootist, Escape from Alcatraz), it also remains a fascinating slice of American pop culture. It was a big hit (followed by four sequels) that obviously reflected--or exploited--the almost obsessive or paranoid fears and frustrations many Americans felt about crime in the streets. At a time when "law and order" was a familiar slogan for political candidates, Harry Callahan may have represented neither, but from his point of view his job was simple: stop criminals. To him that end justified any means he deemed necessary. The digital video disc preserves the film's anamorphic widescreen format. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

One of the 70's best.......2007-06-22

In terms of acting this is perhaps the role that defined Clint Eastwood as a movie icon. The reasons for this are threefold:

1. Its directed by Don Siegel, so not a shot is wasted (a big influence on Clint Eastwoods later directing career).

2. The screenplay gives Eastwood the chance to deliver some classic lines.

3. The rest of the cast are excellent. Particularly John Vernon as The Mayor and the exceptional Andrew Robinson as Scorpio.

Of course Eastwood himself should be given as much credit as anyone. He wasn't the first choice for the movie, but if somebodyelse had taken the leading role it wouldn't have had the same impact. Eastwood's huge screen presence, and caustic delivery of his lines is unmatched in cinema history. I'm not saying he's the greatest actor, he is good though, but what he lacks in pure acting ability he more than makes up for in these other qualities.

It would be amazing if you haven't seen this film, but if you are of the generation born after this was made and have somehow missed it I recommend buying the DVD without delay. For those that have seen it many many times (like me) it holds up to repeated viewings so its still worth buying, to see it in widescreen with 5.1 sound.

Made Me Want To Be a Vigilante!.......2007-04-24

I'm told that whenever I got riled up in the baby-blue crib, my parents would play Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow album -- and I would get blissed out! My parents *kept* playing the album through the years, and by age 4 it hit me: My parents are hippies! I realized there was a total lack of law and order in the house! A major power vacuum! By age 5, I had a watershed moment: My friends' family took me to the drive in -- and we saw Dirty Harry. I never felt so alive or less alone! I stopped the dream of being a pop star artfully sweeping hair out of my wide eyes to croon a new decree. No, sir. I wanted to be a cop on the edge! (Thanks Dirty Harry!)

I started training right away. When my neighbors pulled out of their driveway, I would run and jump on the hood of their van! The hood was painted in day-glo, and sprayed in lime green was the word "Further". Further? I don't think so scruffs!

"Hey man, this is OUR love-van!"
"And this is MY "Goof-Off" paint remover, Clyde!"

I would have wiped the painted flowers off their cheeks too, and turned their van inside-out -- if it wasn't for those damn liberals' search and seizure laws. Damn them! Alright then, keep it moving beatniks, get out of here. Show's over everybody.

If someone with long hair or fringe walked down the sidewalk with groceries, I would tug on their wide belt and shake them down -- "Where's the stuff!" When they inevitably feigned ignorance, I knew they were hiding something. It was all part of their "game."

And when a hippie approached and started to "rap" with my older sister, I would run out to the front yard and tumble - coming up on one knee with my squirtgun, ordering, "Let her go!" My sister was supposed to reply, "Don't worry about me! Take him out!" Instead, she would say, "Get out of here, you creep!"

Under pressure from the "community" (a hippy word if I ever heard one), my dad called me to his backyard herb garden. He sat me down on the macrame hanging "loveseat" and said, "Your mom's been riding my rump about you. Maybe you need a vacation, man. You seem on edge." I replied, "Yeah. That's pretty much what I do - I'm a cop on the edge. It's my job." Hippies. I considered myself a vigilante, a one man judge and jury. My mom considered me a "fascist." You say tomato.... After my mom refused to get me the Dirty Harry lunchbox, we communicated less than the US and China in the pre-Nixon years. (Or less than Dirty Harry and shaggy hippies).

But that was all a long time ago. My parents and I are now closer than ever. We agree to disagree, and "leave politics at the door". They still enjoy the sounds of Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow, as "one of the most brazen low-fi psychedelic freakout records anywhere." Meanwhile, I enjoy bow-hunting while playing Ted Nugent on the discman. Anyway, I still believe that if more people were like the hard-charging Dirty Harry this country might be nearly hippie free. This DVD is great for entertainment and life lessons. Watch the film at least 3 times, and take notes. You may learn something about the greatest country on God's green earth. And you just may learn something about yourself.

HOW TO YOU DEAL WITH A PSYCHOPATH? SEND ANOTHER PSYCHOPATH AFTER HIM.......2007-03-05

The more I watch "Dirty Harry" the more this movie stands out, not only as a classic example of 70s American cinema, but it illustrates in no uncertain terms that the meek will not herit the earth. Andrew Robinson's character, Scorpio, turns in a performance like no other; he is brilliantly over-the-top in his craziness. But the kudos must go the world-weary and violent Det. Harry Calahan. Clint Eastwood turns in an extraordinary performance as the cool and remorseless Calahan. For Calahan, the only thing the Justice System is meant to do is protect the criminals. If Calahan has his way, every criminal would get a bullet in the head and a second one for good measure. One cannot help but cheer on Calahan as he tortures confessions out of criminals and puts his .44 Magnum in their faces and asks them, "Do they feel lucky?" Yeah, I can get used to justice Harry Calahan's way. Even in the scene of the night time drives through the city's filthy redlight districts, one cannot help but believe if we killed everyone on that street at that moment, the world would be a better place. As for the Justice System, their belief that they are the guardians of all that is civilized and good is nonsense when they are the first to defend the criminals' rights before the victims. When Calahan asks the D.A. "Who speaks for this dead 14 year old girl?" all the D.A. can do is offer excuses and wax on about the integrity of the law and the courts. Obviously, the guardians of civilization are powerless in the face of real evil. We need more Calahans to clean our streets, and then civilization will survive.

This Could Never Be Made Today.......2007-02-23

A lot of aspects of this movie are a bit dated. For example, the violence is cartoonish and unrealistic. The blood in the movie looks fake. And the city itself acts unrealistic. People went about their daily business even though a sniper was in their midst. In reality, mass panic would ensue, like it did in the DC area a few years ago,

With that said, the story here was awesome. One man, standing for what's right, going after the evil criminal despite being blocked every step of the way by bureaucracy and bleeding-heart lawyers.

A movie like this would never be made today, because our society has become too feminized and liberal. For that reason, 5 stars all the way.

The Begining of the Dirty Harry ERA.......2007-01-29

This was the beginning of Clint Eastwood era of 5 Dirty Harry films. Eastwood plays the role of Inspector Harry Callahan who works for the police department in San Francisco. Reni Santoni plays the role of Lt. Al Bressler, Harry's partner. Andrew Robinson plays the role of Scorpio killer. Robinson holds the city of San Francisco hostage when he wants money in return of the life of the woman he's kidnapped. Eastwood thrives in his role as Dirty Harry taking no prisoners when going after the bad guy. Robinson is arrested and then release do to the evident that was retrieved by illegal Robinson is released by the DA. When Robinson claims that the police department is harassing Callahan is told by Lt. Al Bressler to not go near him Callahan does what he usually does and that's disobey orders.

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