Dirty Harry (1972) – When a madman dubbed ‘Scorpio’ terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath. Harry eventually collars Scorpio in the process of rescuing a kidnap victim, only to see him walk on technicalities. Now, the maverick detective is determined to nail the maniac himself.
Director: Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, M, Coogan’s Bluff)
Writer: Harry Julian Fink, R.M. Fink, Dean Riesner (The French Connection, The Seven-Ups, The Gauntlet)
Release Date: December 23, 1971
Domestic Box Office: $36 million
Top 5 Cast:
- Clint Eastwood as Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan
- Andy Robinson as Scorpio
- Harry Guardino as Lieutenant Al Bressler
- Reni Santoni as Chico Gonzalez
- John Vernon as Police Chief Rankin
Five Critic Reviews:
- Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, calling it “a powerful and disturbing film that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.”
- Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film “a brutal, violent and cynical thriller that is also a very effective one.”
- Pauline Kael of The New Yorker called the film “a stylish, well-made thriller that is also a disturbing and disturbing one.”
- Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, calling it “a well-made, exciting thriller that is also a disturbing look at the nature of violence.”
- John Simon of The New York Magazine called the film “a well-made, exciting thriller that is also a disturbing look at the nature of violence.”
Cinematic Importance: Dirty Harry (1972) is a seminal film in the action genre. It was one of the first films to feature a tough, no-nonsense cop who is willing to bend the rules to get the job done. The film was also notable for its violence, which was unprecedented for its time. Dirty Harry was a critical and commercial success, and it helped to launch Clint Eastwood’s career as a leading man. The film has been praised for its realistic depiction of police work, and it has been credited with influencing a number of other action films, including Lethal Weapon and Die Hard.