Dirty Harry (1971) directed by Don Siegel
"I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as 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 one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"
I've always wanted to see Clint (we're on a first name basis) say this line in context and I got to say, it is every bit as badass as I'd imagined it'd be. As far as I'm concerned, Dirty Harry is one of the pillars of the cop and killer genre and even at 40 years old, it doesn't feel dated at all. It has a perfect combination of action, suspense and pure bad-assery. It also features a worthy villain who is every bit as psychotic as the hero is awesome which is so rare in films.
The main star is obviously Clint, who plays Harry Callahan, the prototypical tough cop that plays by his own rules. He must catch a sadistic killer who calls himself Scorpio. Scorpio tests the bounds of Callahan's morality and duty as a police officer. In the battle between good and evil, evil has an advantage because they are not bound by any rules. Callahan must play by Scorpio's rules in order to beat him. This doesn't mean that evil prevails or is the best way, just that things are rarely ever black and white. I absolutely believe that the criminals deserves certain rights, but at the same time some scum simply have to be punished. It is the eternal gray area in the fight between the good guys and bad guys. Never mind all of that though, this film is simply a pleasure to watch, a superb action drama and one of Clint's memorable performances.
Grade: A-
"I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as 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 one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"
I've always wanted to see Clint (we're on a first name basis) say this line in context and I got to say, it is every bit as badass as I'd imagined it'd be. As far as I'm concerned, Dirty Harry is one of the pillars of the cop and killer genre and even at 40 years old, it doesn't feel dated at all. It has a perfect combination of action, suspense and pure bad-assery. It also features a worthy villain who is every bit as psychotic as the hero is awesome which is so rare in films.
The main star is obviously Clint, who plays Harry Callahan, the prototypical tough cop that plays by his own rules. He must catch a sadistic killer who calls himself Scorpio. Scorpio tests the bounds of Callahan's morality and duty as a police officer. In the battle between good and evil, evil has an advantage because they are not bound by any rules. Callahan must play by Scorpio's rules in order to beat him. This doesn't mean that evil prevails or is the best way, just that things are rarely ever black and white. I absolutely believe that the criminals deserves certain rights, but at the same time some scum simply have to be punished. It is the eternal gray area in the fight between the good guys and bad guys. Never mind all of that though, this film is simply a pleasure to watch, a superb action drama and one of Clint's memorable performances.
Grade: A-
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