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(More customer reviews)Warner Home Video has announced the details of new releases of all five Dirty Harry movies with new special features. They'll all be in their original widescreen formats only.
They will be available on standard DVD in this 7-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition, or separately in Special or Deluxe editions. ("Special" is better than "deluxe" here--only Dirty Harry gets a 2-disc Special Edition, the others will all be on single discs, but all will have new special features.) Links for the separate DVDs are below.
They'll also be on Blu-ray in a 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition. Only the Dirty Harry Special Edition will be available separately on Blu-ray. The other four movies will only be available on Blu-ray as part of the complete set. (They won't be available in HD, which Warner officially discontinues at the end of May.)
Assuming the transfers are good (update: everyone says the transfers are good, better than the old ones), this looks like an excellent set. Whether those with older DVD releases will want to upgrade will be a matter of personal preference, but I personally find the new commentaries and features very attractive.
Here's a bit about each film and the special features, contained in both the separate releases and the sets. The Ultimate Editions will also include some additional features, listed further below.
Dirty Harry Special Edition
Dirty Harry is generally regarded as a classic, the beginning of a second larger-than-life persona for Clint Eastwood (after The Man with No Name). It's the source of the famous "Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" (The actual quote is "... you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" but the original doesn't quote as well out of context.)
Tough cop "Dirty" Harry Callahan has his own simple, commonsense rules for dealing with crime, based on a strong sense of right and wrong and an impatience with needless details and constraints. The latter gets him into continual trouble with the system which, as portrayed in the movie, is more about politics and bureaucracy than doing what needs to be done. This reflected well the frustrations and fears of Americans in the '70s that criminals were taking over the streets and that the law was powerless to stop them because the "criminal-coddling" courts were holding them back. I personally value the Fourth Amendment and other such niceties and shiver to think of some of the political and moral ramifications of this movie (some of which are still very much with us), but whatever one's politics, Dirty Harry is very effective as a police-action thriller, largely because of Eastwood's unique persona. It's hard not to admire and root for him even if you think he's not always right. There are also the standard gunfights and car chases, and high suspense, all well done.
In the films that followed in the series, Harry became a somewhat more balanced, complex or confusing character, depending on your point of view, coming down clearly on the side of the law against rogue vigilante cops, for example, and learning to appreciate a female cop as a partner, but the basic idea of Harry standing strong despite the corrupt, wimpy system remained.
I'm pleased to see that some of the new special features in the set deal with the "issues" raised by the Dirty Harry films. I look forward to seeing what others make of them.
The special features:
-- new commentary by filmmaker and Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
-- new featurette "The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry," on the influence and legacy of Dirty Harry
-- "Dirty Harry: The Original," with Clint Eastwood and the film's creators looking back at the creation of the Dirty Harry character
-- "Dirty Harry's Way," a promotional short focusing on the toughness of the movie's main character
-- interview gallery, with Patricia Clarkson, Joel Cox, Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Evan Kim, John Milius, Ted Post, Andy Robinson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Urich
-- "Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso," a 1993 TV program on his life and career, including scenes from his work and interviews with friends, fellow actors and crew members
-- trailer gallery: Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool
Magnum Force Deluxe Edition
As the sequel to a classic film, it suffers some from the let-downs typical of sequels, but it's still Clint Eastwood being a tough guy, which is enough to carry the merely average plot and script and make it good entertainment for Eastwood fans. I'd say that applies to all four sequels.
In this installment, Harry, the cop frustrated by the rules that hold him back, shows he has his limits when he goes up against wicked vigilante cops killing criminals without any due process. As in the first movie, there's plenty of action, a car chase, suspense, people getting shot, etc.
Special features:
-- new commentary by director and Magnum Force screenwriter John Milius ("in this gritty, entertaining commentary, legendary Hollywood screenwriter Milius discusses Eastwood, the world of Dirty Harry and the rugged resilience of crime drama in American cinema")
-- new featurette "A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry," with filmmakers, social scientists and authors on the politics and ethics of the Dirty Harry films
-- "The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today"
-- trailer gallery
The Enforcer Deluxe Edition
In this installment, Harry, the renegade cop with some old-fashioned attitudes and no desire to be tied up with a partner, gets stuck with a female partner, well played by Tyne Daly. Surprise surprise, he learns to respect and rely on her as they make hamburger of a group of domestic terrorists. As in the first two movies, there's plenty of action, suspense, people getting shot, etc., but with a chase on foot in place of the usual car chase.
Special features:
-- new commentary by Enforcer director James Fargo
-- new featurette "The Business End: Violence in Cinema"
-- "Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special in Films"
-- trailer gallery
Sudden Impact Deluxe Edition
Sudden Impact inspires very mixed reactions, but it's still Clint Eastwood in a classic role, this time with Sondra Locke, his partner in several films and off-screen. Some people hate Locke, but I think she's good with Eastwood. (I liked them even more in the Dirty Harryish Gauntlet and the very un-Dirty-Harry Bronco Billy.)
Harry is on forced leave for being his usual trouble-making self while getting the bad guys, but still finds himself in the middle of a string of murders that he undertakes to stop. As in a couple of the others in the series, this movie includes a story line where extralegal justice is an issue, as Locke's damaged rape victim seeks revenge. With the usual action, shootings, and a high level of violence, with women getting their share.
This one is the source of the famous quote, "Go ahead, make my day." It was directed by Eastwood.
-- new commentary by filmmaker and Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
-- new featurette "The Evolution of Clint Eastwood," on the film in the context of Eastwood's career as a director
-- trailer gallery
The Dead Pool Deluxe Edition
The Dead Pool was pretty well received, considering its place in the series. It has a convoluted plot about a game in which bets are taken on the deaths of celebrities, including Harry, with young Liam Neeson playing a questionable film director who's playing the game. Issues of the celebrity-enslaved press are mixed with romance as Harry dates a reporter. As always, there's plenty of action, suspense, gun play, and, this time, a unique and hilarious car chase with a very small but dangerous car.
-- new commentary by Dead Pool producer David Valdes and Dead Pool cinematographer Jack N. Green
-- new Featurette "The Craft of Dirty Harry," including the cinematography, editing, music, and production design of the Dirty Harry films
-- trailer gallery
The Ultimate editions will contain all of the above features, plus some:
-- the feature-length documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows (which has been and is available separately)
-- 40+ page hardcover book
-- wallet with metal badge and removable ID card
-- five 5" x 7" lobby poster reproduction cards and an exclusive Ultimate Collector's Edition card
-- "Scorpio: Portrait of a Killer" 19" x 27" map of San Francisco detailing Harry's hunt for the killer in the first film
-- never-before-seen production correspondence
The Out of the Shadows documentary is a substantial bonus (87 minutes) for the Ultimate edition. You can get it separately pretty cheap used, though. There's an Amazon page for it, with reviews, here.
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