Dirty Harry
A riveting classic that was way ahead of its time in 1971 and still asks questions that remain relevant today, director Don Siegelâs Grand Masterpiece is a study of our criminal justice system and the inherent flaws that it contains where criminalâs rights are valued above all else and victimâs rights are often discarded so that certain procedures can be followed. Deep down though, at its most rawest core, itâs the story of a conflict between two misanthropes, one good, one evil, as they match wits with each other to try to bring the other one down. The âgoodâ is represented by Clint Eastwoodâs now legendary and iconic Inspector Harry Callahan, a brusque, often angry and unpleasant San Francisco police officer who nonetheless is one of the purest badasses ever to grace the silver screen, even if the systemâs methods and his own ideas differ to the point that he comes to despise the bureaucracy heâs working for (even though said bureaucracy knows full well how much of an asset he is under fire). On the other hand, we have the âevilâ, pure evil being the most accurate term, in Andrew Robinsonâs sick, deranged Scorpio Killer, a serial killer who has taken up murdering people in the city mostly because he just really, really enjoys it, and moreso, when his crime spree puts Callahan on his tail, is smart enough to completely manipulate the system (and Callahan) so much so that when Harry finally apprehends him dead to rights, despite the numerous heinous crimes that they KNOW heâs committed, theyâre forced to set him free simply because he has pushed so many of Harryâs buttons that Harry winds up violating at least four of his constitutional rights, thus making any attempt at prosecuting him completely futile. While Callahan justifies his actions by asking who is it that speaks for the victims, Scorpio continues on his merry way to commit his most sinister crimes of all, setting up the big showdown at the finale. Along for the ride is a handful of top character actors at the time, including Harry Guardino as Harryâs lieutenant, Reni Santoni as his unlucky partner, and the great John Vernon as The Mayor who seemingly has his spirit broken by the madmanâs crimes in his fair city. While this is often cited as being one of Eastwoodâs greatest movies and performances, it is important to note the declining quality in comparison of the subsequent sequels to come to this one, and that is, while those films had rather bland and forgettable antagonists for Harry to deal with, here in Robinsonâs Scorpio we get one of the most electrifying and chilling portraits of an irredeemable monster in the history of film, so much so that Robinson the actor received death threats for years to come, but it is he who is as much responsible as Eastwood is for the greatness of this one singular film, which was often blasted for making a seemingly far right fascist like Harry as the hero, but when pitted against a wild eyed, messy haired maniac like Scorpio (who despite his crimes still has the gall to wear a peace symbol on his belt buckle), the film manages to ask the simple compelling question: Who will stand up for the innocent in our society when those who are the most evil show their intention to do the most harm? The debate will forever rage on as far as just how much do human rights come into play when that human has caused tremendous suffering to others, but for those who wish to ponder such a thing there will always be this one, the only, the original, to seek out and watch knowing that it redefined crime dramas forever in its original intent, deft writing, and excellent directing and actingâŚ
10/10