An Influential Classic That Ages Well! Too Bad About the DVD!
The cream always rises to the top and the fact that this film is still among many people's favourite detective flicks and from which many scenes and elements have been copied by other flicks over the years shows that this film is a classic to stand the test of time. From the running around the town jumping hoops for a demented villain (see Die Hard 3) to the attempting to rescue a hijacked bus (see Speed) to humorously taking down a high rise jump suicide attempter (see Lethal Weapon)all these ideas have influenced these and countless other wannabe's. Even the overall mood of this film reminded me a little of "Silence of the Lambs" as well. This film did borrow from "High Noon" though when Callahan throws his badge away. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This was a perfect film that was very well directed and Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry was excellent casting; to think that they wanted Frank Sinatra at first! It's a shame with Siegal's passing in 1991, no new Director's Cut version of this movie can be made which is truly a tragic waste of an opportunity by the studios.

Another tragedy is the very poor picture quality of this dvd. The master must have been severely deteriorated for us to get even sub-vhs quality with lots of white spots on almost every frame. This classic deserves a lot better than this and I'm hoping the newly released Blu-ray version would feature a significantly improved picture quality.

The sound quality however is excellent having been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound quality. It was so good that in the scene with the rooftop shootout when the neon lights were popping I could have sworn that it was happening just beside me in my living room the cracking glass sound was just so realistic. If they could keep this sound quality and really massively fix the picture quality aspect, this dvd would get a perfect 5 star score from me. Also, there are no special features worth mentioning on this version of the dvd although I understand there are loads on the Blu-ray version.

Excellent detective drama but poor dvd version and so I'd recommend you either getting the Blu-ray version or wait for a new standard release with vastly improved picture quality; unfortunately, with the advent of Blu-ray I think the latter option is unlikely to come to pass.

One of my favorites
I saw this at the drive in back in the 60's.It always has been on my top 10 lists.

PURE 70'S NOSTALGIA
Warner Brothers is going to "make the day" of Clint Eastwood fans everywhere on June 3rd when they release all five Dirty Harry films on special edition DVDs with all-new bonus features. With Eastwood in the starring role, Dirty Harry would one of the most influential films of the 1970s. This would usher in an era of gritty crime dramas and would open the door for such films as Shaft and Death Wish. Even John Wayne would put down his cowboy hat and play a Dirty Harry-style cop in McQ. Dirty Harry wasn't an action hero and it's almost impossible to think that the film could have been made today when there is so much reliance on over-the-top action and CGI special effects.

This film came along at a time during the Viet Nam-era when there was so much disillusionment in the country. Harry Callahan wasn't the action hero; he was the anti-hero, constantly at odds with authority including his police chief and the Mayor. We see almost nothing of Harry's personal life, almost as if he didn't exist outside of his job with the San Francisco PD. It's a clever touch by the writers and Director Don Siegel to show the obsessive drive of the character. Nothing mattered to Harry more than catching the bad guys no matter what it took.

Andrew Robinson turns in a memorable performance as a psychotic sniper dubbed Scorpio. After killing one girl, he demands a ransom from the city or he promises to kill again. The case is assigned to Callahan and in a bit that would be repeated through the film series, he is teamed with a new, young partner, this time Chico Sanchez (Rene Santoni). You know all you need to know about Callahan's character when he captures Scorpio but is forced to watch the prosecutor release him because Harry didn't give him his rights. Callahan wants to know who was looking out for the latest victim of Scorpio. This will set the table for Eastwood to deliver his famous, "Do you feel lucky punk" offer to Scoprio at the film's climax.

Nearly 40 years later Dirty Harry still holds up well. Eastwood is the model of cool. As a bank robbery interrupts his lunch at a diner, Callahan foils the robbery while still finishing off his hot dog! The film has a catchy, jazz soundtrack by Lalo Schifrin. You need only listen for a few moments to know you're watching one of those memorable cop films. Presented in letterbox format, Dirty Harry has never looked better. This is one of the most important films of the 1970s.

Extras

Clint Eastwood's biographer, Richard Schickel provides an all-new commentary on the film. While Schickel can be dry and goes several minutes without speaking, he offers some insightful views on the film.

Dirty Harry's Way is a 7:00 promotional piece produced in the 1970s which helped to hype the film and draws comparisons to film noir of the 1940s.

Dirty Harry the original is a 29:00 documentary from the 1990s and is hosted by the late Robert Urich who had a role in the second Dirty Harry film, Magnum Force.

The Long Shadow of Harry Callahan (25:00) is a new feature and takes a look at the roots of the 70's cop dramas as being urban westerns. Modern filmmakers and actors share their thoughts on the landmark film and how it has influenced their own work.

The Man from Malpaso is a 58:00 biography on Eastwood originally produced in 1993.

One of the best in '70s...with best presentation.
It was unannounced before it's release, but this(and box set)Blu-ray version, as well as regular DVD, includes Japanese dub which is quite unusual....but off cause, great!

Japanese dub is featuring late Yasuo Yamada, whose performance is still well known for anime "Lupin 3rd", made his voice acting carrier bigger and contributed Eastwood's popularity in Japan for more than 30 years. Japanese baby boomer will definitely appreciate Warner's great effort.

As for the movie and disc..."Dirty Harry" is not dirty after all. This is one of the best presentation of American movie in '70s. Please buy it and see it for yourself. Highly recommended.

Great film, with original soundtrack?
This review applies only to the 2008 DVD reissue.

Having a carefully-remastered edition of Dirty Harry is, if not joy, then at least a cautionary message to those who feel unlucky. The transfer preserves much of the grainy quality which seems to have been endemic to films of the late '60s and early '70s, while cleaning up the image in a non-intrusive manner. This was my first time to see the film in widescreen, so I cannot say if the 2.35:1 ratio is correct. However, I am almost sure that this film was initially released with a monaural soundtrack. For the 2008 reissue, the film's soundtrack has been re-routed into the now-ubiquitous 5.1 Dolby Surround format. This creates several problems. On the one hand, the sound drops in and out in an unpredictable manner on mono or stereo televisions. On the other, the assumption that every watcher would want to see Dirty Harry in full surround sound is a bit presumptuous. I would rather see the film in its remastered glory with the original soundtrack, which could have been no more than stereo. Using 5.1 surround sound only is a bit of technical elitism on the part of Warner Brothers. Still, this is a seminal film of the zeitgeist that was the Sixties as well as being the template for the "Bad Cop with a Heart of Gold" films which followed in its footsteps. This is the first, and by far the best. I only dock it one star in my pompous fashion for the manner in which the studio has imposed the 5.1 Dolby Surround sound on the buyers of the film in this latest incarnation.