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.

Sign of the Times
If you want to know what was on the minds of most Americans in the early 1970's then watch DIRTY HARRY and the Charles Bronson film DEATH WISH. Both deal with the rising tide of violent crime of that era and a yearning for swift and certain retribution. Both films cemented the careers of their stars -- ironically, Frank Sinatra had been slated to do DIRTY HARRY but an injury that kept him from being able to handle a .44 Magnum forced him to bow out. After all these years, it's hard to see anyone but Eastwood in the role.

Do You Feel Lucky - Punk?
This new addition of "Dirty Harry" comes out with the other four movies. One can buy them separately are altogether in a box set. Yes, the first movie (Dirty Harry) is a two disc special addition. The extras are nice, but let us be honest: once watches Eastwood as Inspector Callahan, because in a world (especially in the 70s when it appeared "bad guys" had more rights than ever before), one man sought justice and sometimes that took him outside the law.

Second, the movie is clever. Eastwood sells it and his Dirty Harry is tough, rugged, but also one detects he actually cares in his own way. Andy Robinson is great as Scorpio. The one liners from Eastwood are delivered wonderfully. This movie not only spawns four more sequels, but other movies in the same vain such as "Death Wish" and "Lethal Weapon."

I am not going to rehash the story - instead, watch it for the witty dialogue, great scene staging, and Eastwood as a tough cop who is out to protect the innocent - and he does so in style.

Don Siegel's Masterpiece
Forget the caricature that developed with the sequels. This picture is a standalone classic of American film making that has move in common with The Conversation and Taxi Driver than it does with Lethal Weapon. And as an anti-heroic portait of a cop I think it holds up better than French Connection. It redefined the big-screen police thriller and - unless I'm forgeting something -- virtually invented the realistic serial killer genre.

Don Siegel's in the zone here -- this is his best film and it's never looked this good, partly because it's never looked this dim. The night scenes are restored to such lustrous blacks you have to sit up and pay attention. His work is completely thrilling and the portraits of both cop and killer he creates are filled with provactive ideas.

The film caught flak for suggesting that Harry was no better than a deranged vigilante -- as if the filmmakers didn't know that. The film opens with Scorpio stalking a victim and killing her long range. When Harry shows up he instinctively locates the killer's stalking place and we see him standing in the same spot looking at the scene of the crime within seconds. Note later as well that Harry will knowingly speak on behalf of the killer. ("You know she's dead, don't you?" "He won't stop killing. He likes it.") At those moments it's clear from Clint's face that he knows he and the killer have much in common. (It's also plain that Harry's a voyeur as we get scenes of him as an ignoble Peeping Tom.) The film seems to be saying that these two are remarkably similar and yet essentially different and for it's own good society had better understand the difference.

As iconic as Eastwood's performance here has become, I don't think the film would have the impact it has were it not for the astonishing performance of Andy Robinson. This is before Lawrence Sanders wrote The 1st Deadly Sin or Thomas Harris wrote Red Dragon. It has to be the first truly remorseless, psychotic, sadistic fiend in American pop culture. He's completely believable and there's no ironic wit or psychological justification. His performance is still terrifying, it hasn't dated at all and it stands as one of the great screen performances of all time. (He gets a great assist from Lalo's sensational score.)

The extras here are a little light on insight into the development and filming of this first film and instead provide a survey that covers the whole series. Schickel's commentary track is okay, but still has his patented air of snobbish condescension. He neglects to provide any insight into the film's curious religious symbolism -- the first three encounters between Harry and Scorpio involve crosses. Nor does he draw any connections between the film and the real Zodiac killer who obviously inspired much of the detail of the criminal and his crimes.