The Dirty Harry series.

The original maverick Hollywood cop and the template for so many action heroes that followed such as 48 HRS' Jack Cates, Lethal Weapon's Martin Riggs and even Die Hard's John McClane. Audiences were blown away in December 1971 when the first movie premiered. Here was a tough, ruthless San Francisco detective who took no prisoners when dealing with assorted criminals and he threw away the rule-book completely when going after a crazed sniper who held the city to ransom. Andrew Robinson was spinechilling and powerful as Scorpio, the man Harry vows to bring down in his quest for justice. The villains in the DH series that followed don't even hold a candle to this whiney voiced, ice-cold madman.

Magnum Force was a fine, exciting sequel with more action, The Enforcer was a solid enough cop thriller with Harry being partnered with a woman and Sudden Impact was a very dark, disturbing revenge thriller that benefited from several well-executed set-pieces, courtesy of Clint Eastwood the director.

Many consider The Dead Pool to be the worst entry, but it's a fun enough adventure and brings the whole series to a satisfactory close with Harry finally finding true love.

From my viewings five years ago...

1. DIRTY HARRY
2. MAGNUM FORCE
3. SUDDEN IMPACT
4. THE DEAD POOL
5. THE ENFORCER

The first two are terrific. The last three are all problematic in their own ways. May check 'em out again, though.

And yeah, none of the other villains come close to Andy Robinson's Scorpio.

Magnum Force contains about the most sickening murder I've seen.

It inspired the hideous hifi murders which Rave probably knows too much about.

You got that right. His most frightening scene in Dirty Harry was when he took the children on the bus hostage and forced them to sing for him. When one of them demanded to go home, he just flipped and became even more deranged. I read up a bit of background to this character and his name was Charles Davis. He was sectioned after killing his parents and was also in Vietnam, I think.

Here is my order of DH films.

1. DIRTY HARRY
2. MAGNUM FORCE
3. THE ENFORCER
4. THE DEAD POOL
5. SUDDEN IMPACT

ambler wrote:

Magnum Force contains about the most sickening murder I've seen.

It inspired the hideous hifi murders which Rave probably knows too much about.

Are you referring to when the prostitute was forcefed drain cleaner pills by her pimp? That was very nasty stuff and writer John Milius talked about it when he did the DVD audio commentary for Magnum Force. He said I think that he wanted her to be killed like that so that it would justify the brutal execution he'd suffer at the hands of one of the motorcycle cops. Later, you see his body next to the girl's in the morgue which Harry visits along with his boss.

When Magnum Force came on TV in '88, I asked my brother to tape it for me, but he said it was an 'adults only' film.

Something THE ENFORCER lacked was Lalo.



I never tire of that track.

Too right. I agree wholeheartedly! That same year, he was busy scoring other movies like the Charles Bronson thriller St. Ives featuring the Bond girl that never was, Jacqueline Bisset.

This is one of my personal favourites from DH.

I love his music for St. Ives. I downloaded it from YouTube as I'm not aware of any soundtrack releases.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxyJJBxMHUM#t=2m3s

In terms of film music I listen to just to listen to it, Schifrin and Mancini are tops, but I think Schifrin edges it for me.

Schifrin's music has variety and is very interesting to listen to. His late 1960s and 1970s work is the most impressive, including the first 2 Dirty Harry movies, Prime Cut, St. Ives and a few others. Funk and soul were his main attributes.

I've heard that music from St. Ives too. That should have been used in The Enforcer.

JohnDrake wrote:

ambler wrote:

Magnum Force contains about the most sickening murder I've seen.

It inspired the hideous hifi murders which Rave probably knows too much about.

Are you referring to when the prostitute was forcefed drain cleaner pills by her pimp? That was very nasty stuff

That's the one. The Hi-fi killers claimed they got the idea from the film.

Nasty. I'll bet John Milius had nightmares about that scene because of it inspiring copycat murders. This must have been cut numerous times when Magnum Force was shown on TV, especially in the 1980s, although when I saw it on ITV in '95, it was intact, I think, as was the rest of the movie, although in a '98 showing, they censored the pimp's murder.

Before it came out, Gran Torino was rumoured to be a belated Dirty Harry sequel but that was put out to dry when it eventually got released.

THE DEAD POOL actually has a nifty trailer.

1. DIRTY HARRY
2. THE DEAD POOL
3. SUDDEN IMPACT
4. THE ENFORCER
5. MAGNUM FORCE

When I watched MAGNUM FORCE I had to watch it in halfs, which completely destroyed the viewing experience and has kept me from wanting to watch it again. DEAD POOL's a ball of late 80s fun, and I like the almost Hitchcockian vibe of SUDDEN IMPACT.

1. DIRTY HARRY
2. MAGNUM FORCE
----------------------
3. The Rest

Andy Robinson and Hal Holbrook both steal the show from their respective films.

Also, Schifrin's session musicians don't get enough love. Carol Kaye on Fender P-Bass (remember that fuzz and octave pedal effect on Scorpio's View); Sally Stevens singing wordless vocals; Larry Bunker, John Guerin on drums; Emil Richards on waterphone (that warped metallic sound that you can also hear on Don Davis's MATRIX scores, and Goldsmith's STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE); Plas Johnson on tenor sax; Howard Roberts, Dennis Budimer, amd Michael Deasey on guitar; Catherine Gotthoffer on harp; Mike Lang, Ralph Grierson, Mike Melvoin on keyboards etc...

Sharky wrote:

1. DIRTY HARRY
2. MAGNUM FORCE
----------------------
3. The Rest

Andy Robinson and Hal Holbrook both steal the show from their respective films.

Also, Schifrin's session musicians don't get enough love. Carol Kaye on Fender P-Bass (remember that fuzz and octave pedal effect on Scorpio's View); Sally Stevens singing wordless vocals; Larry Bunker, John Guerin on drums; Emil Richards on waterphone (that warped metallic sound that you can also hear on Don Davis's MATRIX scores, and Goldsmith's STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE); Plas Johnson on tenor sax; Howard Roberts, Dennis Budimer, amd Michael Deasey on guitar; Catherine Gotthoffer on harp; Mike Lang, Ralph Grierson, Mike Melvoin on keyboards etc...

An abundance of credit is due to all of those talented and creative musicians who contributed to the score for one of the best cop thrillers of all time. Kudos to them for making Dirty Harry a unique viewing experience. Clint Eastwood was obviously delighted because he was a huge jazz fan.

Putting Dirty Harry and Magnum Force at the top of the tree is most suitable, Sharky. They had a more grittier, believable feel in general, but were also very violent for their time, in terms of big screen entertainment. The Enforcer might have been a better film if Don Siegel directed it or Clint himself.

JohnDrake wrote:

Sharky wrote:

1. DIRTY HARRY
2. MAGNUM FORCE
----------------------
3. The Rest

Andy Robinson and Hal Holbrook both steal the show from their respective films.

Also, Schifrin's session musicians don't get enough love. Carol Kaye on Fender P-Bass (remember that fuzz and octave pedal effect on Scorpio's View); Sally Stevens singing wordless vocals; Larry Bunker, John Guerin on drums; Emil Richards on waterphone (that warped metallic sound that you can also hear on Don Davis's MATRIX scores, and Goldsmith's STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE); Plas Johnson on tenor sax; Howard Roberts, Dennis Budimer, amd Michael Deasey on guitar; Catherine Gotthoffer on harp; Mike Lang, Ralph Grierson, Mike Melvoin on keyboards etc...

An abundance of credit is due to all of those talented and creative musicians who contributed to the score for one of the best cop thrillers of all time. Kudos to them for making Dirty Harry a unique viewing experience. Clint Eastwood was obviously delighted because he was a huge jazz fan.

Putting Dirty Harry and Magnum Force at the top of the tree is most suitable, Sharky. They had a more grittier, believable feel in general, but were also very violent for their time, in terms of big screen entertainment. The Enforcer might have been a better film if Don Siegel directed it or Clint himself.

Or had Schiffrin scored it. Don't get me wrong, I still like Jerry Fielding (especially his Peckinpah collaborations). He's just not in the same league as Lalo.

Yeah, but I love this.

It's all right. But it's highly derivative of 70s funk. You know... masters like Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Herbie Hancock etc. Stock Fender Rhodes and wah-wah guitar.

Schifrin was always Schifrin. Avant garde mixed with modern jazz.

Sharky wrote:

It's all right. But it's highly derivative of 70s funk. You know... masters like Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Herbie Hancock etc. Stock Fender Rhodes and wah-wah guitar.

Schifrin was always Schifrin. Avant garde mixed with modern jazz.

It's just fun.

1. Dirty Harry
2. Magnum Force
3. The Dead Pool
4. Sudden Impact
5. The Enforcer

TDP is a guilty pleasure for me, the story is much more interesting than in the previous ones and I just love the campy 80´s feeling. TE sticks out like a sore thumb, it's so 70´s that it annoys me...even though I don't hate 70´s style.


SI though has the best opening title theme, frikkin' funky beats. 8)

THE ENFORCER, my what I recall, was drowned in 70's malaise.

The Enforcer sure had a stronger 1970s feel because of the music and the fashions. Worth mentioning also that Eastwood originally didn't want to follow up Dirty Harry. He and Don Siegel were going to leave it at that, but it became so amazingly popular that a sequel was commissioned by Warner Bros. and Clint decided to make Harry a slightly more sympathetic character in Magnum Force as well as give him a love interest which female fans suggested. Clint also didn't want to come back for The Enforcer, but again, box-office returns declared otherwise.

Have any of you seen The Gauntlet? He was sort of like the anti-Dirty Harry in that (an alcoholic, incompetent detective hired to protect a prostitute), but I reckon it would have made for a much better film than The Enforcer had he played Harry Callahan instead of Ben Shockley.

1) Magnum Force
2) Dirty Harry
3) Sudden Impact
4) The Enforcer

I have yet to see The Dead Pool

JohnDrake wrote:

The Enforcer sure had a stronger 1970s feel because of the music and the fashions. Worth mentioning also that Eastwood originally didn't want to follow up Dirty Harry. He and Don Siegel were going to leave it at that, but it became so amazingly popular that a sequel was commissioned by Warner Bros. and Clint decided to make Harry a slightly more sympathetic character in Magnum Force as well as give him a love interest which female fans suggested. Clint also didn't want to come back for The Enforcer, but again, box-office returns declared otherwise.

Have any of you seen The Gauntlet? He was sort of like the anti-Dirty Harry in that (an alcoholic, incompetent detective hired to protect a prostitute), but I reckon it would have made for a much better film than The Enforcer had he played Harry Callahan instead of Ben Shockley.

I thought it was a bit too over-the-top for a Dirty Harry film. Dirty Harry always tried to be somewhat realistic, while THE GAUNTLET seemed more like a spoof.