DIRTY HARRY ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION (1971-1988). It’d be a joke (to say nothing of an obvious money-grab) were Warner Bros. ever to offer another Dirty Harry box set at any point in the future: This superb collection is as good as it’s gonna get, showcasing all five titles in the series in newly remastered editions and packed to the breaking point with all manner of bonus goodies.
The first and best film in the franchise, Dirty Harry (1971) introduces us to the character of Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood, of course), a gruff San Francisco cop who uses any means necessary (even illegal ones) to catch his man. These tactics come in handy once he tangles with a psycho killer who calls himself Scorpio (Andy Robinson effectively plays one of the screen’s great villains), a giggling nutcase who mainly divides his time between sniper-shooting civilians and kidnapping children. Director Don Siegel’s classic sci-fi flick Invasion of the Body Snatchers was alternately read as both right-wing (anti-Commie) and left-wing (anti-McCarthyism), and he found his controversial police thriller experiencing the same sort of dichotomy. On one hand, it’s clear that Harry has little use for liberal laws that protect potential criminals (critic Pauline Kael famously called him a “fascist”), yet the character was championed by the other side for being so decidedly anti-Establishment. (And who among us doesn’t side with Harry when he tortures the guilty Scorpio in order to save a little girl’s life?) Either way, there’s no denying the brute force of this expertly constructed picture, and the taciturn acting style of Eastwood (in a role first offered to Frank Sinatra!) helps make the classic quips (including “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya … punk?”) stand out even more.
Magnum Force (1973) finds Harry stating, “Nothing wrong with shooting as long as the right people get shot.” It’s a telling line, since the plot of this first follow-up deals with a gang of rogue cops (future TV stars David Soul and Robert Urich, along with Tim Matheson and Kip Niven) who work outside the law by executing criminals who have slipped through the system. They’re certain that Harry would applaud their efforts, but the maverick cop finds their rigid judge-jury-and-executioner methods too distasteful even for him. Harry’s stance serves to deepen the character even further, and he finds a worthy adversary in Lt. Briggs (Hal Holbrook), his humorless superior who’s constantly breathing down his neck.
Harry’s partners usually end up wounded or dead, and The Enforcer (1976) finds him paired with a novice officer who will be lucky to survive even one day in the field. Because of quotas that need to be met, Harry is matched with a female: Kate Moore (Tyne Daly), a desk clerk with no street experience whatsoever. It’s hard to ascertain whether Harry’s more peeved at being partnered with a woman or because more qualified officers were bypassed for the promotion, but he slowly softens as the pair chase after a group of militants called The People’s Revolutionary Strike Force (a sign of the times, as this outfit was clearly inspired by the Symbionese Liberation Army). The presence of Kate allows a softer side of Harry to emerge, and Daly’s fine performance as a committed policewoman served as a warm-up for her star-making role on TV’s Cagney and Lacey.
The only film in the series directed by Eastwood himself, Sudden Impact (1983) is primarily remembered for its classic line, “Go ahead, make my day” (rapidly co-opted by then-President Ronald Reagan), yet the movie also deserves credit for wading through the same muddy waters as Dirty Harry and Magnum Force. This time, the vigilante at work is neither Harry nor other cops but ordinary citizen Jennifer Spencer (Sondra Locke), an artist seeking revenge on the five men and one lesbian who raped and beat her and her teenaged sister years earlier, leaving her sibling in a vegetative state. The most financially lucrative of the series, this was also the sixth and last film in which Eastwood starred opposite real-life girlfriend Locke. Paul Drake’s turn as the chief thug is cartoonish even by the standards of this series (subtlety from actors portraying villains is a rarity in this franchise), but there’s a lovable performance by Harry’s latest “partner,” a butt-ugly dog he names Meathead.
It’s difficult to determine whether The Dead Pool (1988) is a desperate attempt to extend the franchise or a smart parody of cop films that have come before it, but either way, there’s enough to enjoy in this increasingly silly film. Here, Harry learns of a betting pool in which the participants predict which celebrities on their lists will die before a determined date; Harry’s name is on one of the lists, and when other famous Bay Area folks – among them a rock star, a TV talk-show host and (blasphemous!) a film critic – are murdered, the cop is forced to watch his own back a little more closely. The supporting cast is notable for its inclusion of several rising stars: future Oscar nominees Liam Neeson and Patricia Clarkson as, respectively, a horror film director and a television news reporter, and Jim Carrey (billed as James Carrey) as the ill-fated rock star. Look quickly and you can also spot cameos by the members of Guns N’ Roses (whose hit “Welcome to the Jungle” is prominently used twice in the film, once lip-synced by Carrey).
Dirty Harry is packaged in a two-disc set; the other four titles are single-disc editions. Various extras (some held over from previous DVD versions) include audio commentaries, featurettes on the character’s lasting influence, the controversy surrounding his moral outlook, and the debate over violence in cinema, the 1993 TV special Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso, and a trailer gallery containing previews of all five flicks in the series. The box set also contains a bonus disc featuring the 2000 documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows, a hardcover book filled with movie stills and trivia, five lobby card reproductions, a replica of Harry Callahan’s wallet with his I.D. card, and more.
Dirty Harry: ***1/2
Magnum Force: ***
The Enforcer: ***
Sudden Impact: ***
The Dead Pool: **1/2
Extras: ****
HIGH NOON (1952). The favorite of many U.S. presidents (including Bill Clinton, who’s interviewed in one of the accompanying features) yet detested by (among others) John Wayne, Francois Truffaut and influential critic Andrew Sarris, High Noon has long been considered one of the greatest Westerns ever produced by Hollywood. Yet as a film scholar notes in one of the bonus features, it’s a movie disliked by many cineastes who otherwise love Westerns, with a primary gripe being that it’s a social drama only masquerading as a dusty oater. I’ve always enjoyed the picture but also find it grossly overrated, though the social drama isn’t the reason: In fact, the film’s standing as an allegory for the Communist witch hunts paralyzing Hollywood at the time is one of the most interesting things about it. Writer Carl Foreman, who would shortly become one of the victims of the despicable blacklisting, teamed with director Fred Zinnemann to craft this tight (85 minutes) tale about sheriff Will Kane (Gary Cooper), who, minutes after his wedding (to a Quaker woman played by Grace Kelly) and retirement, learns that an old enemy has just been released from jail and is returning to town on the noon train to join three others in gunning down the marshal. Since the town owes Kane for cleaning up its lawlessness years earlier, he figures rounding up a posse won’t be a problem; unfortunately, no one is willing to stand by his side. High Noon unfolds largely (but not precisely, despite claims to the contrary) in real time, but it’s the film’s brevity that prevents it from soaring, since the stripped-down narrative generally allows only the widest of brush strokes when it comes to painting the characters and their situations. Cooper’s performance is masterful, however, as is cinematographer Floyd Crosby’s stark compositions. Nominated for seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture), this won four statues, for Best Actor, Film Editing, Original Score, and Original Song for “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’),” performed in the movie by Tex Ritter.
Most of the DVD extras are held over from the 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition from six years ago. Bonuses include audio commentary by the offspring of the principal talents (Maria Cooper-Janis, Jonathan Foreman, Tim Zinnemann and John Ritter – yes, that John Ritter), a 50-minute look at the film’s production and enduring legacy, a making-of piece, and Tex Ritter’s performance of the hit title tune on TV’s The Jimmy Dean Show.
Movie: ***
Extras: ***
JUMPER (2008). A stateside underachiever but a worldwide hit, this fantasy flick may be based on the novel by Steven Gould, but while watching it, I felt like I had jumped back in time to 1986 and was again catching Highlander during its original theatrical run. Jumper is Highlander for a new generation: a cheesy, globetrotting film that was guaranteed to be savaged by most critics (which it was), but also a mindlessly entertaining yarn likely to lead to a string of sequels and/or TV adaptations. Hayden Christensen, still struggling with that wooden aspect of his acting, plays David Rice, a kid who discovers he has the ability to “jump” to any location on the planet in a matter of seconds. In a nice if cynical twist, he doesn’t use his powers to benefit mankind; instead, he’s too busy robbing banks in order to finance a lifestyle reserved for the rich and famous. But his partying days come to an end once he encounters Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), a member of a secret society which has spent centuries trying to wipe out all jumpers. David receives some helpful pointers from a more seasoned jumper (Sean Connery’s regal Highlander role, here reimagined as a surly punk played by Jamie Bell), but they may not be enough to prevent Roland from drawing David’s innocent girlfriend (Rachel Bilson) into the fray. As a heady piece of sci-fi philosophy, Jumper burrows no deeper than the ends of the eyelashes, as director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) and scripters David S. Goyer, Jim Uhls and Simon Kinberg are content to make a movie that offers little more than surface thrills. But on that level, it’s a fairly effective action tale, with some nifty effects and enough international locales to power a few Bond films.
Extras in the two-disc DVD set include audio commentary by Liman, Kinberg and co-producer Lucas Foster, 11 minutes of deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and short pieces on the visual effects and location shooting. The second disc contains a digital copy of the movie suitable for downloading to portable devices.
Movie: **1/2
Extras: **1/2
UNDER THE SAME MOON (2008). The story of a boy struggling mightily to be reunited with his mother can be approached in any number of ways. This film’s title suggests perhaps a whiff of magical surrealism; the sidebar topic (illegal immigration) hints at far more somber material. The end result falls somewhere in between, yet somehow it works – at least until all those pesky coincidences get in the way. Director Patricia Riggen’s movie centers on 9-year-old Carlitos (adorable Adrian Alonso), a Mexican lad who’s been living with his grandmother for the past four years while his mother Rosario (Kate del Castillo) has been working in Los Angeles. Once Granny dies, Carlitos elects to hightail it to the States with a wad of cash in his pocket. Crossing the border proves to be a tricky situation, but his real problems begin when he inconveniently (but oh-so-conveniently for the sake of the narrative) loses his poorly secured dough and must make it to L.A. employing only his wits and the occasional kindness of strangers. Did I say occasional? Except for a druggie who attempts to sell the kid to a sicko sex lord, Carlitos encounters nothing but kindly folks – even a gruff laborer (Eugenio Derbez) with no love for children eventually takes the lad under his wing. It’s a warmhearted story with some nice humorous touches – best of all is the inclusion of the song “Superman es ilegal,” which persuasively makes the case that the foreign-born Man of Steel is no more American than the Mexicans trying to sneak into the United States. Yet all of the film’s cumulative power repeatedly gets let out with the increasing appearances of lazy plot contrivances shamelessly included by scripter Ligiah Villalobos as a lazy way to move the story from Point A to B and beyond.
DVD extras include a making-of featurette and a short piece on the mural artists commissioned by the studio to create works honoring the film.
Movie: **1/2
Extras: **
This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2008.
