DIRTY HARRY and its sequels

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

Which Dirty Harry film has the miniature radio-controlled car racing up and down the streets?

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

THE DEAD POOL, Richard.

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

How does The Dead Pool rate among everyone's favorite Dirty Harry sequel?

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

Very low in mine, to be honest. I'd rank the sequels thusly:
MAGNUM FORCE - plenty to admire here, for my money. Flatly shot and edited, but with a strong premise and some great supporting performances.

... and then a BIG gap.
SUDDEN IMPACT - some solid dialogue and interesting ideas, but a little undercooked and, I feel, less than the sum of its parts. This is the only film of the 'bottom three' in which Eastwood seems to have interest in the character he's playing, in my view.
THE ENFORCER - Tyne Daly grates on my nerves, but the film has its moments. Again, less than the sum of its parts.
THE DEAD POOL - I found this a struggle to sit through the last time I rewatched it, to be honest. Has a distinctly 80s vibe, and not in a good way. Stacked up against contemporaneous Eastwood pictures like TIGHTROPE, it's difficult to find much to enjoy here.

[Mark Tolch Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark Tolch]

DEAD POOL and SUDDEN IMPACT are equal for me...I can't handle SI because of Sandra Locke. I love MAGNUM FORCE, and agree with Paul on THE ENFORCER. After all, ENFORCER has Big Ed Mustafa.

[The Silly Swede Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Silly Swede]

I actually agree 100% with Paul L. Perhaps those brits are not entirely out to lunch!

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

DIRTY HARRY (1971) and MAGNUM FORCE (1973) remain impressive films, I think. I agree the latter is flatly directed. I wonder what caused that, as Ted Post is a much better director than that film indicates. MAGNUM FORCE wants to be a darkly-lit noir, instead it's a broad daylight film. I quit going to Dirty Harry sequels after THE ENFORCER. It seemed to me that the more creative control Clint exercised the stupider the films were becoming. When I saw THE DEAD POOL on a cable movie channel, I came in after the film had started; when the little toy car came speeding down the hill I knew it was time to change the channel.

I would like to see police-action films in which the cops are less than admirable make a comeback. I miss the Across 110th Street / The French Connection / Dirty Harry / Stone Killer / Freebie and the Bean genre.

[Horace Cordier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Horace Cordier]

DIRTY HARRY and its sequels

I like SUDDEN IMPACT quite a bit. It has a sleazy edge to it I can appreciate. I dislike Locke in general but can tolerate her here and in THE GAUNTLET. I also find the ENFORCER easy to watch though its not a great film - it is serviceable.

I consider the original a stone cold classic deserving of it's reputation. Not only is it one of Clint's best performances - it actually has a decent script. Robinson was a stage trained actor and it shows. His sadistic killer has a great natural quality. I'll never forgot my 80 year old diehard liberal retired stage actor mother watching this for the first time. Never much of an Eastwood fan ("stiff" was her term) or a cop movie person she went NUTS for this film. She was practically screaming for Scorpio's blood by the end. That's the power of effective propaganda in a great drama. And she started grilling me on Don Siegel right there. His crane shots in DH, the set piece on the football field, the showdown at the huge cross, the badge and the river - there is some masterfully directed material here.

MAGNUM FORCE is fun - love Holbrook and the mutts that play the bad cops - Soul, Urich et al. It is a bit flat but it works well enough. Everything else in the Harry franchise is a step down. For a great dark cop thriller I'll take the gonzo POLICE CONNECTION over anything in the Harry canon except the original and MF though.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

I saw The Dead Pool theatrically and have a soft spot for it for that reason. I am well aware of its flaws, but I think it's fun.

[Scott Intellectual Carrot Find all posts View Profile Close Scott]

Never much of a fan of the DIRTY HARRY films. Not gritty enough. I did like MAGNUM FORCE best but I agree it was kinda flat visually. Overall it's a little too dry. I guess I like my cop movies darker, grittier, sleazier. The SEVEN-UPS and ACROSS 110th STREET remain my favorites of the genre. SHARKY'S MACHINE and NIGHTHAWKS are very good. A little sleazier and more serial killery I enjoy COP with James Woods a helvuva lot and I like all the RELENTLESS flicks.

[Zane C. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Zane C.]

I pretty much agree with everyone here about the DIRTY HARRY films. The first is a classic, just a great cops and criminals film. I like MAGNUM FORCE best after that, followed by SUDDEN IMPACT, THE ENFORCER, and lastly, THE DEAD POOL. TDP has it's moments, though, and I like it for what it is - there's some funny moments in it, not the least or which is Jim Carrey's spastic portrayal of drug-addled rock star, or Liam Neeson slumming it as the ponytailed low-rent director. It IS the weak link in the series, though.

For rewatchability of Eastwood movies, I prefer the completely different ANY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE and ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN. A cantankerous Ruth Gordon, Geoffrey Lewis, Clyde the Orangutan, a fistfight with Big Bill Smith, a cool soundtrack, as well as Clyde's present in the police car make for a couple of good movies. Too bad Sondra Locke stunk up her role in this series, though, but not surprising. I think we all know why Clint cast her!

Right turn, Clyde!

I'll follow this series with the ridiculously entertaining HEARTBREAK RIDGE. Fun film!

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

DIRTY HARRY was riotously entertaining when it was new. Conservative one moment, liberal the next but always calculated to provoke a reaction from the audience.

I get impatient with the high shrill note on the soundtrack. Someone kept their finger on the keyboard way too long. Siegel's choice and application of music was often inappropriate and jarring, not just in DIRTY HARRY but all his films.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

SHARKY'S MACHINE and NIGHTHAWKS are very good. A little sleazier and more serial killery I enjoy COP with James Woods a helvuva lot and I like all the RELENTLESS flicks.

SHARKY'S MACHINE needs a good release. The old DVD is kinda lacklustre. COP is excellent, in my view. Possibly my favourite James Ellroy adaptation. (Speaking of, I have a soft spot for BROWN'S REQUIEM too; that's another film that needs a good release.)

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

I get impatient with the high shrill note on the soundtrack. Someone kept their finger on the keyboard way too long. Siegel's choice and application of music was often inappropriate and jarring, not just in DIRTY HARRY but all his films.

Richard, I think that was the intention, though - not that it always works, but still...

ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ and THE BEGUILED are my favourite Siegel-Eastwood pictures, I have to say.

The novelisation of DIRTY HARRY is interesting. It features a beefed-up version of the Mary Ann Deacon subplot and some interesting additional information about the Scorpio character (which foregrounds his 'disturbed war veteran' state, something buried in the subtext of Siegel's film). I believe it was based on an early script, as was fairly common with novelisations of the time. I could definitely see that version of the film with Sinatra as Callahan and Audie Murphy as Scorpio - the original casting. (Murphy would have been ideal for the Scorpio role; I think Robinson is great in Siegel's film, but Murphy would have brought some interesting 'baggage' to the role.)

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

I saw The Dead Pool theatrically and have a soft spot for it for that reason. I am well aware of its flaws, but I think it's fun.

Yeah, I also saw it in the theater and liked it okay then but it's not aged well for me. I like the first two films a lot, big drop off after that. THE ENFORCER has some good moments but the series was starting to chase its tail by that point. The rogue cops were well cast in MAGNUM FORCE, particularly David Soul, Tim Matheson, and Robert Urich. Hal Holbrook also was typically on point as well.