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DIRTY HARRY and its sequels

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  • #46
    It's unsexy nudity because it's Sandra Locke. And it sucks.

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    • #47
      Well, I meant rape nudity but yes, she makes it even more unsexy. But come on...the bad guy has a pencil mustache...that's sleazy as all fuck. It only adds to Sudden Impact's slime factor.

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      • #48
        All right, so Clint Eastwood has no taste. What else is new.
        "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
        - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

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        • #49
          Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
          [ATTACH=CONFIG]9476[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]9474[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]9477[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]9475[/ATTACH]

          Anyone read the paperback series? The paperback writer had some great ideas for Dirty Harry. It's a shame Clint didn't make more Dirty Harry films written by the paperback writer because he wrote better stories than the last three films.
          I've seen these floating around. Can you elaborate on what kinds of ideas the author had for the character? I ask because this is a series I would consider buying if the novels were any good.

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          • #50
            Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
            Like who? Vigio Mortenson is too old.

            I've always thought MAGNUM FORCE (1973) had problems, and tonight I figured what the problems are. The premise is a hot and dicey one, but the plotting goes sideways. The mistake lies in showing the motorcycle cops murdering the criminals. This robs the film of mystery, of a sense of endangerment, of the escalation of personal threat. The film needs to be told more from Harry's point of view as he reconstructs the crime scenes for us, discovers what each crime has in common, and picks up the clues -- mainly ballistic, but not entirely -- clues which should suggest, gradually, in our minds the identity of the killers before Harry reveals his conclusion. He needs to keep crossing paths with motorcyle cops whose integrity we don't question even though their presence is at first coincidental. As the murders pile up, and Harry gets closer to the truth, he should become the chief suspect, because the calibre of bullets matches his own handgun, which no other cop uses (the .38 special, I'm reliably informed, was the standard issue, not the 357 magnum). The realization that motorcyle cops are acting as vigilantes should come to Harry as he eyeballs the morning assembly of cops and wonders which of them is guilty, and if they will be coming after him next. The target practice competition needs a visual bullet pattern on the targets that matches the pattern of bullets on the victims. An unusual pattern, an eccentric pattern. Or some visual association that helps Harry narrow down the suspects, in addition to the ballistics. The twist in the bullets must match the twist in the bore of a 357 magnum with the fingerprints of the motorcyle cop on it.

            The target practice competition should come earlier in the plot, whereas the murder of officer McCoy (played by Mitchell Ryan himself) should be the transition out of the second act into the third act, instead of the more pedestrian bomb-in-the-mailbox. I'd cut the bomb-in-the-mailbox. Identifying who murdered officer McCoy susses out Capt. Briggs as the leader of the vigilante cops. Briggs has to give himself away by shrugging off vigilante justice in a debate with Harry. The crux of Harry's confrontation with Capt. Briggs is that his vigilante justice already crossed the line when it resulted in the killing of one of their own. An important point not mentioned in the confrontation as it stands. That in turn leads to the wonderful confrontation in the parking garage where one of the motorcycle cops demands "Do you know how hard it is to prosecute a cop?" This is where the gloves come off, so to speak. I wouldn't kill Briggs at the end; instead I'd have them come to an uneasy truce. His vigilantes are dead, and this won't happen again or Harry will tell what he knows and produce the ballistics, the gun and the fingerprints to prove it. Or something like that. The material is so damn good, and the exposition so strong, the writers needed to spend a little more time getting it right.

            A bit more night-time atmosphere (not too much) combined with the formality of police procedurals would have strengthened the film considerably.

            That having been said, I thoroughly enjoyed MAGNUM FORCE this evening. It remains one of my favorite films of the 1970s. The film reminded me that I used to admire policeman and to respect them. Today, I know better. The blu-ray does the film justice.
            See, I like your ideas here, Richard. These would have helped make the movie better, and perhaps a classic DH film. Nice observations.
            Zane C.
            Senior Member
            Last edited by Zane C.; 02-15-2014, 09:58 PM.

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            • #51
              Glad you follow my script analysis, Zane. Not many people do in these forums.


              Originally posted by Zane C. View Post
              I've seen these floating around. Can you elaborate on what kinds of ideas the author had for the character? I ask because this is a series I would consider buying if the novels were any good.

              Well, it's been thirty years since I've read them, but I've stacked them up near my keyboard. Leafing through them tempts me to start reading them again. One book has Harry fighting organized crime and misguided longshoremen on the waterfront, another is about a serial killer who dismembers women, another is about a maniac who pushes people off subways into oncoming trains, another is about tracking down drug manufacturers, another is about a plane hijacking, and so on. They are all suspense thrillers with extended action scenes and descriptions of brutal violence. Harry does the dirty work, takes the beatings, fights bureaucracy and crime and stupid people in equal measure. At the same time he's not the brightest bulb in the room -- which is precisely what I like about them. They're not shallow knock-offs. Each book is extremely well-written and well-plotted. Whoever Dane Hamilton was -- I suspect he's a publisher's house name for contract writers, some of whom might be famous, you never know -- he could write.

              My personal favorite, because of it's potent atmosphere, nail-biting plot and vivid characterization of Dirty Harry -- you can almost hear Clint speaking the dialog -- is CITY OF BLOOD.

              CITY OF BLOOD would have made one helluva movie.

              Also, the first novel in the series is called DUEL FOR CANNONS. It reads every bit as good as the first film plays right down to Harry's shouting matches with his boss.
              Richard--W
              a straight arrow
              Last edited by Richard--W; 02-18-2014, 05:18 AM.
              "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
              - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

              Comment


              • #52
                Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
                Like who? Vigio Mortenson is too old.

                I've always thought MAGNUM FORCE (1973) had problems, and tonight I figured what the problems are. The premise is a hot and dicey one, but the plotting goes sideways. The mistake lies in showing the motorcycle cops murdering the criminals. This robs the film of mystery, of a sense of endangerment, of the escalation of personal threat [....] Identifying who murdered officer McCoy susses out Capt. Briggs as the leader of the vigilante cops. Briggs has to give himself away by shrugging off vigilante justice in a debate with Harry. The crux of Harry's confrontation with Capt. Briggs is that his vigilante justice already crossed the line when it resulted in the killing of one of their own. An important point not mentioned in the confrontation as it stands.
                Yes, I think splitting the screen time between Harry and his prey robs the film of much potential suspense. For me, the film, as it stands, gets a little too tied up in exploring the differences between Briggs' band of rogues and Callahan, as a means of reinforcing Callahan's sense of justice as righteous by placing it in juxtaposition with the vigilantism of Briggs. For my money, the film sometimes threatens to tie itself up in knots over this; like you say, reinforcing the transgression of the code through the murder of McCoy would sidestep this problem.

                I don't know that I agree with offering Briggs a reprieve at the end of the picture. I like the climax of the movie. But it needs a little more darkness and a little less of a didactic approach to the Briggs-Callahan dualism that's at the centre of the picture.

                I always felt that MAGNUM FORCE felt quite elliptical/'choppy' in places, almost like it had been reassembled substantially in postproduction; whether that was the case or not, I have no idea.
                'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

                Comment


                • #53
                  Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
                  Glad you follow my script analysis, Zane. Not many people do in these forums.





                  Well, it's been thirty years since I've read them, but I've stacked them up near my keyboard. Leafing through them tempts me to start reading them again. One book has Harry fighting organized crime and misguided longshoremen on the waterfront, another is about a serial killer who dismembers women, another is about a maniac who pushes people off subways into oncoming trains, another is about tracking down drug manufacturers, another is about a plane hijacking, and so on. They are all suspense thrillers with extended action scenes and descriptions of brutal violence. Harry does the dirty work, takes the beatings, fights bureaucracy and crime and stupid people in equal measure. At the same time he's not the brightest bulb in the room -- which is precisely what I like about them. They're not shallow knock-offs. Each book is extremely well-written and well-plotted. Whoever Dane Hamilton was -- I suspect he's a publisher's house name for contract writers, some of whom might be famous, you never know -- he could write.

                  My personal favorite, because of it's potent atmosphere, nail-biting plot and vivid characterization of Dirty Harry -- you can almost hear Clint speaking the dialog -- is CITY OF BLOOD.

                  CITY OF BLOOD would have made one helluva movie.

                  Also, the first novel in the series is called DUEL FOR CANNONS. It reads every bit as good as the first film plays right down to Harry's shouting matches with his boss.
                  Thanks, Richard.

                  I particularly liked how you would have Harry tracking the evidence and piecing it together; this adds a bit more weight to the whole thing. I also liked the "uneasy truce" between Harry and Briggs. This would be a departure from Harry's scorched earth ways....though I tend to think that Eastwood went with what he no doubt thought the audience wanted to see, and how he thought the character would act. This line of reasoning hobbled more than just this element of the movie, and indeed, some parts of the rest of the films also. An occasional surprise or twist in Harry's ways to keep the audience on their feet would have been good for the series. I love the franchise, but at times it could have used a few of these moments to keep it fresh. THE DEAD POOL in particular was enjoyable, but really, more of the same. It was a missed opportunity by Eastwood to give the character a bit more nuance, as Harry was getting a bit long in the tooth by that time, as of course, was Eastwood. That being said, I've always enjoyed Eastwood's DIRTY HARRY films. They always deliver, even though they're not groundbreaking in most instances. Past DIRTY HARRY itself, there's not much "new" idea-wise in the films.

                  Back to MAGNUM FORCE, I've always thought if the motorcycle cops were a bit more fleshed out it would have helped as well. It's been a while since I've seen the movie, but I remember them being kind of nameless entities. They simply fade into the background and are more or less "Henchman #1", etc.

                  The novel series intrigues me, though. You do make these sound good. If the price is right and I'm able to pick these up for a reasonable price, I'm going to buy them. They'll go nicely beside my "Man With No Name" series of novels. I miss these pulp books! I used to pick up used copies when I was growing up at the second-hand book store. They were always a good way to find some potentially cool series/novels.
                  Zane C.
                  Senior Member
                  Last edited by Zane C.; 02-18-2014, 10:39 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Originally posted by Paul L View Post
                    Eric Bana? Tom Hardy? Charlie Hunnam?
                    Interesting choices, but I don't know that any of those guys would work. Hardy maybe, but Bana and Hunnam seem wrong. My own choice, off hand, would be Joel Kinnaman, the current Robocop. He looks and acts the role, IMO. He would be an unlikely choice, but I think he could work. Hunnam is too much of a pretty boy, and has a large following with SOA. Bana just doesn't look right for the role, either.

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                    • #55
                      Originally posted by Zane C. View Post
                      Hunnam is too much of a pretty boy, and has a large following with SOA. Bana just doesn't look right for the role, either.
                      I think those two just impressed me with DEADFALL, which exceeded my expectations - I thought it was a good, noirish picture, albeit one that had some over-familiar elements. Both Hunnam and Bana were very good in their respective roles, I thought.

                      I still haven't seen the ROBOCOP remake, but regardless of what I've been hearing about the film itself, most people seem quite impressed with Kinnaman's performance.
                      'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                      http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                      'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Zane, last night I browsed through CITY OF BLOOD. It's almost a horror story. It really nails the DIRTY HARRY vibe. Start with this one.

                        Click image for larger version

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                        "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
                        - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          I know the answer to this, but it won't come to the forefront of my mind. What's the title of an Italian crime film about a police inspector who learns that homicides are being committed by a vigilante group within the police department? and didn't Warner Brothers lift the idea for MAGNUM FORCE?
                          "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
                          - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
                            I know the answer to this, but it won't come to the forefront of my mind. What's the title of an Italian crime film about a police inspector who learns that homicides are being committed by a vigilante group within the police department? and didn't Warner Brothers lift the idea for MAGNUM FORCE?
                            LA POLIZIA RINGRAZIA/THE EXECUTION SQUAD (Stefano Vanzina, 1972). And yes, it's quite similar to MAGNUM FORCE in a lot of ways.
                            'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                            http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                            'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

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                            • #59
                              Thanks, Paul. Have you seen it? What do you think?

                              Is there an English friendly version on DVD, do you know?
                              Richard--W
                              a straight arrow
                              Last edited by Richard--W; 02-23-2014, 08:17 AM.
                              "I've been to college, but I can still speak English when business demands it."
                              - Raymond Chandler, 1939.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Originally posted by Richard--W View Post
                                Thanks, Paul. Have you seen it? What do you think?

                                Is there an English friendly version on DVD, do you know?
                                It's a very good film, Richard, one of the best poliziesco pictures, in my view - driven as much by character and situation as by action.

                                The German DVD is English-friendly and reasonably priced: http://www.amazon.de/Das-Syndikat-Sc...tefano+Vanzina
                                'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                                http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                                'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

                                Comment

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