听 Blasting onto DVD as part of a box-set of all five films in the series, "Dirty Harry" is back and enhanced for your pleasure. Go on, make your day with this cool set.
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Picture There's an initial graininess to the opening credits and establishing scene, but this quickly settles down to a picture that offers little to complain about. Colours are bright and detail high, especially considering the 30-year age of the movie.
Sound This 5.1 sound mix really goes to town on Lalo Schifrin's ultra-cool music score, channelling bass through the subwoofer, and using the other five speakers to wrap you into a funk-fest of foot-tapping tunes. Action scenes are also enhanced with steering effects between the front speakers.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Original Documentary This short documentary was made for the release of the movie and features some good behind-the-scenes footage, including Clint Eastwood and director Don Siegel discussing a scene on set. There's also a brief history of Hollywood cop movies.
Dirty Harry: The Original This new 30-minute documentary includes a wealth of interviewees, all of whom are listed in the 'interview gallery' below. Clint contributes the most, revealing how he and Siegel planned to set the movie in the less filmed Seattle, but "it's hard to go past San Francisco", as he says, and there the movie took root. Arnold Schwarzenegger offers up his thoughts on the appeal of the character, which for him is that Harry can "blast criminals away" while eating a burger.
Interview Gallery Mostly made up of extracts not used for the above documentary, here's a gallery of further interview footage with the ten interviewees. These are: Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Urich, Patty Clarkson, Andy Robinson, Evan Kim, Hal Holbrook, John Milius, Ted Post, and Joel Cox. Arnie reveals how Clint was his inspiration along with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, while Hal Holbrook quips upon getting a role in "Magnum Force" that, "I knew that I would finally be in a movie that people would see." As for Clint, he mulls over the idea of another sequel on camera, but concludes that "sometimes it's best to leave a good thing alone".
Additional Extra Features Original theatrical trailer.
Region: 2
Chapters: 31
Ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Extra Features: Scene selection, multiple languages and subtitles, and English captions for the hearing impaired.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.
