Dirty Harry

Wednesday 1 July at 7.30pm

Don Siegel | USA | 1971 | 102 mins | R16 cert

Siegel’s serial killer thriller and Eastwood’s iconic title character changed cinema forever, sparking intense debate about police brutality, power and ethics that remain relevant today.

“An outraged Pauline Kael called it a ‘fascist masterpiece’ in The New Yorker, Warner Brothers called it a cash cow, and audiences around the world called it a helluva wild ride, besotted with an entirely new breed of urban antihero, Clint Eastwood’s laconic SFPD Inspector ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan, a cool, majestically quiffed customer endeavoring to keep the streets of San Fran safe from Zodiac-inspired serial killer sniper “Scorpio,” his efforts stymied at every turn by a system that seems designed to coddle creeps and criminals, leaving Harry with only his trusty Smith & Wesson Model 29 to rely on. Often imitated—not least by the four sequels it spawned—but rarely equalled, Siegel’s seething signature work is nothing short of a masterclass in crisp, steady-handed action filmmaking.” – Metrograph

“From its earliest stages of development, the script conceived by husband-and-wife team Harry and Rita Fink made clear that Harry’s no boy Scout, but partisans on either side of the ideological aisle looking for affirmation in their stance will be disappointed… Neither condemning nor condoning his actions, the film offers what may be the clearest image of the archetypal cop’s self-perception as the only one willing to do the dirty jobs holding America together, even if it means getting dirty yourself.” – Charles Bramesco, The Guardian