Remember the giant cross at Mount Davidson Park, where Harry gets the crap beaten out of him before stabbing Scorpio in the leg with the switchblade? It's still there, and you can walk right up to it, just like Harry did. However, the coolest and most interesting resource for all things Dirty Harry is a smartly crafted weblog entitled Dirty Harry Filming Locations, a fascinating geographical encyclopedia of the film's locations, many of which still exist. A must-see for fans, the site contains photos, maps, and historical information helpful for those who wish to a visit the iconic San Francisco locations.
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Harry was so popular that it was later re-released in theaters on a double-bill with the 1973 sequel, Magnum Force, which was common practice at drive-in theaters, but highly unusual for films playing at 'hardtops,' or indoor movie houses.ĭirty Harry has been reissued several times on DVD and now Blu-ray, and is often accompanied by extras including 'making of' documentaries and interviews with stars Clint Eastwood and Andrew Robinson.
The public loved the movie, and Dirty Harry became one of the most successful movies of the year, beating out such favorites as Shaft, Big Jake, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Andromeda Strain. Harry Callahan was essentially the "man with no name" in a tweed jacket instead of a serape. They were simply trying to make a contemporary urban version of the 'spaghetti westerns' that had made Eastwood an international star. Siegel and Eastwood weren't trying to make a political statement, though. When the movie opened in 1971, it was condemned by some critics for its violence and its perceived advocacy of a vigilante mentality. None of the subsequent sequels were as dark or uncompromising as the original Dirty Harry. For Harry, hostages were an inconvenience, not a deterrent. When the bus crashes at a gravel factory and Scorpio kicks out the emergency door, Harry doesn't even bother to check on the kids, he simply grabs his gun and takes off after Scorpio!Ī moment later, Scorpio is cornered at the edge of a quarry pond, where he grabs a young boy and puts a gun to his head, daring Harry to shoot. So, of course Harry does, winging Scorpio in the shoulder with a snap shot that impacts mere inches over the boy's head.
The extent of Harry's cold-bloodedness is illustrated in a scene near the end of the movie when he attempts to stop a school bus hijacked by Scorpio.