free to air 3rd July
For some reason, a few years ago, it became cool to talk shit about Dirty Harry. I think this was peak woke hive mind and fortunately they seem to have moved on. They didn’t like Clint’s portrayal of Det. Harry Callahan, they didn’t like Harry Callahan full stop. Here’s the thing, you are not meant to! He’s an asshole who makes life hard for just about everyone, including himself. What is so fucking cool about Dirty Harry is you want him to succeed despite how uncomfortable the whole situation is, there is no good version of this movie where the anti-hero realises the error of his ways and comes good at the end. It’s OK to feel uncomfortable when experiencing art. Don Siegel in this respect, paves the way for the likes of Peckinpah, Friedkin and I would argue De Palma and Scorsese too. Lastly, the music is just a delight, RIP Lalo Schifrin.
Dirty Harry is currently free to watch on ABC iview.
