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64 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Details for the new Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition due out on June 3rd, 2008, March 18, 2008
Warner Home Video has announced the details of new releases of all five Dirty Harry movies with new special features. They'll all be in their original widescreen formats only.
They will be available on standard DVD in this 7-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition, or separately in Special or Deluxe editions. ("Special" is better than "deluxe" here--only Dirty Harry gets a 2-disc Special Edition, the others will all be on single discs, but all will have new special features.) Links for the separate DVDs are below.
They'll also be on Blu-ray in a 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition. Only the Dirty Harry Special Edition will be available separately on Blu-ray. The other four movies will only be available on Blu-ray as part of the complete set. (They won't be available in HD, which Warner officially discontinues at the end of May.)
Assuming the transfers are good (update: everyone says the transfers are good, better than the old ones), this looks like an excellent set. Whether those with older DVD releases will want to upgrade will be a matter of personal preference, but I personally find the new commentaries and features very attractive.
Here's a bit about each film and the special features, contained in both the separate releases and the sets. The Ultimate Editions will also include some additional features, listed further below.
Dirty Harry Special Edition
Dirty Harry is generally regarded as a classic, the beginning of a second larger-than-life persona for Clint Eastwood (after The Man with No Name). It's the source of the famous "Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" (The actual quote is "... you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" but the original doesn't quote as well out of context.)
Tough cop "Dirty" Harry Callahan has his own simple, commonsense rules for dealing with crime, based on a strong sense of right and wrong and an impatience with needless details and constraints. The latter gets him into continual trouble with the system which, as portrayed in the movie, is more about politics and bureaucracy than doing what needs to be done. This reflected well the frustrations and fears of Americans in the '70s that criminals were taking over the streets and that the law was powerless to stop them because the "criminal-coddling" courts were holding them back. I personally value the Fourth Amendment and other such niceties and shiver to think of some of the political and moral ramifications of this movie (some of which are still very much with us), but whatever one's politics, Dirty Harry is very effective as a police-action thriller, largely because of Eastwood's unique persona. It's hard not to admire and root for him even if you think he's not always right. There are also the standard gunfights and car chases, and high suspense, all well done.
In the films that followed in the series, Harry became a somewhat more balanced, complex or confusing character, depending on your point of view, coming down clearly on the side of the law against rogue vigilante cops, for example, and learning to appreciate a female cop as a partner, but the basic idea of Harry standing strong despite the corrupt, wimpy system remained.
I'm pleased to see that some of the new special features in the set deal with the "issues" raised by the Dirty Harry films. I look forward to seeing what others make of them.
The special features:
-- new commentary by filmmaker and Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
-- new featurette "The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry," on the influence and legacy of Dirty Harry
-- "Dirty Harry: The Original," with Clint Eastwood and the film's creators looking back at the creation of the Dirty Harry character
-- "Dirty Harry's Way," a promotional short focusing on the toughness of the movie's main character
-- interview gallery, with Patricia Clarkson, Joel Cox, Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Evan Kim, John Milius, Ted Post, Andy Robinson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Urich
-- "Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso," a 1993 TV program on his life and career, including scenes from his work and interviews with friends, fellow actors and crew members
-- trailer gallery: Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool
Magnum Force Deluxe Edition
As the sequel to a classic film, it suffers some from the let-downs typical of sequels, but it's still Clint Eastwood being a tough guy, which is enough to carry the merely average plot and script and make it good entertainment for Eastwood fans. I'd say that applies to all four sequels.
In this installment, Harry, the cop frustrated by the rules that hold him back, shows he has his limits when he goes up against wicked vigilante cops killing criminals without any due process. As in the first movie, there's plenty of action, a car chase, suspense, people getting shot, etc.
Special features:
-- new commentary by director and Magnum Force screenwriter John Milius ("in this gritty, entertaining commentary, legendary Hollywood screenwriter Milius discusses Eastwood, the world of Dirty Harry and the rugged resilience of crime drama in American cinema")
-- new featurette "A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry," with filmmakers, social scientists and authors on the politics and ethics of the Dirty Harry films
-- "The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today"
-- trailer gallery
The Enforcer Deluxe Edition
In this installment, Harry, the renegade cop with some old-fashioned attitudes and no desire to be tied up with a partner, gets stuck with a female partner, well played by Tyne Daly. Surprise surprise, he learns to respect and rely on her as they make hamburger of a group of domestic terrorists. As in the first two movies, there's plenty of action, suspense, people getting shot, etc., but with a chase on foot in place of the usual car chase.
Special features:
-- new commentary by Enforcer director James Fargo
-- new featurette "The Business End: Violence in Cinema"
-- "Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special in Films"
-- trailer gallery
Sudden Impact Deluxe Edition
Sudden Impact inspires very mixed reactions, but it's still Clint Eastwood in a classic role, this time with Sondra Locke, his partner in several films and off-screen. Some people hate Locke, but I think she's good with Eastwood. (I liked them even more in the Dirty Harryish Gauntlet and the very un-Dirty-Harry Bronco Billy.)
Harry is on forced leave for being his usual trouble-making self while getting the bad guys, but still finds himself in the middle of a string of murders that he undertakes to stop. As in a couple of the others in the series, this movie includes a story line where extralegal justice is an issue, as Locke's damaged rape victim seeks revenge. With the usual action, shootings, and a high level of violence, with women getting their share.
This one is the source of the famous quote, "Go ahead, make my day." It was directed by Eastwood.
-- new commentary by filmmaker and Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
-- new featurette "The Evolution of Clint Eastwood," on the film in the context of Eastwood's career as a director
-- trailer gallery
The Dead Pool Deluxe Edition
The Dead Pool was pretty well received, considering its place in the series. It has a convoluted plot about a game in which bets are taken on the deaths of celebrities, including Harry, with young Liam Neeson playing a questionable film director who's playing the game. Issues of the celebrity-enslaved press are mixed with romance as Harry dates a reporter. As always, there's plenty of action, suspense, gun play, and, this time, a unique and hilarious car chase with a very small but dangerous car.
-- new commentary by Dead Pool producer David Valdes and Dead Pool cinematographer Jack N. Green
-- new Featurette "The Craft of Dirty Harry," including the cinematography, editing, music, and production design of the Dirty Harry films
-- trailer gallery
The Ultimate editions will contain all of the above features, plus some:
-- the feature-length documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows (which has been and is available separately)
-- 40+ page hardcover book
-- wallet with metal badge and removable ID card
-- five 5" x 7" lobby poster reproduction cards and an exclusive Ultimate Collector's Edition card
-- "Scorpio: Portrait of a Killer" 19" x 27" map of San Francisco detailing Harry's hunt for the killer in the first film
-- never-before-seen production correspondence
The Out of the Shadows documentary is a substantial bonus (87 minutes) for the Ultimate edition. You can get it separately pretty cheap used, though. There's an Amazon page for it, with reviews, here.
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just finished it all!! WOW....great job Warner Bros!, June 5, 2008
WB have proven they know how to release classic titles with their exceptional multi-disc offerings from Astaire/Rogers and the Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind and FORD/WAYNE etc etc...and now they have brought that same excellent packaging and extras to a much more current series DIRTY HARRY.
All the movies look much better than ever before ...maybe even better than they did in movie theatres. Previous extras are included ...so no need to keep old editions and each movie has interesting and fast moving featurettes of approximately a half hour that do add considerably to the enjoyment factor. I've only listened to a couple of the commentaries...they all have new ones. Professional Eastwood brown nose...er biographer Richard "windbag" Schickel doesn't add much to Dirty Harry...but John Milius as insane as ever is a hoot on Magnum Force. I'm hoping the commentary on The Enforcer is good as its by the director...we have the aforementioned Schickel back kissing butt on Sudden Impact so I'm not expecting enlightenment there.
Should you buy this box instead of the individual movies? ...its a little better price to buy them this way but the individual movies have such cool graphics and packaging. There is a fake badge in this set AND an exceptional documentary on Clint Eastwood "Out of the Shadows" that all true Clint fans owned already but IS included here...as well as mini theatre one sheets and a very nice letter from Clint about the series...
tough call...oh and a nice book with photos and brief notes...so the whole package takes up about the same space as the individual DVDs for those wondering about shelf space.
THe movies themselves are close to the heart of baby boomers like myself who may have liked John Wayne when we were kids but as we became high schoolers and grew up Clint was/is OUR guy. There is a slight decline in quality from movie to movie during the series as Clint ages and the writing has to find more cute lines for him to toss off ...but I enjoyed them all and still do ...with the possible exception of the Dead Pool...which is now more of a curiosity to me.
Bottom line...if you like Clint/Harry ...you will be delighted with the quality of prints, extras and packaging. In fact its so good I'm getting tempted to upgrade to blu-ray and get the set in that format!
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Ultimate Collector's Edition Set Just "Made My Day"!, June 4, 2008
This review is from; Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition
Actually Target just made my day because they had it on sale for $49.99 so I bought a set last night. The "Dirty Harry" movie series featuring Clint Eastwood is a genuine classic that was perhaps a blueprint for many future, cop movies with an "attitude". Actually Dirty Harry isn't that dirty. He simply had to co-exist in an uneven, justice system and always angry, yet clueless police superiors throughout the five films while dealing with matters in his own way. Even if his own way meant crashing cars through buildings or whipping out that giant 44 magnum for quick and swift justice.
"Now are there six discs in this Ultimate Collector's Edition Set or seven? Somehow in all of this excitement I lost count!"
There are seven discs in this Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition Set and the exclusive disc that is available in this set is the Eastwood documentary "Clint Eastwood- Out of the Shadows". Trust me, if you are a hardcore Eastwood fan like me, the extra cash to buy this set is worth it because of this exclusive documentary disc on one of the greatest screen icons of film history. "Out of the Shadows" (1 hour 26 minutes) which was a DVD originally released in 2001, documents Eastwood's entire life from his upbringing in the San Francisco Bay Area to his entire film career. It is narrated by Morgan Freeman. We hear from his mother, Ruth Wood. We learn of Eastwood's passion for Jazz. We then learn of Eastwood's stoic rise in the film industry from his minor roles (many film clips are shown, even his minor ones) to his first major TV series "Rawhide". We learn of his close relation to legendary director Sergio Leone who gave Clint his first major starring role in the Spaghetti Western trilogy despite the English/Italian language barrier. We also learn of his very, special relation to his dear friend and director Don Siegel who became his best mentor. It was mainly from Siegel that Eastwood became more interested in directing in addition to acting. We learn of Eastwood directing "Play Misty for Me" for free because the movie studios didn't want risk funding a new and inexperienced director, but Eastwood did it for free anyways simply to get the experience.
In addition to Eastwood himself, we hear from directors Martin Scorsese, Don Siegel (vintage recording) and Sergio Leone (vintage recording). We also hear from actors/actresses Eli Walach, Forest Whitaker, James Garner, Meryl Streep, Gene Hackman, Richard Burton (vintage recording) and many others. I wasn't ever really a fan of actress, Sandra Locke, but she is oddly missing from this documentrary except for her film clips. Nevertheless, Locke was vital to Eastwood's film career and I still would have liked to hear any of her current insights, but her romantic separation from Eastwood as well as her lawsuit against Eastwood & Warner Brothers might be the very reason she has been excluded. We also hear of Eastwood's 1986 Mayor campaign in Carmel, California which was an area that was one of his favorite retreats and current home. Since I live fairly close to Carmel, I still remember those "Go Ahead & Make My Day - Vote for Eastwood!" bumper stickers from 1986. I personally own over 20 Eastwood movies on DVD so it was a real pleasure to watch this. It's a great documentary of his success, failures and motivations.
As for the five DVD movies they are great new transfers. I used to own the old 2001 transfers which I initially thought were pretty good transfers, but they were many noticeable film flaws especially on the first two films "Dirty Harry" & "Magnum Force". The colors on the new transfers look more vibrant and most of the film imperfections from the previous transfers have been drastically corrected. Fantastic restoration! Each film comes with its own feature length commentary, featurettes and trailers. Dirty Harry is the only film that is a two-disc edition while the remaining four films are single discs. Any special features from the old 2001 DVD set (which weren't many) are ALL carried over to the new set plus there are many other new ones added.
There are many physical extras included in this set. Some are typical, but some are pretty odd yet unique. There are five mini poster cards for each of the five films plus another card featuring all five films (actually it's a picture of a gun with 5 bullets stamped with names of all of the films which is similar to the box art). A fold up "Scorpio" map of San Francisco is included which documents exact locations for the first "Dirty Harry" film. A set of six mini Warner Brother movie studio inter-office memos/telegrams about the "Dirty Harry" film production is included. It was interesting to note there are memos relating to Frank Sinatra's initial interest in the title role, but he had to reject the role because of his injured hand. The film also had the alternate title "Dead Right" instead of "Dirty Harry". Old "Blue Eyes" as Inspector Calahan? I'm sure glad it worked out for Clint Eastwood instead who initially rejected the role due to his own scheduling conflicts. In fact, a mini letter from Eastwood is included in this DVD set stating how he got the "Dirty Harry" role after his initial rejection which he regretted in addition to statements about thanking you for buying this newly, remastered DVD set. "Oh you're welcome, Mr. Eastwood!" The mini letter also contains a pre-signed signature.
The DVD set also contains a 44-page book about all five "Dirty Harry" films. Note this book is "hard-cover bound" not paper bound. Very nice! The book is filled mostly with color/black & white photos with notes on each film's villain, Dirty Harry's partners and memorable quotes. The final extra is a replica inspector Calahan badge & photo I.D. enclosed in a vinyl wallet. Gee, now I only need a 44 Magnum with this badge and I can start harassing and arresting some of my co-workers or friends!
My only, minor complaints for this whole DVD package is the package itself. While packaged nicely, I would have preferred individual slim plastic cases for all five films which are similar to the James Bond Ultimate Edition DVD sets. In the Dirty Harry DVD set the documentary is packaged in its own cardboard/plastic single fold cover, but the remaining six film discs are packaged in two cardboard/plastic tri-fold covers. The cardboard tends to wear after repeated removals & replacements, but if slim plastic cases were used they could be replaced easily. I also didn't like the fact that none of the special features for each film disc are printed anywhere on the package. If you want to know about the features for each disc, you have to simply insert the disc in the DVD player and scroll through the on-screen menus. Not a huge deal for me, but I think it would have been helpful if the all of special features were printed on the tri-fold disc holders or on some sort of page insert. I'm sure the individual, new "Dirty Harry" movies sold in the plastic snap cases have specific listings of the special features printed on their own, individual, case inserts.
Overall, despite my minor complaints this is the best DVD set to have of the classic "Dirty Harry" series. Vastly superior in picture, sound and supplements in comparison to the older 2001 DVD's. I contemplated about buying the new movies individually and foregoing the Ultimate Set, but the documentary disc "Out of the Shadows" swayed me to the Ultimate set and I'm sure glad I did because the nicely-packaged, physical extras were a pleasant bonus! "Do You Feel Lucky Punk?" Yes, I'm one lucky punk today!
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