Dirty Harry (4K UHD Review)

• Reviewed by: Stephen Bjork
• Review Date: Apr 28, 2025
• Format: 4K Ultra HD
• 

Director

Don Siegel

Release Date(s)

1971 (April 29, 2025)

Studio(s)

The Malpaso Company (Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment)

• Film/Program Grade: A-
• Video Grade: A-
• Audio Grade: B+
• Extras Grade: A-

Review

On August 1, 1969, The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, and Vallejo Times all received letters from an anonymous individual claiming responsibility for the murders of Betty Lou Jensen, David Faraday, and Darlene Ferrin. The letters were published, albeit with certain details redacted. Three days later, the Examiner received a second letter, this one opening with the following salutation: “Dear Editor, this is the Zodiac speaking.” When that letter was also published, public fears in the San Francisco Bay area were finally given a name, and an unsolved true crime legend was born. Hollywood responded quickly. Just two years later, on December 21, 1971, Don Siegel’s Dirty Harry had its world premiere at the Loew’s Market Street Cinema in San Francisco, and a fictional cop legend was born. In both cases, the world of popular culture would never be the same.

American filmmaking has always been a reactionary business, with both the major studios and independents doing their best to adjust course quickly in order to capitalize on current events, cultural trends, and public fears. Like a snake eating its own tail, studios have also been quick to capitalize on what other studios are doing. Yet in a business marked by its reactionary nature, the Dirty Harry franchise stands out for the way that it evolved in order to keep up with the times (or at least attempted to keep up the times, anyway). It even responded to criticism, so after the original Dirty Harry was accused of having a fascistic perspective, the next installment Magnum Force offered actual fascists as its villains. By the time that The Dead Pool was released in 1988, the plot revolved around an MTV music video director, the series had devolved into self-parody (clever parody, as the radio control car chase attests, but parody nonetheless), and Clint Eastwood decided to retire the character once and for all.

Yet for a franchise that’s as reactionary as anything that Hollywood’s reactionary nature has ever produced, the Dirty Harry still stands out as the most reactionary of all. The original story and screenplay by Harry Julian Fink and Rita M. Fink went through multiple iterations during the development process, with Dean Reisner, John Milius, and even Terrence Malick taking a crack at it, but it was always loosely inspired by the Zodiac killings. The San Francisco Bay area was still very much in the grip of fear when Dirty Harry went before the cameras in early 1971, and those fears hadn’t subsided by the time that the film was released later that year. Still, that was only one of the cultural fears that the Finks were addressing with their story, and the other one would have far more relevance for the rest of the country as a whole. And the roots of those fears went back much farther than the murders of Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday in 1968.

Earl Warren had served as Chief Justice for the Supreme Court of the United States from 1953-1969, and during his tenure, the Warren Court delivered multiple landmark rulings that expanded civil rights in America, including the rights of the accused. Brady v. Maryland (1963) required prosecutors to turn over any exculpatory evidence to defendants; Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) established the right to counsel for indigent defendants; Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) established the right to counsel during interrogations; Miranda v. Arizona (1966) required police to warn suspects about their constitutional rights; and Katz v. United States (1967) confirmed the “exclusionary rule,” confirming what constituted unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment.

Violent crime rates had been on the rise since 1960, and they continued to rise over the course of three decades after that (although contrary to popular opinion, they’ve fallen steadily ever since 1991). That made Americans susceptible to “tough on crime” rhetoric, and equally skeptical of granting more rights to the accused. Dirty Harry was a direct response to those fears (it’s no accident that the film directly namedrops Escobedo and Miranda), mixed with a generous dose of fears about the unidentified Zodiac killer. There has always been an exploitation element to police dramas, and Dirty Harry is as exploitative as any of them.

In Dirty Harry, inspector Harry Callahan (Eastwood) has been tasked with tracking down the murderous sniper Scorpio (Andy Robinson), who is holding the entire city of San Francisco hostage for $100,000. The Mayor (John Vernon) doesn’t want to pay, but he’s facing increasing pressures for the safety of the public at large. Harry, meanwhile, is facing pressure from Lieutenant Bressler (Harry Guardino) and Chief of Police Dacanelli (John Larch) to solve the case by any means necessary, while District Attorney Rothko (Josef Sommer) tries to hold him back by reminding him of the rights of the accused. Harry has also been burdened by a partner that he doesn’t want, Inspector Chico Gonzales (Reni Santoni), despite that fact that Harry’s partners don’t have a very good track record of surviving unscathed. As Harry gets close and closer to Scorpio, the killer games the system to turn himself into a victim of police brutality, and Harry becomes increasingly disillusioned by the entire legal system.

However irascible that Harry Callahan may be, he’s clearly the protagonist of Dirty Harry, and as embodied by Clint Eastwood, he remains likable no matter what he does. Don Siegel was doubtless quite aware of that fact, having just finished working with Eastwood on The Beguiled, where the charismatic actor played a genuine louse who managed to remain sympathetic despite the fact that he genuinely deserved his miserable fate in the film. And Eastwood had already played Walt Coogan in Siegel’s Coogan’s Bluff back in 1968, another lawman who got things done with less than full respect for the niceties of the law. Because of all that, it’s not very difficult to understand why Dirty Harry was accused of fascism. It’s all too easy for viewers to take grim satisfaction at Callahan’s activities, however questionable that they may be, since the ends ultimately seem to justify the means.

Yet as with all things Dirty Harry, nothing is quite as simple as it appears on the surface. In one of the film’s most memorably notorious scenes, Callahan openly tortures Scorpio in order to try to discover the location of a kidnapped girl. There’s just one problem: Callahan has already stated his belief that the girl is already dead (and, as it turns out, he was right). This isn’t really a ticking time bomb scenario, regardless of how much everyone else firmly wishes that it was. So why does Callahan torture Zodiac anyway? As he brutally stomps on Scorpio’s leg, Siegel offers a closeup of his face, and it’s an expression of pure madness. Harry has crossed a line, and he no longer cares. He’s not trying to save the girl anymore; he’s just working out his own frustrations any which way he can. That’s not fascism; it’s pure vindictiveness.

This scene also helps provide a possible explanation for why Callahan throws his badge into the water at the end of the film. The obvious reading is that he’s disgusted with the state of law and justice in America under the Warren Court, and regardless of whether or not he actually intends to resign, it’s a way of expressing that dissatisfaction. And to be fair, that does seem to be exactly what Harry Julian Fink, Rita M. Fink, and Don Siegel intended. But any text takes on meanings that go far beyond the original author’s intentions, and Dirty Harry is no exception. Taken in context with Callahan’s earlier excessive actions against Scorpio, discarding his badge can also be read as his acknowledgment that he’s crossed too many lines to belong in the law enforcement world anymore. And going further in context with the rest of the series, Magnum Force was his way of clawing his way back to humanity by purging the force of others who learned the wrong lessons from his activities in the first film.

Dirty Harry may or may not be fascistic, but Harry Callahan definitely is, and his recognition of that fact is what allows him to return to the police force in order to undo the damage that he’s already done. Is that reading too much into the film in light of how later installments evolved? Perhaps, but since it’s a reactionary franchise, then reactionary readings are fair game. And Dirty Harry started it all by being an inherently reactionary film. As a result, like ouroboros, it’s a series that spent the better part of 18 years eating its own tail. While the context of the Zodiac killings and the Warren Court provides crucial background for Dirty Harry, fully understanding it requires grabbing the snake from both ends and recognizing the nature of the franchise as a whole.

Cinematographer Bruce Surtees shot Dirty Harry on 35mm film using Panavision cameras with anamorphic lenses, framed at 2.39:1 for its theatrical release (note that while IMDb claims that there were 70mm prints, first-run engagements were 35mm only). This new 4K master is based on 8K scans of the original camera negative, with all digital restoration work handled by Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging. The restoration pipeline was completed at 4K in P3 D65 color space, with grading supervised by MPI senior colorist Jan Yarbrough (who has experience working on Eastwood films). Everything was approved by editor Joel Cox. This version is encoded on a triple-layer BD-100, with High Dynamic Range in HDR10 only.

The image is completely immaculate, with no trace of damage remaining. The coarser grain from any optical work has been tamped down here, which may bother some people, but dupe footage always stands out one way or the other. The grain during the rest of the film is extremely fine, likely with some light grain management applied to it as well, but it’s still present. Dirty Harry was supposedly shot on 100T Eastman 5254 stock, which would have been relatively fine grained to begin with, and theatrical prints in 1971 were dye-transfer Technicolor. Dye imbibition tended to soften grain even more than conventional printing processes, and also sacrificed fine detail. In this case, the detail is still present even though the grain has been kept to a minimum. It’s still not the sharpest and most detailed 4K presentation in the world (there was never 8K worth of detail on this particular negative in the first place), but it’s a huge leap forward compared to the old Blu-ray master.

The HDR grade enhances the contrast range but resists the temptation to dial up the detail in the San Francisco nights—it’s not afraid to let the Prince of Darkness’ shadows remain in shadow. The colors are richly saturated, from Eastwood’s burgundy sweater vest to Albert Popwell’s purple striped shirt, and the blood retains that distinctive red paint look of old-school stage blood (this was still prior to the Dick Smith formula). Is it all 100% accurate? I don’t have a Surtees-approved IB Tech print to judge that fairly, but neither does anyone else. Suffice it to say that it looks very good indeed, and Dirty Harry has probably never looked better.

Primary audio is offered in English Dolby Atmos and 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio. Dirty Harry was released theatrically in mono, and this is indeed the original theatrical mono track, not a fold-down of the Atmos or the 5.1 remix. The 5.1 remix was done many years ago and has always been a bit controversial due to added sound effects and a somewhat less than convincing multichannel soundstage. This new Atmos version was created by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services sound mixer Doug Mountain, using the best available archival sound elements and the original multitrack music recordings. It sounds much smoother and more convincing than the old 5.1 mix, with better spatial characteristics. It also fixes some errors in the 5.1 track like the missing Lalo Schifrin musical cues. Speaking of which, the biggest advantage of the Atmos mix is hearing Schifrin’s iconic score in full stereo, and it sounds wonderful here. That said, the fidelity is still excellent in mono, with plenty of bass to keep the groove going. It’s a great option for those who aren’t willing to accept the alterations in the Atmos mix—and it’s equally great that Warner Bros. has finally delivered the real deal.

Additional audio options include French, German. Italian, Spanish (Spain), and Spanish (Latin America) 1.0 mono Dolby Digital. Subtitle options include English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Spanish (Spain), Dutch, Spanish (Latin America), Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

The Warner Bros. 4K Ultra HD release of Dirty Harry is UHD only—like most of their current releases, it doesn’t include a Blu-ray copy. It does include a Digital Code on a paper insert, however, in standard Amaray packaging with a slipcover. A Steelbook option is also available with new artwork inspired by the block color printed design of the original theatrical poster. The following extras are included on both releases:

• Audio Commentary by Richard Schickel
• Generations and Dirty Harry (HD – 6:15)
• Lensing Justice: The Cinematography of Dirty Harry (HD – 7:54)
• American Masters Career Retrospective: Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows (Upscaled SD – 96:57)
• Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso (Upscaled SD – 58:07)
• Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Fighting for Justice (HD – 17:33)
• Interview Gallery:
  • Patricia Clarkson (Upscaled SD – 2:04)
  • Joel Cox (Upscaled SD – 3:34)
  • Clint Eastwood (Upscaled SD – 5:38)
  • Hal Holbrook (Upscaled SD – :42)
  • Evan Kim (Upscaled SD – 2:08)
  • John Milius (Upscaled SD – 3:45)
  • Ted Post (Upscaled SD – 1:02)
  • Andy Robinson (Upscaled SD – 2:03)
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger (Upscaled SD – 3:02)
  • Robert Urich (Upscaled SD – 2:40)
• Dirty Harry’s Way (HD – 6:58)
• Dirty Harry: The Original (Upscaled SD – 29:43)

The commentary with critic and Clint Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel was originally recorded for the 2008 Special Edition DVD and Ultimate Edition Blu-ray releases of Dirty Harry. When it comes to Eastwood, Schickel has always been more of a hagiographer than a biographer, but he still offers some worthwhile analysis of Dirty Harry, as well as some stories about the production and some cursory historical context. He does spend plenty of time blowing smoke at Eastwood, and also lapses into silence occasionally, but there’s still enough interesting information here to make it worth a listen.

Warner Bros. has added two all-new extras for this release, and one more archival extra that wasn’t on previous versions. Generations and Dirty Harry is a brief look at the cross-generational appeal of Dirty Harry, featuring new interviews with Warner Archive’s George Feltenstein, Chris Collins, Josh Rodriguez, Jim Hemphill, John Trafton, Dr. Leah Aldridge, Alex Wilshin, and Dr. Debarati Byabartta. Lensing Justice: The Cinematography of Dirty Harry features new interviews with Feltenstein, Trafton, Hemphill, Aldridge, Professor William McDonald, and Sue Richardson. It’s more of a look at the general style that Surtees brought to the film, rather than a practical examination of the cinematography. Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Fighting for Justice is an episode of the seven-part 2021 Warner Bros. documentary on the actor/producer/director, focusing on Harry Callahan and his other law enforcement roles. It includes interviews with Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hal Holbrook, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, John Milius, and more.

Like the commentary track, the rest of the extras are ported over from the previous Blu-ray releases of Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows is 2000 episode of the long-running PBS series American Masters. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, it includes interviews with an impressively diverse variety of collaborators and admirers, from actors like Eli Wallach, Donald Sutherland, and Meryl Streep, to critics like Schickel and Janet Maslin. It’s a full biography of Eastwood as well as a career retrospective, ending with a 1996 jazz concert at Carnegie Hall in Eastwood’s honor. Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso is a 1994 episode of A&E’s Biography series, featuring interviews with Eastwood, Lennie Niehaus, Jessica Walter, Michael Cimino, Genevieve Bujold, Gene Hackman, Joel Cox, Marsha Mason, Forest Whitaker, Frances Fisher, and more. It runs through his cinematic career from A Fistful of Dollars to Unforgiven.

Dirty Harry: The Original was produced for the 2001 DVD release of Dirty Harry. Hosted by Robert Urich, it includes interviews with Eastwood, John Milius, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Andy Robinson, Hal Holbrook, Ted Post, Patricia Clarkson, Evan Kim, Joel Cox, and more. Speaking of which, all of those collaborators are also represented in an Interview Gallery, which consists of outtakes from the same interview sessions. Finally, Dirty Harry’s Way is a promotional short from 1971 with appearances by Eastwood, Don Siegel, and Harry Guardino.

There’s just one thing missing from previous releases: The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry, which was another featurette with interviews from the usual suspects like Eastwood, Milius, Robinson, Cox, and Holbrook, joined by other actors and filmmakers like Joe Carnahan, David Ayer, John Badham, Shane Black, Peter Hyams, Tyne Daily, and Michael Madsen. It was produced in-house at Warner Bros., so it’s not clear if there’s a reason why it was omitted here, or if it was a simple oversight. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that someone made an error like that regarding Dirty Harry.

When Harry Callahan stops by his favorite diner at the beginning of Dirty Harry, a marquee is visible on the right that’s advertising Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut Play Misty for Me. That was doubtless a favor to Eastwood on the part of Don Siegel, who had also played a small cameo in the film. Thirty-six years later, on February 28, 2007, David Fincher’s Zodiac had its world premiere in New York City, hosted by The Cinema Society. At one point in the film, inspector Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) attends the premiere for Dirty Harry and the marquee for the theatre shows that it took place at the Northpoint Theatre at Bay and Powell, rather than Loew’s Market Street Cinema. It was an inexplicable error on the part of the usually meticulous Fincher.

In any event, missing featurette or not, this new Warner Bros. 4K release of Dirty Harry is the most definitive one to date. The picture quality offers significant improvements over the dated master used on the old Blu-ray; the new Atmos mix is a step up over the previous 5.1 remix; the original theatrical mono track is finally included; and there are plenty of extras here to keep people busy for hours. It’s a great first step for Warner Bros. in bringing more of their Clint Eastwood catalogue into the UHD format.

-Stephen Bjork

(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).