Dirty Harry appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. With no real problems, this became a satisfying transfer.
Overall sharpness seemed satisfying. Due to the nature of the source, some slightly soft shots materialized at times, but the majority of the movie brought appealing accuracy.
No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. The movie offered light grain and lacked print flaws,
Colors looked natural. The movie lacked stylized hues, as it went with a realistic palette that seemed full and rich, with added punch from HDR.
Blacks seemed dark and tight, while low-light shots demonstrated positive clarity. Whites and contrast enjoyed a bump from HDR. While a product of its era, the image came across well.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Dirty Harry provided an active soundscape – probably too active, honestly. A reworking of a 54-year-old mono source, the mix tended to go a little overboard.
This became especially true related to music, as the score blasted from the rear speakers more aggressively than I would prefer. Effects also popped up around the room and sometimes showed too much information from the back channels as well.
The surround material didn’t distract as much as the music did. Nonetheless, I thought some elements dominated the soundscape too much.
All that said, the soundfield did add some pep to the proceedings, and both movement and placement seemed generally positive. I liked aspects of the mix but just felt it went too over the top too much of the time.
Audio quality worked well, though it seemed obvious that some of the effects didn’t come from the source and offered stems created for later tracks. This meant those elements sounded bold and full but they could seem too “modern” at times and didn’t always blend with the older components.
Music worked very well, however, as the score appeared lively and full. Speech also showed fairly natural tones and lacked edginess. Though I thought the track seemed positive enough for a “B”, it would’ve worked better with a less aggressive soundfield and without the re-recorded effects.
Happily for “purists”, the 4K UHD also came with a DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack that reproduced the original audio from 1971. Obviously it lost the Atmos mix’s use of the various channels, and it also seemed less robust.
Some of that came from the use of the original effects and not those new stems. Also, the remix managed to wring greater range from the score.
Nonetheless, I preferred the mono track because it just paired with the visuals better. I want a 1971 movie to offer 1971 sound and don’t need to have a whiz-bang surround mix.
Though not quite as powerful a sonic experience as the Atmos, the mono track wasn’t a slouch. Speech appeared similar for both.
As mentioned, effects and music showed more punch from the Atmos version, but they functioned just fine on the mono mix, as they showed good clarity and range. Unless you can’t live without a Big Old Surround Mix, I’d recommend the more natural mono track instead.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray from 2008? I actually preferred that disc’s 5.1 mix to this one’s Atmos track, mainly because the 5.1 version seemed better integrated and not so “gonzo” in terms of its soundscape.
However, the BD lacked the original mono audio that appeared here. That scored points for the UHD’s soundtrack options.
As for visuals, the UHD came across as better defined and cleaner, with superior colors and blacks as well. The UHD’s superior resolution actually accentuated the occasional soft spots more, but that seemed like a small price to pay for the other improvements.
The 4K UHD brings most of the BD’s extras and some new ones, and we start with an audio commentary from film critic Richard Schickel. He provides a running, screen-specific chat that looks at shot composition and visual storytelling, reactions to the film and related controversies, cast and crew notes, music, and some film interpretation.
When I see Schickel listed as a commentator, I always get a little shudder. The critic occasionally offers some good discussions of various films, but he provides a lot of dull ones as well. You never know what you’ll get, so I go into his commentaries with a minor sense of dread.
That’s probably an over-reaction; Schickel’s commentaries usually aren’t great, but they’re not painful. That MO holds up for Dirty Harry.
Schickel offers a moderate number of insights and interesting notes, but the track doesn’t provide consistent pleasures. He goes silent too often and also occasionally tends to simply narrate the movie. This becomes a mediocre commentary.
Not found on the old BD, Generations and Dirty Harry goes for six minutes, 15 seconds. It brings comments from Warner Library historian George Feltenstein, podcast hosts Josh Rodriguez, Alex Wilsin and Chris Collins, journalist Jim Hemphill, film and media professor John Trafton, film studies assistant professor Dr. Leah Aldridge, and media theory and criticism professor Dr. Debarati Byabartta.
They discuss the legacy of Dirty Harry and how the film holds up over the decades. Some useful notes arrive but much of the program seems oriented toward praise.
Lensing Justice runs seven minutes, 54 seconds. Here we get info from Hemphill, Aldridge, Trafton, Feltenstein, senior lecturer in film studies Sue Richardson and cinematography professor William McDonald.
This show examines the movie's cinematography as well as other aspects of the movie. Like "Generations", "Lensing" combines insights with happy talk.
Next comes A Cinematic Legacy. It spans 17 minutes, 33 seconds and it involves Clint Eastwood, filmmakers Mel Gibson, Shane Black George Gallo and John Milius, and actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Michael Madsen, Robert Urich, Anjelica Huston, Jeff Daniels, Wanda De Jesus and Patricia Clarkson.
"Legacy" looks at aspects of the Dirty Harry franchise and some of Eastwood's other work. This turns into a mix of minor facts with a lot of praise along the way.
From there we go to a documentary called Dirty Harry: The Original. Hosted by Robert Urich, this 29-minute, 43-second piece gives us info from Clint Eastwood, Schwarzenegger, Holbrook, Milius, Magnum Force director Ted Post, and actors Andy Robinson and Evan Kim.
“Original” looks at the use of San Francisco in the series, aspects of the main character and how he connected to his era, the film’s violence, cast and performances, developments in subsequent “Harry” movies, and the series’ impact on other movies.
“Original” takes a general approach to its subject, and it doesn’t work especially well. Oh, it’s a reasonably enjoyable piece, but like "Legacy", it stays too superficial much of the time and it doesn’t deliver many genuinely interesting nuggets. Expect a mediocre overview.
More comments appear in the Interview Gallery. It presents remarks from Eastwood, Clarkson, Holbrook, Kim, Milius, Post, Robinson, Urich, Schwarzenegger, and editor Joel Cox.
Taken together, these fill a total of 26 minutes,38 seconds, and they offer outtakes from the sessions used in “Original”. They provide some general thoughts about aspects of the series and their participation in the films.
The first few interviews aren’t very interesting, but once we get to Milius – the sixth of the 10 – matters improve. Nothing stellar appears here, but at least a few decent comments emerge.
A vintage featurette entitled Dirty Harry’s Way runs six minutes, 58 seconds. Visit this one for some decent footage from the set.
Nothing else about it fares particularly well, as it exists to promote the movie. Still, the archival footage adds some value.
Clint Eastwood: The Man From Malpaso fills 58 minutes, seven seconds with info from Eastwood, Post, Cox, composer Lennie Niehaus, agent Leonard Hirshan, stunt coordinator Wayne Van Horn, art director Henry Bumstead, director Michael Cimino, producer David Valdes,
and actors Jessica Walter, Gene Hackman, Marsha Mason, Forest Whitaker, Frances Fisher, and Genevieve Bujold.
“Malpaso” looks at Eastwood’s movie career and its development over the years. A 1993 production, it starts with 1966’s A Fistful of Dollars and progresses through 1992’s Unforgiven. It also tells us a little about Eastwood’s family and other aspects of his life.
Of all the disc’s extras, “Malpaso” proves the most satisfying. It offers a fine career overview and gives us a good idea about what makes Eastwood tick. Of course, general praise becomes inevitable, but happy talk doesn’t overwhelm the show. Instead, it provides us with a concise and consistently involving look at Eastwood’s life and work.
A 2000 BBC documentary called Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows lasts one hour, 26 minutes, 57 seconds. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, we hear from Eastwood, novelist/screenwriter William Goldman, actor/director Forest Whitaker, critics Pauline Kael and Janet Maslin, writers Nat Hentoff and Walter Mosley, directors Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese, Don Siegel, Bertrand Tavernier, and Curtis Hanson, mother Ruth Wood, critic/biographer Richard Schickel, assistant director Tonino Valerii, author Richard Slotkin, director/stunt coordinator Buddy Van Horn, former WB Distribution president Barry Reardon, WB Senior VP Publicity Joe Hyams, editor Joel Cox, composer Lennie Niehaus, director of photography Jack N. Green, casting director Phyllis Huffman, wife/TV journalist Dina Ruiz Eastwood, and actors Donald Sutherland, Meryl Streep, Eli Wallach, Dani Janssen, James Garner, Rip Torn, Richard Burton, Geoffrey Lewis, John Wayne, Bill McKinney, and Gene Hackman.
The program looks at Eastwood’s childhood and influences, his move into acting and his early career, aspects of his personal life, and his development as an actor and a filmmaker. As a general career overview, “Shadows” proves fairly satisfying.
Of course, it rips through Eastwood’s life and work at a rapid pace, but it can be acceptably deep and introspective at times. The documentary succeeds in the way it covers all these elements, and it also entertains along the way; the clip of Rip Torn as a Rawhide Indian is worth the price of admission alone.
The 4K loses a collection of trailers for the Dirty Harry series as well as a featurette called “The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry".
With 1971’s Dirty Harry, one of the screen’s most iconic characters made his debut. I can’t say he did so in grand fashion, as Harry doesn’t provide stellar filmmaking but it does act as a reasonably compelling action drama. The 4K UHD offers good picture along with generally positive – though a bit too aggressive – Atmos audio and a generally informative set of supplements. Harry holds up pretty well after 54 years.
