Dirty Harry: Ultimate Collector's Edition

Eclipsing the 5-disc Dirty Harry collection released in 2002, this new 6-disc set is truly the definitive release of these seminal vigilante films (before a threatened sixth film in the series possibly arrives in the trail of Rocky and Rambo's recent resurrections).

Dirty Harry is understandably given the stellar 2-disc makeover although the extras disc is dominated by a plethora of extra featurettes on both Harry and Eastwood himself. Frank Sinatra was in place to play Detective "Dirty" Harry Callahan before injuring his wrist and ergo the spaghetti western stalwart was drafted in and the rest as they say is history. This first film is certainly the most cohesive of the collection - Callahan is on the trail of the Scorpio killer (more than loosely based on the Zodiac killer that had struck in San Francisco two years prior). The film still crackles with nervous energy, driven by Don Siegel's frenetic pacing as director and Lalo Schifrin's jumpy jazz vibes and with Harry's quotable catchphrases losing none of their ferocity.

Magnum Force is a more than worthy sequel with similarly quote worthy quips - "A man's got to have his limitations!" - with a pre Starsky and Hutch David Soul turning in a crazed vigilante bike cop performance, Magnum Force is more action weighted than its predecessor and even throws a love interest into the mix but is as solid a sequel as one could hope for.

The decline sets in with The Enforcer, however, which sees Tyne "Lacey" Daly instated as Harry's reluctant new partner as a band of n'er do wells bring havoc to San Fran and only a final shootout in Alcatraz can save the day. Maybe the most action packed of all the movies, but seriously lacking the characterisation and development in the previous outings.

Sudden Impact is joint weakest of the series with Clint's then-partner Sondra Locke being drafted in as the eye candy (though as an unfortunate rape victim), as Harry is sequestered to San Paulo and unsurprisingly finds himself awash in man-slayings by a seemingly misandric killer. Hmmmm, wonder who that could be...

Finally we have the nadir: The Dead Pool, aka the sequel that nobody wanted. Prescient of reality TV, a serial killer releases the names of celebrities that are going to buy the farm and when their deaths will occur, with Harry appearing on the list! Will he be able to stop the killings before the list reaches him, do we care!? An ignominious end to a series spiraling out of control.

One can but hope that Eastwood puts Callahan to bed with this series and doesn't wheel him out Indy style for an unnecessary money spinner. For at least the first two and a half films, however, we had a no-nonsense hero whose rule bending and disregard for Miranda rights were a vicarious thrill.

Extras: Commentary on all, The Long Shadow of Dirty, Dirty Harry: The Original, Dirty Harry’s Way, Interview Gallery, Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso, Trailer, A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry, The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today, The Business End: Violence in Cinema, Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special in Films, The Evolution of Clint Eastwood, The Craft of Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows, 40+ page hardcover book, Five 5”x 7” Reproduction Lobby Poster Cards plus an exclusive UCE card, Scorpio Portrait of a Killer Poster-Sized (19” x 27”) map of San Francisco detailing Harry’s hunt for the killer, Never-Before-Seen Production Correspondence.

Released on 9th June 2008 by Warner Home Video.

Written by Simon Cole.