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U.S.A.
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1973
Directed by Ted Post
Starring
Clint Eastwood
Hal Holbrook
David Soul
Color
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124 Minutes
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R
Format: DVD (R1
- NTSC)
Warner Home Video
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
Detective
"Dirty" Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) matches
wits with a group of renegade cops who have decided
to take justice into their own hands...
It's
hard not to read Magnum
Force as something of an apology for the
perceived "fascist" politics of Dirty
Harry (1971). The story, written by the combined
talents of John Milius (Conan
The Barbarian) and Michael Cimino (The
Deer Hunter), takes its protagonist out
of vigilante mode and pits him against a group
of well-intentioned but hopelessly misguided young
cops who are determined to act as judge, jury
and executioner —
in other words, it's almost as if Harry is confronting
himself in the first film. In effectively turning
the tables and offering a different side of Harry's
conscience, the film managed to win over critics
puts off by the tone of the first film.
As a
motion picture, Magnum Force
is almost as accomplished as Don Siegel's 1971
original. All it's lacking is, well... Don Siegel.
Apparently unwilling to helm a sequel to his most
controversial, yet profitable, thriller, Siegel
stayed clear of the project. Clint Eastwood suggested
Ted Post, a veteran TV journeyman who directed
numerous episodes of Eastwood's series Rawhide,
to take over the reins. While Post does a credible
job, he nevertheless lacks the élan and
sense of urgency that Siegel brought to the first
film. The action scenes are staged with considerable
punch, but much of the narrative unfolds in a
fairly uninspired manner. A better director would
surely have brought out more in the screenplay,
but lest we be too hard on Post it must be noted
that the finished product is still extremely entertaining
and puts the next installment in the franchise,
The Enforcer
(1976), to shame.
Star Clint Eastwood is, of
course, cool personified as Callahan. The film
allows the character a bit more humanity than
in the original, though he still comes across
as a callous man of action. The subplot involving
a young woman in his boarding house who basically
throws herself at him could have been needless
filler, but Eastwood clearly relishes the opportunity
to show that even Harry has his more basic needs.
The supporting cast is strong, with Hal Holbrook
(Creepshow) stealing
his scenes as Harry's by-the-book commanding officer.
The vigilantes have a few familiar faces among
them, too, including David Soul (Salem's
Lot), Robert Urich (Spenser: For Hire)
and a very young Tim Matheson (National
Lampoon's Animal House).
Despite lacking the sure, steady
hand of Don Siegel at the helm, Magnum
Force is an outstanding thriller and one
of the most memorable films of its type in the
1970s, a decade noted for hard-edged urban thrillers.
None of the subsequent installments in the Dirty
Harry franchise would come close to equaling its
impact — itself already distilled from the raw
energy of the original — though Eastwood's sole
directorial crack at the series, 1983's Sudden
Impact, would at least restore some of
the luster.
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Warner Home Video's new "Deluxe Edition"
of Magnum Force hasn't
received as many brickbats as the original among
the Internet fan community. While the original
film was chastised by some for having different
color values than older editions, Magnum
Force seems to have been welcomed with
more-or-less open arms. The 2.35/16x9 transfer
is very handsome. The cinematography is a bit
slicker than the cinema verité style favored
by Siegel, and color and detail are satisfactory
throughout; there are no discernible authoring
defects on display. The 5.1 audio mix is very
strong, though one regrets that the original mono
track has not been included. Even so, Lalo Schifrin's
funk/jazz score sounds very good here, and dialogue
is never buried in the mix.
The
extras department is where this new release really
outdoes the original, comparatively bare-bones
edition. First up is a commentary by über-macho
scriptwriter John Milius. In between puffing on
his trademark cigar, Milius offers ample insight
into the genesis of the film and the way in which
his script was subsequently altered by Cimino.
It's an informative and entertaining track. Next
up is the featurette A Moral Right: The Politics
of Dirty Harry, which allows various famous
fans of the series to examine the moral underpinnings
of the franchise. After that there's the vintage
featurette The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today,
which compares Harry to the renegade cop figures
of films from older films. Lastly, there's a Dirty
Harry trailer gallery. (NOTE: The Deluxe Edition
of Magnum
Force
is also available as part of the 7-disc Dirty
Harry Ultimate Edition collector's set.) 7/28/08
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