Films of the 1970s, No. 33

 


Throughout 2023 I'm looking at my favorite films from the decade of the 1970s. I'll be counting down from 50 to 1 throughout the year, posting a new installment each Friday. Agree? Disagree? Want to share a story? Post it in the comments below!

Harry Callahan: Uh uh. I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?

Dirty Harry (1971)
Starring: Clint Eastwood
Director: Don Siegel
About: There were many iconic films from the 1970s, including many featuring Eastwood. But Dirty Harry is something a little more special. Sure, the line I posted at the top is one of the most oft quoted, and an iconic moment. But really, the whole film is something special. It created a famous character, one that Eastwood has portrayed in a number of films since. It's also a police detective case that set a sort of template. You can see pieces of the way this film is put together carrying through similar stories through the decades. Even on a recent re-watch, I thought of the ways it influenced from from Die Hard to Se7en and more. Eastwood is great in the film, though there aren't many three-dimensional characters in the film around him. The action and the shots work, and the way the story plays out is well played. It's one of the most memorable films of the decade, making it an easy call to include it on this list.

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