Dirty Harry

A sniper shooting from the rooftops is holding San Francisco hostage, demanding 100,000 dollars or he will keep killing. The mayor wants to pay the ransom; police inspector Harry Callahan demurs, preferring to go after the killer. There is a gunfight and the villain doubles the amount of his demand. Harry is chosen to deliver the ransom, turning the situation into a personal duel … Dirty Harry bears a more than passing resemblance to Eastwood’s gunslinger character from his spaghetti westerns, transposed to the canyons of an American metropolis. Armed with a Smith & Wesson loaded with .44 Magnums, a stoic demeanour, and a stony face, he became the role model for the cynical onscreen cops of the 1970s. Don Siegel’s matter-of-fact thriller, inspired by the real-life Zodiac killer, engendered four Dirty Harry sequels between its release and 1988, although the character’s final gesture in this film, taken from High Noon (1952), would seem to suggest otherwise.
The film was restored using an 8K scan of the 35mm camera negative. To ensure accuracy, the picture was conformed to the original 2.39:1 aspect ratio without zooming or panning.