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Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition | 
| Actor: Clint Eastwood
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $74.98
Buy New: $55.99
You Save: $18.99 (25%)
New (42) Used (12) from $48.00
Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 310
Format: Box Set, Collector's Edition, Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 7
Running Time: 520 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.7 x 2.8
MPN: 1000024579
UPC: 085391148357
EAN: 0085391148357
ASIN: B0015XHQTE
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: June 3, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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Description
Includes all five Dirty Harry films: all special features on the Dirty Harry Special Edition and Deluxe Editions, plus additional special features and contents specific to the Ultimate Collector's Edition. Bonus Feature-Length documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows; a 40+ page hardcover book; Wallet w/metal badge and removable laminated I.D. card; 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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Details for the new Dirty Harry Ultimate Collector's Edition due out on June 3rd, 2008 March 18, 2008
Sanpete (in Utah)
49 out of 53 found this review helpful
Warner Home Video has announced the details of new releases of all five Dirty Harry movies with new special features. They'll all be in their original widescreen formats only.
They will be available on standard DVD in this 7-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition, or separately in Special or Deluxe editions. ("Special" is better than "deluxe" here--only Dirty Harry gets a 2-disc Special Edition, the others will all be on single discs, but all will have new special features.) Links for the separate DVDs are below.
They'll also be on Blu-ray in a 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition. Only the Dirty Harry Special Edition will be available separately on Blu-ray. The other four movies will only be available on Blu-ray as part of the complete set. (They won't be available in HD, which Warner officially discontinues at the end of May.)
Assuming the transfers are good (update: everyone says the transfers are good, better than the old ones), this looks like an excellent set. Whether those with older DVD releases will want to upgrade will be a matter of personal preference, but I personally find the new commentaries and features very attractive.
Here's a bit about each film and the special features, contained in both the separate releases and the sets. The Ultimate Editions will also include some additional features, listed further below.
Dirty Harry Special Edition
Dirty Harry is generally regarded as a classic, the beginning of a second larger-than-life persona for Clint Eastwood (after The Man with No Name). It's the source of the famous "Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" (The actual quote is "... you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" but the original doesn't quote as well out of context.)
Tough cop "Dirty" Harry Callahan has his own simple, commonsense rules for dealing with crime, based on a strong sense of right and wrong and an impatience with needless details and constraints. The latter gets him into continual trouble with the system which, as portrayed in the movie, is more about politics and bureaucracy than doing what needs to be done. This reflected well the frustrations and fears of Americans in the '70s that criminals were taking over the streets and that the law was powerless to stop them because the "criminal-coddling" courts were holding them back. I personally value the Fourth Amendment and other such niceties and shiver to think of some of the political and moral ramifications of this movie (some of which are still very much with us), but whatever one's politics, Dirty Harry is very effective as a police-action thriller, largely because of Eastwood's unique persona. It's hard not to admire and root for him even if you think he's not always right. There are also the standard gunfights and car chases, and high suspense, all well done.
In the films that followed in the series, Harry became a somewhat more balanced, complex or confusing character, depending on your point of view, coming down clearly on the side of the law against rogue vigilante cops, for example, and learning to appreciate a female cop as a partner, but the basic idea of Harry standing strong despite the corrupt, wimpy system remained.
I'm pleased to see that some of the new special features in the set deal with the "issues" raised by the Dirty Harry films. I look forward to seeing what others make of them.
The special features:
-- new commentary by filmmaker and Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
-- new featurette "The Long Shadow of Dirty Harry," on the influence and legacy of Dirty Harry
-- "Dirty Harry: The Original," with Clint Eastwood and the film's creators looking back at the creation of the Dirty Harry character
-- "Dirty Harry's Way," a promotional short focusing on the toughness of the movie's main character
-- interview gallery, with Patricia Clarkson, Joel Cox, Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Evan Kim, John Milius, Ted Post, Andy Robinson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robert Urich
-- "Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso," a 1993 TV program on his life and career, including scenes from his work and interviews with friends, fellow actors and crew members
-- trailer gallery: Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool
Magnum Force Deluxe Edition
As the sequel to a classic film, it suffers some from the let-downs typical of sequels, but it's still Clint Eastwood being a tough guy, which is enough to carry the merely average plot and script and make it good entertainment for Eastwood fans. I'd say that applies to all four sequels.
In this installment, Harry, the cop frustrated by the rules that hold him back, shows he has his limits when he goes up against wicked vigilante cops killing criminals without any due process. As in the first movie, there's plenty of action, a car chase, suspense, people getting shot, etc.
Special features:
-- new commentary by director and Magnum Force screenwriter John Milius ("in this gritty, entertaining commentary, legendary Hollywood screenwriter Milius discusses Eastwood, the world of Dirty Harry and the rugged resilience of crime drama in American cinema")
-- new featurette "A Moral Right: The Politics of Dirty Harry," with filmmakers, social scientists and authors on the politics and ethics of the Dirty Harry films
-- "The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today"
-- trailer gallery
The Enforcer Deluxe Edition
In this installment, Harry, the renegade cop with some old-fashioned attitudes and no desire to be tied up with a partner, gets stuck with a female partner, well played by Tyne Daly. Surprise surprise, he learns to respect and rely on her as they make hamburger of a group of domestic terrorists. As in the first two movies, there's plenty of action, suspense, people getting shot, etc., but with a chase on foot in place of the usual car chase.
Special features:
-- new commentary by Enforcer director James Fargo
-- new featurette "The Business End: Violence in Cinema"
-- "Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special in Films"
-- trailer gallery
Sudden Impact Deluxe Edition
Sudden Impact inspires very mixed reactions, but it's still Clint Eastwood in a classic role, this time with Sondra Locke, his partner in several films and off-screen. Some people hate Locke, but I think she's good with Eastwood. (I liked them even more in the Dirty Harryish Gauntlet and the very un-Dirty-Harry Bronco Billy.)
Harry is on forced leave for being his usual trouble-making self while getting the bad guys, but still finds himself in the middle of a string of murders that he undertakes to stop. As in a couple of the others in the series, this movie includes a story line where extralegal justice is an issue, as Locke's damaged rape victim seeks revenge. With the usual action, shootings, and a high level of violence, with women getting their share.
This one is the source of the famous quote, "Go ahead, make my day." It was directed by Eastwood.
-- new commentary by filmmaker and Eastwood associate/biographer Richard Schickel
-- new featurette "The Evolution of Clint Eastwood," on the film in the context of Eastwood's career as a director
-- trailer gallery
The Dead Pool Deluxe Edition
The Dead Pool was pretty well received, considering its place in the series. It has a convoluted plot about a game in which bets are taken on the deaths of celebrities, including Harry, with young Liam Neeson playing a questionable film director who's playing the game. Issues of the celebrity-enslaved press are mixed with romance as Harry dates a reporter. As always, there's plenty of action, suspense, gun play, and, this time, a unique and hilarious car chase with a very small but dangerous car.
-- new commentary by Dead Pool producer David Valdes and Dead Pool cinematographer Jack N. Green
-- new Featurette "The Craft of Dirty Harry," including the cinematography, editing, music, and production design of the Dirty Harry films
-- trailer gallery
The Ultimate editions will contain all of the above features, plus some:
-- the feature-length documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows (which has been and is available separately)
-- 40+ page hardcover book
-- wallet with metal badge and removable ID card
-- five 5" x 7" lobby poster reproduction cards and an exclusive Ultimate Collector's Edition card
-- "Scorpio: Portrait of a Killer" 19" x 27" map of San Francisco detailing Harry's hunt for the killer in the first film
-- never-before-seen production correspondence
The Out of the Shadows documentary is a substantial bonus (87 minutes) for the Ultimate edition. You can get it separately pretty cheap used, though. There's an Amazon page for it, with reviews, here.
Just finished it all!! WOW....great job Warner Bros! June 5, 2008
Richardson (Sunny California USA)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
WB have proven they know how to release classic titles with their exceptional multi-disc offerings from Astaire/Rogers and the Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind and FORD/WAYNE etc etc...and now they have brought that same excellent packaging and extras to a much more current series DIRTY HARRY.
All the movies look much better than ever before ...maybe even better than they did in movie theatres. Previous extras are included ...so no need to keep old editions and each movie has interesting and fast moving featurettes of approximately a half hour that do add considerably to the enjoyment factor. I've only listened to a couple of the commentaries...they all have new ones. Professional Eastwood brown nose...er biographer Richard "windbag" Schickel doesn't add much to Dirty Harry...but John Milius as insane as ever is a hoot on Magnum Force. I'm hoping the commentary on The Enforcer is good as its by the director...we have the aforementioned Schickel back kissing butt on Sudden Impact so I'm not expecting enlightenment there.
Should you buy this box instead of the individual movies? ...its a little better price to buy them this way but the individual movies have such cool graphics and packaging. There is a fake badge in this set AND an exceptional documentary on Clint Eastwood "Out of the Shadows" that all true Clint fans owned already but IS included here...as well as mini theatre one sheets and a very nice letter from Clint about the series...
tough call...oh and a nice book with photos and brief notes...so the whole package takes up about the same space as the individual DVDs for those wondering about shelf space.
THe movies themselves are close to the heart of baby boomers like myself who may have liked John Wayne when we were kids but as we became high schoolers and grew up Clint was/is OUR guy. There is a slight decline in quality from movie to movie during the series as Clint ages and the writing has to find more cute lines for him to toss off ...but I enjoyed them all and still do ...with the possible exception of the Dead Pool...which is now more of a curiosity to me.
Bottom line...if you like Clint/Harry ...you will be delighted with the quality of prints, extras and packaging. In fact its so good I'm getting tempted to upgrade to blu-ray and get the set in that format!
WOW! June 4, 2008
G. Abbate (Surprise, Arizona United States)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
What a bargain! $60 is a major bargain for what you get. In addition to the DH movies, you get a lot more cool memorabilia inside. I kept finding more things as I dug in there. How cool is this? A wallet with an inspector badge, a case file which is really neat, pics, books, etc. Even if you have the original DVDs...get this box set!
So Far,my vote for the Best DVD release of 2008!! June 9, 2008
Robert Badgley (London,Ontario,Canada)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
"....what's a Dirt Harry Collection if it's not "fully loaded"? Enjoy."
Those are the words of Clint Eastwood himself on a card enclosed with this beautiful set that, so far for me,is the best DVD release of this year."Fully loaded" is an understatement.I have never seen such a set like this from a big major studio that has so many extras included;not only on the DVDs themselves but with some eye popping extras packaged with the DVDs.
Let's take a look at what you're going to get.
First of all are all five of the franchise movies on DVD.All are beatifuuly remastered in sound and picture I have never seen them looking as clean and crisp as these prints are.WB obviously took extra care in their transfers here and it shows.The highest marks for the technical team responsible.All discs are one sided which I prefer over the double sided discs which are SO prone to scratching.There are seven discs in all,five for the movies each with documentaries old and new,an "extras" disc devoted to Dirty Harry, and the seventh an 87 min. documentary on Mr.Eastwood called "Out of the Shadows",narrated by Morgan Freeman.
The discs for the movies are in two seperate fold-out type holders.All sit quite firmly in each holder.The documentary sits in a seperate booklet type holder and that is enclosed within a little treasure chest of a box also in this set.What is in this box really got my adrenaline going,as it will you I'm sure.Along with the docu disc are:
1)A personal message from Clint Eastwood.
2) a huge fold out colour map called"Scorpio:Portrait of a Killer".It details the various locations throughout San Francisco where Inspector Callahan had his various run-ins with Scorpio and his utlimate demise.
3)Eight 5"x7" pieces of rare Malpaso and Warner Bros. correspondance
4)Six 5"x7" colour promotional cards,five of which are repro theatrical posters for each movie.The sixth is a collage card.These all sit safely in an onion paper envelope.
5)my favourite,a reproduction of Harrys' police badge and I.D.in its'holder.
As if this wasn't enough,to top this phenomenal collection off is sepia-tinted 43 page hard-cover booklet filled with lots of pictures and facts about each of the films.
The entire lot is packaged into a large slipcase cover,which is embossed with Harrys' revolving magazine chamber on the outside.
This is a dream package of one whose likes I have never seen before and
any fan of the Dirty Harry franchise or Mr.Eastwoods' career should not be without.
About the films themselves each and every one,to me at least,is filmaking of the highest standard.I can't say there is one for me that is much better than the other,but everyone will certainly have their favourites.I have always been a fan of Mr.Eastwood from his gritty thriller "Play Misty for Me" right up until today.But with "Dirty Harry" I saw something special in this man's work and I have really marvelled at his subsequent films since and the maturity that each successive one has shown.The critics were not always kind to him but the public rarely failed him and that after all is what really counts in the end.
A case in point is the first film in this set,"Dirty Harry".A smash at the box office but some so-called "critics" were all over this one even berating it,if my memory serves me correctly,as a piece of right wing propaganda!? For some reason they saw the character as some kind of fascist bent on killing anything that didn't measure up to his standard of right and wrong.He was described as a rogue cop,a loose cannon,you name it.
First of all any "critic" who would go so far as to analyse a movie like this,or any movie,to that degree isn't doing their job at all.
Secondly I never saw Harry as a rogue cop let alone a fascist.My take was that Harry was certainly a disenfranchised person/cop.His wife had died by a drunk driver and he was constantly at odds with the justice system and his own bosses who didn't seem either to "get" what he was about or see that the victims had rights as well as the criminals in a very faulty system.His character is really defined in the second movie "Magnum Force".He says that he "hates the system" but until something better comes along that he will work within it.There is obviously a line even Harry won't cross and despite what many superiors and even peers think,he knows the difference between right and wrong;probably better than they do.
Furthermore when these "critics" analyse movies like this to such a distorted degree they seem to lose all sight of what they are looking at.And that is just that this is a movie.It is fiction,not fact.I doubt if in reality there are any cops like Harry.If there are or have been they wouldn't have lasted a day let alone years.No policeman would go chasing after suspects alone like Harry does throughout these films.In reality if a cop suspected the wherabouts of a criminal he would immediately call for back up.But Harry Callahan calling for backup,waiting,surrounding the perp then arresting him/her evertytime, would make for a dull movie wouldn't it? That's why this fictional character is written to do what he does.For entertainment value,nothing else.That is all these movies are and will ever be,though excellent ones at that.What little I know of Mr.Eastwood I would think that the only thing on his mind when making these pictures was how to do the best job he could and then move on to the next project;not what deep meaning or message he could incorporate into them like some "critics" seem to find.
In conclusion,for all fans of Mr.Eastwood and /or the Dirty Harry franchise,this collection as recently released by Warners is the definitive must have of your collection.The myriad of exciting extras alone are worth the price,but as is,they are just nice icing on the cake that is the essence of this package:all five Dirty Harry movies.Each have been restored and remastered to perfection in beautiful widescreen format.You will never have seen these movies as good as they look today.
Thank you Warner Brothers and above all to Mr.Clint Eastwood.
Get your copy today!
Finally Do you feel Lucky? May 28, 2008
Dieter Hellweger
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
After the lackluster Dirty Harry DVD Series years ago,finally Warner considered the Ultimate Edition of these classics.I got lucky to see the new version of Dirty Harry.I was amazed about the transfer and the extras very informative.The whole set blows your mind away and is an example who respectful classics should be treated.If you compare these edition with the new Indiana Jones trilogy it's worth every penny.Eastwood is a legend, and the Dirty Harry Series the coolest pictures ever made.So get this box and see why only Eastwood can MAKE YOUR DAY.
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