Search - Magnum Force on DVD

Deluxe Edition for vintage Eastwood, details here

Sanpete | in Utah | 03/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Magnum Force is the first sequel to the classic Dirty Harry, and 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.



In this installment, Harry Callahan, 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.



Whether those with the older DVD will want to upgrade is a matter of personal preference, but the special features look attractive to me:



-- 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



This and the other four movies are available on standard DVD both separately and in a 7-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition, which has additional goodies.



They're also on Blu-ray in a 5-disc Ultimate Collector's Edition. Only the Dirty Harry Special Edition is available separately on Blu-ray (here); the other four movies, including this one, are available on Blu-ray in the set.



Here are the links for the Amazon pages for the new separate standard DVD releases of the other four movies in the series:



Dirty Harry Special Edition (2 discs, "special" is apparently better than "deluxe")

The Enforcer Deluxe Edition

Sudden Impact Deluxe Edition

The Dead Pool Deluxe Edition"

Decent, but it won't quite blow your head clean off.

Christopher J. Jarmick | Seattle, Wa. USA | 12/06/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Magnum Force (1973) the first of four Dirty Harry sequels is a film, action movie/ Eastwood junkies will appreciate a great deal. It softens Dirty Harry's character however and actually makes more political type statements regarding how criminals often have more rights in the legal system than crime victims do --than the original Dirty Harry ever did. It makes sure the audience understands that Dirty Harry Callahan is a rogue lone wolf cop who breaks rules but he is not a vigilante who takes the law completely into his own hands. He's a hero and his flaws say the movie are completely acceptable. In Magnum Force, Harry is back on the force and fighting with a new superior who he makes very nervous. Harry discovers that a team of police officers have turned into a small hit squad and they are knocking off pimps, drug dealers and assorted criminals whenever possible. They figure Harry would approve of what they are doing and even join them. When Harry has a problem with what they are doing... they have a problem with Harry. Get the picture?
There's a lot more dialogue concerning weapons and the former most powerful handgun in the world the 44 magnum. The script is partially written by John Millius and Michael Cimino and you can tell. Ted Post directed and he doesn't bring the style or skill that Siegel brought to the first one, but he keeps things moving at a brisk efficient pace. Hal Holbrook was excited to be part of the film because he knew lots of people would go see it. David Soul and Robert Uhrick also make early career appearances here. It's not a great genre film but it mostly holds up pretty well and is entertaining. Look fast for Suzanne Somers during the pool party scene. DVD STUFFNearly all of the films in the new Dirty Harry Collection of DVD's are presented in Anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen Most of the 5 Dirty Harry films recently released are presented at their best with colors vibrant, black levels strong and few technical problems present. All of the Harry films have been given a complete audio over-haul and the engineers have done a superb job on all the films for their latest NOVEMBER 2001 release. The older films in particular have been improved a great deal with a very well done sound re-design. I suspect some re-recording of some foley type effects took place because some of the sound effects sound utterly free from distortion which you would expect to crop up in loud sound effects from 30 years ago. All of the films have a Dolby 5.1. track that has been masterfully presented. Dialogue is easy to hear, and the sound effects
And music effectively use the surround capabilities of all the speakers without over-doing it .DVD Extras:Magnum Force gets the 8 minute featurette entitled The Hero Cop: Yesterday and Today and was made as part of the promotional campaign for film in 1973. It has some behind the scene snippets of Ted Post directing Eastwood. The original trailer is not in very good shape on this one. 3 and a half stars... 4 if you love Dirty Harry or Eastwood.Christopher Jarmick, is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense"