Dirty Harry

The composer Lalo Schifin just passed away and while his best known piece is probably the Mission: Impossible theme tune, some of his greatest work is on the Dirty Harry soundtrack.

I haven’t seen this in nearly 20 years, back when I watched every single Clint Eastwood film. It’s kind of like seeing an old friend at this point, and I’d almost forgotten how entertaining and magnetic he is on screen.

This time I couldn’t help but think of Batman. Yes Harry is a police inspector but he operates largely outside of the law, and is frequently deployed to handle the ‘dirty’ work no one else wants. The film’s dim view of its own San Francisco setting makes it really cold and gloomy.

Schifin’s score is minimalist, and is deployed to great effect only when it counts. So much of the film happens in silence, it’s not quite avant-garde but if they made it today it would feel quite experimental.

The tension between a character so cool and at ease with himself, and the extreme nonchalant violence he is capable of is a large part of what makes the film tick.

Is this a film that vouches for vigilantism? It could definitely be seen that way but I’m not so sure - Harry is only likeable on a surface level. He’s a cold blooded brutal, clumsy killer with no keen sense of justice - I don’t think you are being asked to back him in this debate however good he looks in a tweed jacket.