L'Inspecteur Harry

Released on Christmas Day 1971, "Dirty Harry" transformed Clint Eastwood from cult figure to superstar. Another maverick cop thriller, "The French Connection," was released a few months earlier, and it may have won the Oscars and garnered the critical acclaim, but "Dirty Harry" is the true classic of the two, and the most influential. Great action magnificently directed by Don Siegel, the master of the genre, great dialogue, and relentless tension make this the ultimate detective thriller and one of the defining films of the 1970s.

If there was a category for quintessential crime thrillers, I would almost certainly put Dirty Harry in that category. Everything about Dirty Harry is wonderful. The cinematography is fine and the locations and scenery are quite striking. Lalo Schifrin's music sets the atmosphere very well too, while the story is taut, the script is quotable and cleverly written, Don Siegel's direction is superb and the violence is shocking and daring. The acting is also great, in his more complex roles Clint Eastwood was born for the role of Dirty Harry, and all the supporting roles are very well played. All in all, brilliant and one of the crime thrillers there is. 10/10 Bethany Cox