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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  • Dual Layer (RSDL )
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • French: Dolby Digital Mono
  • Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
  Subtitles
    English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Arabic, Portuguese, English - Hearing Impaired, Italian - Hearing Impaired
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Cast/crew biographies - (list only)
  • Featurette - Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special In Films
The Enforcer
Warner Bros./Warner Bros. . R4 . COLOR . 96 mins . MA15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

The Enforcer sees the return once again of Inspector Dirty Harry Callahan and his trusty Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum. While he’s been busted down to desk work for his excessive use of force in ending a hostage situation, a band of militant loonies have stolen a ton of weapons and explosives and taken the mayor hostage. Harry’s bosses, looking for some positive media publicity, team Harry up with a female partner Kate Moore (Tyne Daly, one half of Cagney and Lacey years later) to track down the bad guys and save the mayor.

When you’re on to a good thing, why stop at just two, right? So, as was to be expected based upon the success of the preceding two films, out rolled number three in the series. An entertaining film in it’s own right, The Enforcer however seemed to have succumbed to political correctness or some other obscure new age philosophy, because the creators saw fit to lumber Harry with a female partner in a move to generate new interest. While nothing unusual in that, the end result is a film that is very different from the first, lacking in the build up of tension and violence. Instead, we spend far too long on the the relationship development between the Harry and Kate, which although at times quite amusing given Harry's views on woman in the police force still slow things down a lot.

What’s clear here is they really didn’t give enough screen time to the bad guys, mayhem and action. This time, it seems as though Harry fires off more one liners than bullets, definitely playing up his more comedic side. The Enforcer just doesn’t have that “loose-cannon” edginess that Dirty Harry and Magnum Force displayed. Rather than getting pissed off and cranky, the most Callahan ever works up is annoyance. If you’re waiting for him to get really pissed off and screw up his face while spitting out some venomous cool line, then as Harry says, "you’re shit outta luck".

  Video
  Audio
  Extras
Contract

The Enforcer has a 2.35:1 spect ratio with a 16x9 enhanced transfer. Another good effort here, happily making the film look very good for its age. There's a bit of shimmer on show as usual, and some minor flecks and scratches, but mostly the detail looks sharp and the colour good.

Audio is presented in DD5.1 on this dvd. I'm still more than happy with the fact that these dvds have a 5.1 mix, because they sound clear and spacious while making good use of all channels to bring the movie to life, whether it be the added clarity in the dialogue, the booming of his gun, or the directional effects steering you around the room.

Extras consist of a Cast and Crew list, Theatrical Trailer and featurette Harry Callahan/Clint Eastwood: Something Special In Films. This is another dated brief promo piece from the original release and nothing to get excited about but fine for a quick look.


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  •   And I quote...
    "Dirty Harry and a female partner? Is that a .44 Magnum in his pocket, or is he just happy to see her?"
    - Vince Carrozza
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-525
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DB930
    • Speakers:
          Wharfedale s500
    • Centre Speaker:
          Polk Audio CS245
    • Surrounds:
          Wharfedale s500
    • Subwoofer:
          DB Dynamics TITAN
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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