The Clint Eastwood Classic That Was Banned For Violence
Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry is now considered a classic, but the film was quite controversial when it was first released in 1971. In fact, it was so controversial that, as Banned Library reports, one European nation was so troubled by the movie that it allowed censorship to rear its ugly head. In 1972, Finland hit Dirty Harry with a ban for violence and mental health reasons.
The distributor for the film would challenge the ban and bring the case to the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court. The ban was overturned after some minor changes, but it ended up being banned once more. Finally, in 1973, the distributor would win again and the film was allowed to be distributed in Finland for good — albeit with three minutes of scenes cut.
Dirty Harry followed Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan, a San Francisco cop that plays by his own rules. Harry is called up to hunt down the “Scorpio Killer,” a maniac terrorizing the city by sniping victims and leaving ransom notes at the crime scenes. Andrew Robinson (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) played the Scorpio Killer and Reni Santoni (Cobra) played Callahan’s new partner, Inspector Chico Gonzales. The cast also included Harry Guardino, John Vernon, John Larch, John Mitchum, Mae Mercer, Lyn Edgington, and more. Don Siegel directed with a screenplay by Harry Julian Fink, Rita M. Fink, and Dean Riesner.
Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry (1971)
Although Finland was one of the only countries to outright ban Dirty Harry from distribution, the film wasn’t without its controversies in other countries. Many people took umbrage with the depiction of a police officer who took the law into his own hands, using brutality and violence without much consequence. Police violence and brutality was an issue in the 1970s and still is today, so the film remains controversial. While Dirty Harry was undoubtedly a hit for Clint Eastwood, both critically and commercially, it has its fair share of detractors.
Since the release of Dirty Harry, the prestige of the film has only grown. The film was added to the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2012. Sources such as the New York Times, Empire, and Total Film have placed it on ‘Greatest Films of All Time’ lists. It currently holds an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 90% from audiences.
At the box office, Dirty Harry exceeded expectations by pulling in $35.9 million at the domestic box office against a budget of $4 million. This made it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1971. In short, it’s safe to say that Dirty Harry was a success all around.
Since Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood has had an incredible career full of iconic roles along with directing quite a few films of his own. Interestingly, Dirty Harry was one of Eastwood’s very first directing gigs: though the vast majority of the film was directed by Don Siegel, Eastwood actually directed the suicide-jumper scenes. Perhaps we could credit Dirty Harry as the start of Eastwood catching the directing bug. Clint Eastwood and Andrew Robinson in Dirty Harry (1971)
Another interesting tidbit about Dirty Harry is how it drew inspiration from the real-life Zodiac Killer. Various films have drawn inspiration from the case, especially David Fincher’s Zodiac which told the story of the hunt for the real Zodiac Killer. Of course, Fincher paid respects to Dirty Harry, with a character from Zodiac watching the film in theaters.
Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry may have a long-reaching influence on pop culture–controversy and all–but the long-time leading man has made many projects since then. His most recent project was the film Cry Macho, which follows a washed-up horse breeder and rodeo star taking a young boy away from his alcoholic mother and bringing him to his father. Clint Eastwood pulled double-duty in the film, directing and starring in the lead role.
Cry Macho certainly didn’t enjoy the same level of success as Dirty Harry. The pandemic made for a difficult release, and the film only pulled in $16.4 million worldwide. It also didn’t fare well from a critical standpoint. Fortunately, Clint Eastwood has plenty of other great movies under his belt. And even though Clint Eastwood is 92 now, he doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. He’s sure to have some more great performances to give.
Clint Eastwood Fans Get the Western Icon Trending on Twitter With Epic Throwback Pics
For those people who saw Clint Eastwood trending on Twitter on Sunday morning, then just know that he’s doing just fine. The onslaught of attention, though, did bring some epic throwback pictures to the platform. Fans were sharing many different shots from his iconic career. We picked out a few of them for you to get a peek at and enjoy. Our man Clint loves to keep working and even getting a round of golf in here and there. When he’s on the movie set or in some other setting, it’s always a good time to get some photos.
Those photos and even a video definitely liven up a Father’s Day filled with fun for many. Yep, even Eastwood probably had some fun and well wishes coming his way from his children. Daughter Alison Eastwood is a solid actress in her own right, having starred in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. As for papa Clint, well, where do you start with his movie career? Of course, there’s his time as the “Man with No Name.”
Clint Eastwood Did Find Success In Movies Thanks To ‘Spaghetti Westerns’
The work with Sergio Leone helped him get that movie career up and running. Meanwhile, he made Harry Callahan a major character thanks to Dirty Harry. Yet those Westerns do make him look that much better, right? Think about the “Spaghetti Westerns” that we alluded to just now.
Go beyond that to Unforgiven, a movie he not only acted in but had a role in getting the film made. Heck, Clint Eastwood wanted veteran actor Gene Hackman on board from the get-go. As the story goes, though, Hackman had reservations about joining up. When you play “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection, that becomes an iconic role for him. But the movie had its fair share of violence and that kind of turned him off at the outset.
In fact, Hackman, at first, said he didn’t want to be involved in another violent movie. That would be because of his daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, who had some say in the matter. The actor did read the script but said no at first. Eastwood did tell Hackman that there was a chance to make a statement against violence in Unforgiven. When looking at the script again through those eyes, Hackman would agree to do it. Good thing he did. Hackman would win an Oscar for his role. “It’s all in the execution, you gotta execute it right, or else nothing means anything,” Eastwood said in an interview about the film. “He [Hackman] re-read it and came back and said, ‘Yeah, okay, I’ll do this.’”
Clint Eastwood’s Daughter Reveals Her Favorite Advice He Gave Her
Alison Eastwood is an actress as well one of the daughters of the famed actor and director Clint Eastwood. Getting any type of advice from dear old Dad is a good thing. When it comes to her favorite piece that he gave her, you might think it was acting. She did get the acting bug, too, and did star in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. This advice must be about her career, right? Nope. It had to do with the always tough task of living life.
“I guess just not to take [life] too seriously,” Alison Eastwood tells Closer Weekly in an interview from 2019. “He never seemed to take anything too seriously. Maybe that’s not a good thing … I don’t know.” Yet she also would offer up a little more insight which she’s picked up from being around him. “He makes me laugh, I make him laugh,” Alison said. “That’s my favorite part about it. I think just having a lot of laughter, especially in our family, amongst ourselves. We’re all getting older.”
Clint Eastwood Isn’t A Big Fan Of His Birthday, Daughter Alison Says
She also says that Dad isn’t a big fan of his birthday. He would rather be doing something else, like working or playing golf, than celebrating his big day. Still, Clint Eastwood keeps on providing fans with film work as an actor and director. He’s achieved great success and to think he also has a classic TV connection. Of course, Clint does from his days playing Rowdy Yates on Rawhide.
Yet it is in the movies of Eastwood that has really made him a household name. Working in Europe would provide some foundational success thanks to the “Spaghetti Westerns” directed by Sergio Leone. He would play the “Man with No Name” in films like A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. They all would lead Eastwood to then become an iconic police officer as Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry. One time, he talked about A Fistful of Dollars possibly becoming an “absolute disaster.” What in the world does he mean by this? Eastwood told Roger Ebert years ago that the movie’s producers were arguing among themselves. The issue at hand was who would pay the bills to get the movie done. This leads him to say, “It could have been an absolute disaster. But, we got lucky with it. And it turned out Sergio Leone was for real.”
While his record of success and achievement is solid, sometimes Eastwood has to pick and choose between projects. When it came to playing Bruce Willis’ role John McClane in Die Hard, Eastwood did turn it down. Screenwriter Jeb Stuart would say that Eastwood said that he didn’t get the humor in the movie.
Clint Eastwood’s Daughter Posts Rare Selfie, And Her Fans Are Absolutely Loving It
Earlier this week, Clint Eastwood’s daughter, Francesca Eastwood, took to her Instagram account to share a rare selfie.
The actress, who didn’t write a caption for the post, is seen with a pair of pink lens sunglasses while sitting near a plant. Follows of Clint Eastwood’s daughter gushed over the simple snapshot. “Extraordinarily Beautiful,” one follower declared. “You look gorgeous, so much like your mom,” another added.
Francesca is preparing to film her upcoming action-packed movie, “Live Fast, Die Laughing.” The film follows a broke taxi driver in Vietnam who thinks it is his lucky day when a mysterious offers him a fortune to drive her 1,000 miles from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. While on the road, the duo is pursued by mobsters and an assassin. Written by Timothy Linh Bui and Tim Tori and directed by Bui, Eastwood will star in the film alongside Harvey Keitel.
Clint Eastwood’s Daughter Francesca Talks Starring in a Western Genre Film
While promoting her 2016 film “Outlaws and Angels,” Francesca revealed to the Observer that she didn’t speak to her father, Clint Eastwood, about starring in the western genre film.
“I didn’t ask my parents for advice on this one,” Francesca stated about the role. But she did admit that she usually asks her parents but she wanted to do her own thing this time. “So I just ran and did it and talked with them about it later. I wanted to do one on my own, and it felt great.”
Frances Fisher, Francesca’s mother, was also part of the film. However, the duo did not appear in any scenes together. “This is the first time that I was on a film and then she came on after, rather than her being in a film and I join as her baby. I was probably the least experienced actor, and everyone was just so welcoming and really nurturing to that.”
While speaking about working in a desert, Francesca recalled, “It was pretty intense with the heat and the costumes, and we couldn’t wash them because they were supposed to look aged, so after about 3 weeks of being in the same layers it was just gross. It was fun and part of the experience though. Normally if you’re uncomfortable or too hot you go get a water and sit in a trailer, but that was so not the case with this one.”
Francesa went on to note that she and the rest of the cast just dealt with the production’s conditions. “No one really went to the trailers. We just hung out – no texting, Tweeting, Instagramming. I think it made it really special. There were no distractions.”