Dirty Harry / YMMV

Alternative Character Interpretation: Many viewers agree with Harry's tough, aggressive methods, whereas others seem to find fascist undertones in the film.
- According to Clint Eastwood, he and Don Siegel themselves had different takes on the character, with Eastwood viewing Harry as a coarse but essentially heroic figure and Siegel treating him as barely better than Scorpio himself. Recognizing that their differing political views influenced their perspectives on Harry, Eastwood and Siegel never explicitly discussed how the film should portray him, allowing viewers to decide for themselves.
- Near the end of the film, Scorpio picks up his gun in an attempt to shoot Harry, despite not being sure if the latter has any bullets left, and ends up being killed by Harry as a result. Was it because Scorpio was cocky enough to think he could kill Harry? Or was it because Scorpio realized it was the end of the line for him and decided to pull a Suicide by Cop in order to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison?
Catharsis Factor: Harry putting an end to Scorpio's reign of terror is oh, so satisfying.
Common Knowledge:
- No, Harry did not quit the police force at the end of the first movie though it’s understandable why people think that. Director Don Siegel has stated that Harry throwing his badge into the water was meant to symbolize his disgust with the law and how it lets people like Scorpio roam free.
- The belief that the first movie glorifies Cowboy Cops is untrue. Dirty Harry is a case of an Unbuilt Trope and actually Deconstructs the idea that one has to break the rules to get things done. The film actually ends with Harry lamenting his violent antics after shooting Scorpio dead.
Complete Monster: Charles Davis, better known as the Scorpio Killer, is a trigger-happy madman who kills for money, but mainly for his own amusement. After sniping a swimming woman, Scorpio demands $100,000 in payment or he will continue his killing spree. After he is foiled in another killing attempt, Scorpio murders a young boy and then tries to kill a priest, killing a police officer in the process. Scorpio then kidnaps a 14-year-old girl who he rapes and tortures before he buries her alive, demanding a ransom in exchange for her life. When "Dirty" Harry Callahan arrives with the money, Scorpio strikes him down and reveals that he was going to let the girl die anyways before trying to murder Harry out of sheer cruelty, and shooting his partner Chico Gonzalez when he rescues Harry. The police find the girl, but are unable to save her life. Scorpio's final gambit is to hold a school bus full of children hostage, planning to kill them all. Upon being foiled by Callahan, Scorpio threatens to shoot a young boy fishing.
Crosses the Line Twice: Scorpio randomly knocking out a liquor store owner to steal his gun is downright disturbing. Scorpio stealing a bottle of liquor afterwards is hilarious.
First Installment Wins: The first film is easily the one that has retained the greatest stature in pop culture, to the point that some people forget that "Go ahead, make my day" didn't originate from it. In fact, that line is from the fourth film in the series.
Love to Hate: Scorpio, practically the definition of a Miles Gloriosus from the start, is a shit-tier human being who rapes and targets more than anything you can imagine, but go to any YouTube video with him in it and you'll see people who still think that Andrew Robinson plays the best movie psycho ever for how horrific yet charming he is.
Moral Event Horizon: Scorpio crosses the line either when he guns down a 10 year old, or when he's revealed to have raped and murdered the young teenage girl he demanded a ransom for.
Most Wonderful Sound: Harry's gun firing. So much that it was used in The Terminator (the original Orion Pictures/Hemdale version), Death Wish 3 (Paul Kersey's .475 Wildey Magnum), The Last of the Finest, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Code of Silence, Lethal Enforcers 1 (the player's default gun), DonPachi (when the game tallies up the player's bomb stock), Resident Evil (Barry Burton's gun in the FMV intro), Project × Zone (Mii Koryuji's Dragon Jewel rifle in the opening), and many others.
Narm: The Dirty Harry franchise has had its unintentionally funny moments:
- The torture scene described as "downright horrific" on the main page can just as easily be seen as a tad silly due to Scorpio's hysterical, overdone blubbering. Also, his scream when stabbed is hilarious. Not helping is the fact that it's, you know... Scorpio.
- The mayor's assurance that Scorpio will not be "molested" in any way (likely an example of Have a Gay Old Time).
Never Live It Down: Andy Robinson had to change his address after receiving a lot of death threats following his performance as Scorpio.
One-Scene Wonder: The Affably Evil, Consummate Professional, Scary Black Man Torture Technician (whew), played with easygoing charisma by Raymond Johnson, whom Scorpio hires to beat him up and who actually shows some genuine concern for his "customer" only for Scorpio to turn up the charm; at which point the former cheerfully gives the latter a few extra whacks "on the house."
The Problem with Licensed Games: The NES got a video game adaptation loosely based on the film franchise. It had poor graphics, an underwhelming soundtrack, awkward controls, and is also extremely challenging for such a short game. Not helping is the first stage has an inconspicuous door that leads to a room that says "HA HA HA," where the player must reset and lose their progress.
Scrappy Mechanic: The game randomly has a "trap room" that shows up when you enter a room; in place of a door, it has "HA HA HA" written on a blank wall. The only way out is to reset the game. The developers admitted that it was a joke they were playing on the players.
Strawman Has a Point: The district attorney drops the case against Scorpio after Harry beat a confession out of him. The film treats this situation as Jerkass Has a Point, however, Harry also legally confiscated a submachine gun that was most likely unregistered seeing as Scorpio didn’t have it after. That alongside the attempted murder of Harry and Chico would’ve put Scorpio behind bars for the rest of his life. Dropping the case was completely unnecessary.
Tear Jerker: The mother of Charlie Russell reacting to her son's brutal murder, mentioning that he was only 10 years old. Plus, the discovery of Anne Mary Deacon's naked corpse.
What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?: Despite Siegel and Eastwood disavowing any political intent, the film was extremely controversial when released. Critics (notably Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert) attacked it as a "fascist" endorsement of police brutality, the ACLU and other liberal organizations picketed its premiere, and the press savaged it both for its alleged politics and graphic violence. However, this backlash rebounded to its benefit, as conservative viewers (including police organizations and Richard Nixon, who invited Eastwood to the White House after seeing it) loved the movie for the same reasons liberals hated it.

YMMV / Dirty Harry

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