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Post by Power Ranger on Jul 12, 2019 18:37:22 GMT
Which series is better?
I feel that they are both excellent.
I chose Death Wish myself. Dirty Harry’s first two films are excellent, it’s third ok but it’s fourth is really bad IMO. But Death Wish 2,3,4, are all passable. So DW just wins on consistency (sure, DW 5 sucks, but it’s the fifth entry, not the fourth).
And then lastly it’s because of Bronson. Eastwood’s appeal in Dirty Harry is sky high, he’s excellent, but the appeal of Charles Bronson is like an innate quality that humankind was born with.
It’s a close call, but I choose Death Wish.
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Post by fangirl1975 on Jul 12, 2019 18:42:35 GMT
My personal preference would be Dirty Harry.
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Post by Popeye Doyle on Jul 12, 2019 18:43:43 GMT
Eastwood trumps Bronson here.
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Post by drystyx on Jul 12, 2019 18:43:46 GMT
Pretty much what you said. Both series went downhill after the beginning, but Dirty Harry really went totally rotten after the first two. So I picked Death Wish.
The first films of each would be tough to choose from. Both were powerful. I think, even in this case, I pick Death Wish, due to the lead character. He really doesn't ever want to be a vigilante, and his life is thrown upside down. His character is a bit more interesting than Dirty Harry, who is a very interesting character himself. Death Wish just excelled in that capacity, though.
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Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on Jul 12, 2019 18:46:18 GMT
Gotta go with Dirty Harry.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Jul 12, 2019 18:51:01 GMT
As a series Dirty Harry is better. But Death Wish (part one) is the best single movie of both franchises. Death Wish as a series just drops off SO badly after that. Whereas Dirty Harry maintains the same level of crap throughout.
I'd love to see Eastwood come back and do an Old Man Callahan movie.
Dismayed at the current state of modern criminality a long retired detective Harry Callahan cant take it anymore and brings out his Smith and Wesson for one last tour de force around the dirty streets of Los Angeles. Dirty streets. Dirty Harry. "...Make my golden years..."
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Post by moviemouth on Jul 12, 2019 19:03:16 GMT
Dirty Harry
I will never understand the love that Death Wish gets. It's boring, predictable and repetitive and Charles Bronson has very little screen presence and is a very difficult actor to relate to. His performance is as wooden as any performance I have ever seen and his vigilantism becomes very boring very quickly.
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Post by Prime etc. on Jul 12, 2019 19:16:41 GMT
The Death Wish series is cheaper.
Perhaps it is more cathartic/honest though. Harry Callahan is an old-fashioned and widowed cop who loses his principles over the course of the films.
In the first he is dismayed by the limitations placed on him by the law.
In the second, he has to deal with extremist versions of himself-more dissatisfaction.
In the third he has to accept a woman partner, disgusted by the cowardice of the mayor he saves..
etc.
In Death Wish you have a non-violent civilian who is compelled to do vigilante activities as a way of coming to terms with his tragedy, but he seems more satisfied at the end of the films. In both cases the system-the police or law--is shown to be less able to help society.
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Post by ck100 on Jul 12, 2019 19:18:12 GMT
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Post by Power Ranger on Jul 12, 2019 19:28:26 GMT
Dirty Harry I will never understand the love that Death Wish gets. It's boring, predictable and repetitive and Charles Bronson has very little screen presence and is a very difficult actor to relate to. His performance is as wooden as any performance I have ever seen and his vigilantism becomes very boring very quickly. Death Wish has a nice score by Herbie Hancock. It chronicles a sad tragedy to a cathartic resolution gradually and respectfully. Its a rich meditation on societal decay. The scenes in Texas explore this in detail. Aimes is a charming character, probably the most sympathetic in the film. The film also works as an interesting police procedural. The scenes where Ochoa briefs his team or when he confronts the media or excellent IMO. I could go on. I can see where you’re coming from, some scenes can seem laborious but I’ve come to appreciate every second of Death Wish. Dirty Harry is a fine film, and head to head it’s a tie for me. There’s not much separating them AFAIC. |
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Post by anthonyrocks on Jul 12, 2019 19:30:59 GMT
Dirty Harry
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Post by moviemouth on Jul 12, 2019 19:34:36 GMT
Dirty Harry I will never understand the love that Death Wish gets. It's boring, predictable and repetitive and Charles Bronson has very little screen presence and is a very difficult actor to relate to. His performance is as wooden as any performance I have ever seen and his vigilantism becomes very boring very quickly. Death Wish has a nice score by Herbie Hancock. It chronicles a sad tragedy to a cathartic resolution gradually and respectfully. Its a rich meditation on societal decay. The scenes in Texas explore this in detail. Aimes is a charming character, probably the most sympathetic in the film. The film also works as an interesting police procedural. The scenes where Ochoa briefs his team or when he confronts the media or excellent IMO. I could go on. I can see where you’re coming from, some scenes can seem laborious but I’ve come to appreciate every second of Death Wish. Dirty Harry is a fine film, and head to head it’s a tie for me. There’s not much separating them AFAIC. That is what it is trying to do, but it failed for me completely. Especially in regards to the cathartic effect. I felt nothing while watching the movie and it is done in a very bland way, particularly because Bronson is such a bland actor. It felt more like it was using all of that as an excuse just to show Bronson murder people. I am not saying it is a terrible movie, because it isn't. I like the commentary about the police and society, it just does it in a way that leaves me mostly indifferent. It would probably work much better as a short story.
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Post by Power Ranger on Jul 12, 2019 19:39:16 GMT
Death Wish has a nice score by Herbie Hancock. It chronicles a sad tragedy to a cathartic resolution gradually and respectfully. Its a rich meditation on societal decay. The scenes in Texas explore this in detail. Aimes is a charming character, probably the most sympathetic in the film. The film also works as an interesting police procedural. The scenes where Ochoa briefs his team or when he confronts the media or excellent IMO. I could go on. I can see where you’re coming from, some scenes can seem laborious but I’ve come to appreciate every second of Death Wish. Dirty Harry is a fine film, and head to head it’s a tie for me. There’s not much separating them AFAIC. That is what it is trying to do, but it failed for me completely. Especially in regards to the cathartic effect. I felt nothing while watching the movie and it is done in a very bland way, particularly because Bronson is such a bland actor. It felt more like it was using all of that as an excuse just to show Bronson murder people. LOL maybe. Also I if you can’t buy Bronson then you’ll have a tough time liking the film. We all have actors we can’t connect with. I have dozens of them. |
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Post by jcush on Jul 12, 2019 19:40:26 GMT
Dirty Harry
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Post by moviemouth on Jul 12, 2019 19:41:28 GMT
That is what it is trying to do, but it failed for me completely. Especially in regards to the cathartic effect. I felt nothing while watching the movie and it is done in a very bland way, particularly because Bronson is such a bland actor. It felt more like it was using all of that as an excuse just to show Bronson murder people. LOL maybe. Also I if you can’t buy Bronson then you’ll have a tough time liking the film. We all have actors we can’t connect with. I have dozens of them. I added a little to my reply btw.
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Post by Power Ranger on Jul 12, 2019 19:49:45 GMT
LOL maybe. Also I if you can’t buy Bronson then you’ll have a tough time liking the film. We all have actors we can’t connect with. I have dozens of them. I added a little to my reply btw. I saw that. Well Michael Winner was never well received by critics so you surely aren’t alone. In fact many thought he was a hack. I like his work myself in films like DW and his two westerns, Chato’s Land and Lawman. I like his work but just accept that the majority don’t. |
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Post by nostromo87 on Jul 12, 2019 19:51:24 GMT
Don't think most people even consider this debatable.
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Post by moviemouth on Jul 12, 2019 19:54:00 GMT
I added a little to my reply btw. I saw that. Well Michael Winner was never well received by critics so you surely aren’t alone. In fact many thought he was a hack. I like his work myself in films like DW and his two westerns, Chato’s Land and Lawman. I like his work but just accept that the majority don’t. That is kind of my opinion of him as a director. I hate The Mechanic for example, but not because of the writing.
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Post by Power Ranger on Jul 12, 2019 19:55:23 GMT
Don't think most people even consider this debatable. I don’t think that popular opinion is worth much anyway. I like both series. I don’t know how someone could think there is such a disparity in quality. The DW series embraced a cartoonishness from the first sequel, but DH did so as well. It was rather absurd the adventures that a San Fran cop found himself in. If someone thinks the DH series is just of a higher quality, than fine, but it’s not like it wasn’t much less ridiculous than DW, if that’s the issue. |
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Post by dirtypillows on Jul 12, 2019 19:55:48 GMT
Which series is better? I feel that they are both excellent. I chose Death Wish myself. Dirty Harry’s first two films are excellent, it’s third ok but it’s fourth is really bad IMO. But Death Wish 2,3,4, are all passable. So DW just wins on consistency (sure, DW 5 sucks, but it’s the fifth entry, not the fourth). And then lastly it’s because of Bronson. Eastwood’s appeal in Dirty Harry is sky high, he’s excellent, but the appeal of Charles Bronson is like an innate quality that humankind was born with.It’s a close call, but I choose Death Wish. I would agree with you this. Clint is awesome as Dirty Harry Callahan. The original movie was excellent. The second one, "Magnum Force" was entertaining and mildly special (love David Soul and Robert Urich together! Such cuties!) and "The Enforcer" was fairly drab, despite Tyne Daly's appeal. She was sweet. The first "Death Wish" movie was low down fun. And the rest of them (i saw two and three) were passable crap. But, in the end, like you said, it comes down to Charles Bronson. He is effortlessly appealing, almost lovable. Clint is great, but Charles had something special that is hard to define. You can tell that he want to be left alone, for the most part, but he is an extremely decent human being. He wins out.
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