Dirty Harry

Artist: Other
Format: Japan B2 (20"x 28")
Condition: Excellent
Year: 1971

Description

Although Clint Eastwood has portrayed a long list of memorable characters in his distinguished career, perhaps the most iconic is that of the snarling, provocative antihero police inspector Harry Callahan in the “Dirty Harry” Film series. The first film “Dirty Harry”, though controversial on release in 1971, was a huge success and highly influential in the cop film genre. Stars like Frank Sinatra, Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen were all offered or considered for the role but turned it down. McQueen refused to make another cop film after Bullitt (1968), whilst others disagreed with the film’s violence and supposed far-right politics. Mitchum simply dismissed the proposed "Dirty Harry" as ‘junk’. Their loss was Eastwood’s gain, however, as his depiction has since gone down in pop-culture history.

The poster promotions for "Dirty HarrY" capitalised on the notoriety and iconic appeal of the title character. The original 1972 Japanese B2 poster prominently features guns, a good shot of San Francisco and an action-packed confrontation with a car alongside an iconic and defiant image of Eastwood. The photographic design loosely copies the US 3-Sheet shown below for comparison (image courtesy of www.emovieposter.com). The Japanese poster though comes in full crisp colour with the red title font strongly hinting at the violent bloodshed within the film.

The slightly ominous imagery of the B2 contrasts heavily with both the UK Quad (shown below courtesy of www.moviepostermem.com) and the general release US 1-Sheet, designed by Bill Gold. Although still foregrounding Eastwood, these highly collectable posters instead present more surreal and slightly psychedelic designs, utilising more obscure colours and layouts. Thanks to its simple and cool visuals though, the Japanese B2 is most definitely a worthwhile contribution to any collection and is certainly a fitting poster for such an unforgettable film and character.