When a woman exacts deadly revenge on the aggressors who raped her and her sister ten years earlier, Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to the case.When a woman exacts deadly revenge on the aggressors who raped her and her sister ten years earlier, Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to the case.When a woman exacts deadly revenge on the aggressors who raped her and her sister ten years earlier, Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to the case.
- Awards
- 3 nominations
Audrie Neenan
- Ray Parkins
- (as Audrie J. Neenan)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCharles B. Pierce wrote the line "Go ahead, make my day." The line was inspired by a warning that his father would say to Pierce when he was a child. According to Pierce, his father warned him "When I come home tonight and the yard has not been mowed, you're gonna make my day."
- GoofsAs Horace exits the car while visiting Harry, who is about to begin target shooting in the woods, one of the Panavision cameras is clearly visible, reflected in the car window, as well as Eastwood's son, who was visiting the set.
- Quotes
[Callahan dares a crook to shoot his hostage]
Harry Callahan: Go ahead, make my day.
- Alternate versionsJust like with the previous movies, the 5.1 DVD/Blu-ray remix replaces a bunch of sound effects (mostly gunshots) with more modern ones. However, in addition to that right before the carnival shootout at the end, originally when Harry was approaching the villains, the music had a very loud screeching sound, but the remix completely removes it. (but remains intact on the soundtrack and foreign mono tracks)
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Christine/Silkwood/Sudden Impact/Thriller (1983)
- SoundtracksTHIS SIDE OF FOREVER
Performed by Roberta Flack
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Lyrics by DeWayne Blackwell (as Dewayne Blackwell)
Featured review
Fourth Dirty Harry entry changes the formula to a darker, character-driven style.... interesting but not wholly successful.
Sudden Impact is the most unusual of the five Dirty Harry movies, but that doesn't make it the best. However, after the rather flat and comic-book heroics of the third film, The Enforcer, it's good to see some changes to the formula. Sudden Impact is quite a dark, moody piece of cinema with big emphasis on character. Yes, there's action, but the action in this one is only one piece of the jigsaw whereas in some of the other Dirty Harry outings the action was everything.
Harry Callahan (Eastwood) is in hot water with his superiors for carrying out an illegal search on a suspicious car. The young thugs he arrested are released because of the lack of evidence, and they set out to take revenge on Harry. However, Harry is a tough nut to crack - and pretty soon he is striking back in his own destructive style. Harry's boss decides to get Harry out of town for a while to avoid further bloodshed, so he assigns him to a quiet murder investigation in an isolated coastal town. Harry pieces together the mystery and discovers that the killer is a female artist (Locke) who is bumping off a bunch of drop-outs who gang-raped her and her sister years previously. Should he arrest her for the killings, or should he turn a blind eye and let her do away with these repellent scum-bags?
The film is probably the second best in the series (the original is always going to be considered the best). Peculiarly, it is the only Dirty Harry movie upon which Eastwood also doubled up as director. It isn't a whole success, with some needless scenes (what's the point of the sequence detailing the hold-up of a coffee shop?) and a couple of overly hammy performances by the main villains (especially the trailer trash redhead). On the whole, though, this is a very interesting and unusual addition to the series which gets by on the strength of being totally different to all the other four episodes.
Harry Callahan (Eastwood) is in hot water with his superiors for carrying out an illegal search on a suspicious car. The young thugs he arrested are released because of the lack of evidence, and they set out to take revenge on Harry. However, Harry is a tough nut to crack - and pretty soon he is striking back in his own destructive style. Harry's boss decides to get Harry out of town for a while to avoid further bloodshed, so he assigns him to a quiet murder investigation in an isolated coastal town. Harry pieces together the mystery and discovers that the killer is a female artist (Locke) who is bumping off a bunch of drop-outs who gang-raped her and her sister years previously. Should he arrest her for the killings, or should he turn a blind eye and let her do away with these repellent scum-bags?
The film is probably the second best in the series (the original is always going to be considered the best). Peculiarly, it is the only Dirty Harry movie upon which Eastwood also doubled up as director. It isn't a whole success, with some needless scenes (what's the point of the sequence detailing the hold-up of a coffee shop?) and a couple of overly hammy performances by the main villains (especially the trailer trash redhead). On the whole, though, this is a very interesting and unusual addition to the series which gets by on the strength of being totally different to all the other four episodes.
Helpful•328
- barnabyrudge
- Dec 10, 2003
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $22,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $67,642,693
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $9,688,561
- Dec 11, 1983
- Gross worldwide
- $67,642,693
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