When discussing a new era of film, especially that of the raunchy 1970’s, it makes complete sense to remember the 1971 action film Dirty Harry, directed by Don Siegal. This is one of Clint Eastwood’s most coveted roles, and it is a film where we see more mature content coming from films thanks to the end of the Motion Picture Production Code. This film is rated R, and there are many reasons for that. Detective Harry Callahan is a police officer for the city of San Francisco, California. He is described as, “That’s one thing about our Harry. He doesn’t play any favorites. Harry hates everybody: limeys, micks, hebes, fat dagos, niggers, honkies, chicks, you name it.” The film opens with a man shooting an innocent woman in a swimming pool with a rifle. This brings Callahan to the scene of the incident. The Scorpio Killer, played by Andy Robinson, is demanding ransom or he will not stop killing. Callahan is forced to acquire a new partner, after his previous ones had died or ended up in the hospital. Callahan meets Chico Gonzalez. Though he remains stubborn, they begin to develop a friendship as the story progresses. Gonzalez becomes a major help when needed. After this event, Callahan stumbles upon a bank robbery, where he proceeds to single-handedly kill two of the robbers and wound the third. Callahan’s famous line is uttered, “I know what you’re thinking: 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?” The robber gives up the gun but then wants to know. Callahan shoots his gun at the robber to reveal there was nothing in the gun. He laughs and walks away. Meanwhile, The Scorpio Killer searches for new targets through his binoculars. There is an interracial gay innuendo between two men that the killer spies. Detective Callahan had been on a rooftop using binoculars to look out but gets distracted and peeks in on a couple having sex. You see a girl’s breasts. His character redeems himself, sort of, by stopping a suicide attempt, but instead of giving him reasons to live, he tells him not to bring him down with him. Callahan asks for name and address, because once he jumps his body will be so smashed it will be unidentifiable, even with ID. This causes the guy to jump onto Harry, who punches him, knocking him out and saving his life. There is a significant amount of dark, mature content throughout the film. A boy was shot in the face and killed, though off camera. He was only ten years old. Even though this film received an R rating, they decided not to show the grotesque remains of the boy. However, a 14-year-old girl is missing after going to the movies one night. It is the Scorpio Killer asking for ransom in exchange for the girl or else she will be buried alive. Her tooth was pulled out with a pair of plyers to prove her identity. Detective Callahan is assigned to take the bag of money to the killer and follow his directions exactly as given. The killer calls Callahan at a payphone who orders him to run across several areas of the city and answer the phone by the fourth ring, or else the girl will die. The killer giggles with excitement. At the end of this chase, there is a shootout between Callahan, his partner Chico, and Scorpio. Scorpio takes a knife to the leg and escapes without the money, making his way into a hospital. The police discover where this killer has been living: in a room at Kezar Stadium. They search the place unwarranted and find him. Callahan tortures the man by stepping onto his wounded leg to find out where this girl is. Later, young girl is found dead. You see a shot of her completely nude and pale. Unfortunately, Callahan went into the building without a search warrant and tortured a man that had rights, so the killer will walk away a free man. Apparently, his rifle does not count as evidence. This does not stop Callahan as he follows him everywhere, even to an amateur topless contest at a bar. To keep Callahan off his tracks, the killer pays $200 to get severely beaten, to blame it on Callahan. Upon taking the beating, the killer say’s he wants, ‘Every penny’s worth, you black son of a bitch.’ The killer proceeds to rob a liquor store to acquire more money. He then hijacks a bus full of children and demands ransom. He tells the bus driver, “You drive, or I’ll decorate this bus with your brains.” Eventually, the killer sees Callahan standing at an overpass. He jumps onto the bus as the killer shoots several bullets through the top. With Callahan’s last remaining bullet at the end of this standoff, he shoots and kills the Scorpio Killer, and he lives to make four more movies. Overall, Dirty Harry does a lot to garnish its R rating. There is cursing, fighting, blood, rape, guns, nudity, and technically police brutality. There is a strong element of violence throughout. This film is given significant freedom, from the characterization of Harry Callahan to the actions of the Scorpio Killer. This guy casually shoots the ceiling of a bus that is full of children! He rapes a 14-year-old girl and kills her. He shoots a 10 year old boy in the face. This film contains very mature content, but it is still a classic edition to 70’s cinema that must not be forgotten. |
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John Avildsen’s 1983 The Karate Kid is a martial arts film about an underdog, almost comparable to Rocky. Starring Ralph Macchio as Daniel Larusso, Daniel has just moved with his mother to California where he is quickly harassed by teenagers who practice in a karate dojo. Daniel meets Mister Miyagi (Pat Morita), the maintenance man of their apartment who later teaches him karate. In order to cease the bullying and maintain his pride, Daniel enters the Under-18 All-Valley Karate Tournament, where he has his chance to prove his worth. The film garnered critical acclaim and has spawned further installments, a TV series, and the 2010 remake, also titled The Karate Kid. There are some differences in this remake that may just prove that the new Karate Kid deserves just as much praise as the original. Location-wise,In the original film, Johnny and his mother move from Newark, New Jersey to Los Angeles, California, to the chagrin of Johnny. In the remake, it is Dre Parker (played by Jaden Smith) and his mother who move from Detroit, Michigan all the way to Beijing, China! Though it may be tough for a kid to move to a new place, it can be quite the culture shock to move to another country, one where he is the only African American in his entire school. Both films contain your typical love interest. The situations, however, are a tad different. In the original Karate Kid, Daniel is going after Elizabeth Shoe, a cheerleader at the high school. Unfortunately, she happens to be Johnny’s ex-girlfriend. In the remake, Dre is interested in Meiying, a young violinist. Of course, Dre’s bully Cheng is also interested in Meiying. Once these bullies go after the kid, they are rescued by their soon-to-be teacher, Mr. Miyagi and Mr. Han. A notable change from the original film is that instead of the teachings of Mr. Miyagi returning, the name is changed to Mr. Han. Rather than for a cultural change, I believe the reason for the change in name was out of respect for the performance of Pat Morita. However, in Karate Kid (2010), the characters are actually using kung fu, not karate. In the original Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi is tormented by the memory of losing his wife and newborn child from childbirth. This is a pivotal point where him and Daniel bond. Mr. Miyagi thinks of Daniel like a son. In the remake, Mr. Han is working on his car, sullen, so Dre tries to raise his spirits. Mr. Han is despairing from how his wife and ten year old son had died in a car accident, due to his driving. They had been having an argument. Now Mr. Han repairs the car every year and smashes it to remind himself of the incident. The two bond through training. There are silhouette shots of them, almost like they are dancing but in perfect balance. Bullying is a major theme in both films. The Cobra Kai, taught by John Kreese, bully Daniel vehemently in the first film. Daniel’s biggest nemesis in this group is Johnny. It is quickly learned that these kids are trained by a very obnoxious and foul teacher who is willing to do anything to win. Luckily in the end, Daniel and Dre prove that bullying does not prosper. In comparison, Dre most likely faces more difficulties, considering he is in a new country where he struggles to find a niche to fit in with and he is much younger. One infamous line from The Karate Kid (1984) is ‘Wax on, wax off.’ In the remake, the line is changed to, ‘Coat on, coat off.’ The reasoning for these lines contain different backgrounds. Mr. Miyagi has Daniel wax a car using this technique. Daniel gets frustrated after spending several of his first days training doing what seems like menial labor. Mr. Miyagi attacks Daniel, but he protects himself with muscle memory from doing these chores. Lessons have been learned and Mr. Miyagi eventually goes on to gift this car to Daniel. Mr. Han has Dre mimic putting his coat on the rack, because he witnessed his mother reprimanding him to do it so often. Mr. Han more or less teaches Dre a valuable life lesson: to listen to his mother. Unfortunately Dre does not end up getting a car, but that is more due to his young age than anything else. Mr. Han does help Dre with his relationship issues with Meiying. Her father had broken them up because he thought of him as bad influence (simply because he made her late to one violin lesson). Mr. Han teaches Dre how to write an apology letter in Chinese. Meiying’s father accepts this apology and allows her to attend the tournament to support Dre in his endeavors. Culturally, there are several changes between the films. The 1984 version is set in California, where Daniel is a typical Caucasian boy. He does not really leave his elements. In the remake, set in China, almost all characters are Asian and Dre is the lone African American. This is an interesting choice, considering Kung Fu is a more Japanese oriented fighting style. This might have something to do with the fact that Jackie Chan is essentially a Kung Fu master. The remake is at the very least, a great melting pot. The Karate Kid (2010) follows very closely to the original, and in my opinion, I like to think the remake does the original film justice. In terms of the scoring, some may cringe at the Justin Bieber song featuring Jaden Smith rapping, but if you can get past that (or perhaps enjoy it), you will find yourself a nice modern version of The Karate Kid… well, The Kung Fu Kid in a sense. The changes made to the film are not too drastic, more or less slightly altered. The themes are there, the characters learn the same lessons, and we are left with another happy ending. |
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