Directing
Eastwood himself was initially offered the role of director, but declined. Ted Post, who had previously directed Eastwood in Rawhide and Hang 'Em High, was hired. Buddy Van Horn was the second unit director. Both Eastwood and Van Horn went on to direct the final two entries in the series, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool, respectively.
Filming
Frank Stanley was hired as cinematographer. Filming commenced in late April 1973. As with many of his films, Eastwood was intent on shooting it as smoothly as possible, often refusing to do retakes over certain scenes. Post later remarked: "A lot of the things he said were based on pure, selfish ignorance, and showed that he was the man who controlled the power. By Magnum Force, Clint's ego began applying for statehood". According to second unit director of photography Rexford Metz, "Eastwood would not take the time to perfect a situation. If you've got 70% of a shot worked out, that's sufficient for him, because he knows his audience will accept it."
- Bud Shank – reeds
- Carol Kaye – bass guitar
- Howard Roberts, Dennis Budimir, Tommy Tedesco – guitar
- Max Bennett – double bass
- Emil Richards – percussion
Controversy
The film received negative publicity in 1974 when the scene where the prostitute (Margaret Avery) is killed with drain cleaner was found to have allegedly inspired the Hi-Fi murders, with the two killers believing the method would be as efficient as it was portrayed in the film. The killers said that they were looking for a unique murder method when they stumbled upon the film, and had they not seen the movie, would have chosen a method from another film. The drain cleaner reference was repeated in at least two other films, including Heathers (1988) and Urban Legend (1998). According to John Milius, this drain-cleaner scene was never meant to be filmed, but was only mentioned in his original script.
Reception
Box office
In the film's opening week, it grossed $6,871,011 from 401 theatres. In the United States, the film made a total of $44,680,473, making it more successful than the first film and the sixth highest-grossing film of 1973.
Theatrical rentals were $19.4 million in the United States and Canada and $9.5 million overseas for a worldwide total of $28.9 million.
Critical reception
The New York Times critics such as Nora Sayre criticized the conflicting moral themes of the film, and Frank Rich believed it "was the same old stuff". Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times found the film "too preoccupied in celebrating violence to keep it in focus." Pauline Kael, a harsh critic of Eastwood's for many years, mocked his performance as Dirty Harry, commenting, "He isn't an actor, so one could hardly call him a bad actor. He'd have to do something before we could consider him bad at it. And acting isn't required of him in Magnum Force." Gary Crowdus wrote in Cinéaste, "We are left with the comforting assurance that when we need him, Harry (and all the cops like him who do the 'dirty' jobs no one else wants) will be there protecting us from the lunatic fringes of both Left and Right. Sure, Harry may be a little trigger-happy, but at least he shoots the right people. The problem, however, one which the film raises but never resolves, is who determines the definition of 'right' people?"
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 70% based on 27 reviews, with the critic consensus being: "Magnum Force ups the ante for the Dirty Harry franchise with faster action and thrilling stuntwork."
See also
- List of American films of 1973
- Extreme Justice