Sudden Impact

"Dirty Harry is at it again."

1983 1h 57m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 1,048

ThrillerCrimeActionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.

“Dirty Harry is at it again.”

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Cast

Clint Eastwood
Insp. Harry Callahan
Sondra Locke
Jennifer Spencer
Pat Hingle
Chief Jannings
Bradford Dillman
Captain Briggs
Paul Drake
Mick
Audrie Neenan
Ray Parkins
Jack Thibeau
Kruger
Michael Currie
Lt. Donnelly

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: Earl E. Smith, Dean Riesner, Charles B. Pierce
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

43 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Dirty Harry Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Joel Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke and Pat Hingle carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Dirty Harry is at it again.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Clint Eastwood directs. Bruce Surtees behind the camera. Lalo Schifrin scores. Joel Cox cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 6.8× over at the box office.
243 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Dirty Harry Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Joel Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke and Pat Hingle carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Dirty Harry is at it again.".
9IMDB entry: tt0086383 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "carnival", "sequel", "gang rape", "car fire".
11Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Bruce Surtees
Original score: Lalo Schifrin
Editing: Joel Cox
Production design: Edward C. Carfagno
Makeup / hair: Barbara Guedel
Sound: Rick Alexander
Stunt coordinator: Buddy Van Horn
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $22,000,000
Box office: $150,000,000
Return: 682% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Sudden Impact (1983)

Part of

Dirty Harry Collection

Dirty Harry is the name of a series of films and novels featuring fictional San Francisco Police Department Homicide Division Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan, portrayed by Clint Eastwood. Eastwood's character also helped popularize the .44 Magnum, as Harry Callahan is famously shown wielding his Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver.

Also by

Clint Eastwood

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2016-03-21
★ 5/10
Quite forgettable. Eastwood is still good as Harry, OK in the direction and the new thing is to have a woman as the main criminal but that's it. 80's music arrive to wipe out one of the few things that were good about these movies. The plot is really bad. Quite an example of early 80's movies.
r96sk2022-01-18
★ 7/10
An improvement on 'The Enforcer', if still short of 'Dirty Harry' and 'Magnum Force'. Clint Eastwood (also dir.) remains the constant high of these films, as the American rattles off a famous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_ahead,_make_my_day">catchphrase</a> in this installment. Sondra Locke is very good behind Eastwood, she's arguably the most standout support cast member from the whole series (thus far) to be honest. A deep storyline coupled with all the usual things you get from this set of films and you have with a suitably entertaining flick. Interested to see how it all wraps up with finale 'The Dead Pool'.
CinemaSerf2025-08-31
★ 6/10
This fourth outing from Clint Eastwood’s “Callaghan” is my least favourite. By now we are more than used to this curmudgeonly inspector, and his disdain for just about every aspect of authority he encounters so we are hardly surprised when his latest ruthless example of law enforcement sees carnage all around, the city looking at hefty bills and him with a price on his head. “Capt. Briggs” (Bradford Dillman) decides to get him out of harm’s way just as, coincidentally, a serial killer is terrorising a small town. Now equipped with an even more power-packing Magnum, he sets about investigating just why these people are being violently murdered. We, watching, know all along who is doing the killing and just why but what we don’t necessarily expect is that when the policeman discovers their identity, too, he begins to have a grudging respect for the killer that might end up compromising his otherwise iron-rod peacekeeping integrity. Meantime, as that investigation gathers pace “Callaghan” has to worry about the mob he had previously brought to book - and who are trying every trick in the book to exact their revenge. Maybe I’m just sanitised to the pithy one-liners and brutality of these stories, now, but this one also has the weakest storyline and the supporting characters leave it lacking much punch. Perfectly watchable, but not a patch on “Dirty Harry” from a decade earlier.