TheRed Dead Redemptionseries takes heavy inspiration from existing properties, most notably westerns and samurai films. One fan recently noticed a striking similarity betweenRed Dead Redemption 2’s iconic box art and an equally iconic scene featuring Clint Eastwood in the 1971 filmDirty Harry.
AlthoughDirty Harryis a cop film, not a western, it captures a similarly bleak and often brutal tone to theRed Dead Redemptiongames. Harry Callahan, likeArthur Morgan, is a morally ambiguous protagonistwho could be considered an outright villain in today’s more police-critical climate. However, the parallels between them go deeper than that.
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Redditor Frobe4K compared the cover art ofRed Dead Redemption 2to a screenshot inDirty Harry.The cover art shows Arthur Morgan aiming his gun at the viewer while holding his head at almost exactly the same angle as Harry Callahan. Their expressions are also strikingly similar. AlthoughArthur Morgan’s character archetype may have its roots in samuraifilms, the resemblance between him and Harry Callahan here is hard to deny, especially since he goes by the alias Arthur Callahan in the game.
Some fans have questioned whether the cover art was deliberately patterned after the shot fromDirty Harry, noting that a male protagonist pointing a gun at the camera is hardly an uncommon pose. However, the level of detail carried over does imply that the reference was as intentional asRed Dead Redemption 2’s subtle alternate history. Other films that Rockstar drew inspiration for during the making of theRed Dead Redemptionseries includeUnforgiven,The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, andButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
This comparison appears to have been largely accepted by fans, especially asDirty Harryis now considered a classic film, and Clint Eastwood is already deeply connected to the western genre. Several comments immediately began quoting the film, particularly Callhan’s iconic monologue about having forgotten how many shots he’d fired.
Some of those comments twisted it so the one being threatened was Micah. One user jokingly expressed surprise thatDirty Harryhad copiedRed Dead Redemption 2, despiteDirty Harryhaving come out roughly 50 years beforehand.Red Dead Redemptionfans are well known for recreating historical figuresand popular characters, so Harry Callahan may find his way into the series as more than just an inspiration.
Red Dead Redemption 2is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
