After having sex with him in his room, Callie slips out as three men enter. Though his laconic sense of humor often drags out the pacing of the movie, Eastwood uses his camera with intelligence and flair. Or the ghost of Duncan, hanging in a tortured purgatorial limbo, until he can get a proper burial, a shred of justice, and some overdue payback. High Plains Drifter Clint Eastwood April 4, 2022 The 1970s was an important decade for Clint Eastwood; in a remarkably prolific run reminiscent of the classic Hollywood studio masters, the man starred in 15 films in 10 years, directing 6 of them himself. All rights reserved, including educational use. Some critics thought Eastwood's directing derivative; Arthur Knight in Saturday Review remarked that Eastwood had "absorbed the approaches of Siegel and Leone and fused them with his own paranoid vision of society". That, however, is small comfort as this cold, gory and overthought movie unfolds. It was Eastwood's second film as director, and the first Western he directed. Whats most notable is how Eastwood holds fast to the rebel spirit of the spaghetti Westerns and revisionist New Hollywood Westerns of the previous decade, but packages it in a film thats slicker and more mainstream-friendly. But the three worst the town ever saw, which they were hired to check, are being released from jail. "[10] The graveyard set featured in the film's final scene included tombstones inscribed "Sergio Leone" and "Don Siegel" as a humorous tribute to the two influential directors. Morrisville . She's standing less than 8 feet away from him, but he simply ducks under the water and comes out completely unscathed. The next day, Lago officials offer the Stranger "anything you want" to protect the town from Bridges and the Carlins, who will soon be released from prison. The character of Marshal Duncan was played by Buddy Van Horn, Eastwood's long-time stunt double, to suggest that he and the Stranger could be the same person. High Plains Drifter. on Twitter As they unknowingly beat a dummy in the bed, the Stranger tosses a stick of dynamite into the room, destroying most of the hotel, then shoots two of his attackers dead, as Morgan flees wounded. Some critics thought Eastwood's directing derivative; Arthur Knight in Saturday Review remarked that Eastwood had "absorbed the approaches of Siegel and Leone and fused them with his own paranoid vision of society". But being his second directorial movie, and his first Western, he worked quite safe, just doing what he learnt working as an actor in previous Westerns, especially "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964). "[20], The film was recognized by American Film Institute in 2008 on AFI's 10 Top 10 in the category "Nominated Western Film". And High Plains Drifter is wall to wall with killing (not to mention some pretty un-P.C. "Mortal combat, East and West". And it was during the shows hiatus toward the end of its run that he was offered the lead role in Sergio Leones 1964 spaghetti Western, A Fistful of Dollars. They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. I didn't say 0 TDs for your 1 is good. The young actor had come to Hollywood from the San Francisco Bay area in the early 50s, and thanks to his 6-foot-4-inch stature and good looks was signed to a $100-a-week contract at Universal, where he was quickly put to work in a string of hokey B-movies like Revenge of the Creature and Tarantula. [11], "It's just an allegory," Eastwood said, "a speculation on what happens when they go ahead and kill the sheriff, and somebody comes back and calls the town's conscience to bear. Its difficult to know where we stand because the townspeople deserve punishment for what theyve done but at the same time just how much of the Strangers behaviour is acceptable? Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter: A mean-spirited, relentlessly "[15], Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called it "a nervously humorous, self-conscious near satire on the prototype Clint Eastwood formula of the avenging mysterious stranger. Not the townspeople, not the villains, not even the "anti-hero" at the center. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. University of Massachusetts Press . Additional scenes were filmed at Reno, Nevada's Winnemucca Lake and California's Inyo National Forest. Rarely are humble westerns permitted to drift around on such a highfalutin plane. He favored a less explicit and more supernatural interpretation, and excised the reference. There's always retribution for your deeds. Brutal story-line which is about as close to an explicit allegory as the western has ever come. As a director, Eastwood is not as good as he seems to think he is. 2004 . The Stranger opens up healthy debate on who or what exactly he is. Yes, there are subtle problems throughout the film, but there are also considerable strengths, and they stood a real chance of taking a small-scale narrative and molding it into a rewarding thriller, only to go overpowered by the cold spells which, when combined with those subtle missteps, ultimately secure the final product shy of its potential. I joke about the obvious influence from Sergio Leone, but the genuinely unique aspects of this "supernatural" western go punctuated by the taking of story and storytelling notes from Leone, if not other western filmmakers, which reflect a lack of certainty to Clint Eastwood's storytelling. This particular revisionist western is characterized by trippy, almost abstractionist artistic touches that are admirable as unique, and not even all that overwrought, yet the occasions in which the offbeat meditations are overplayed stand, distancing subjective value with artistic non-conventions to storytelling. It made its Blu-ray debut on October 15, 2013, with a newly remastered transfer, and was reissued on October 27, 2020, by Kino Lorber with commentary tracks and new interviews. Its plot is nothing out of the ordinary but its given a supernatural and sadistic treatment that makes it stand out from the crowd. Maybeand this is where the movie gets really interestingbecause he is Duncan. The narrative concept is minimalist in scale, and the interpretation gets flimsy, but this story of a stranger gracing, then growing to corrupt ad plague and strange land carries intriguing mystery, in addition to thought-provoking themes on temptation and placing faith in unpredictable features that are stronger than the film itself. Under a joint production between Malpaso and Universal, the original screenplay was written by Ernest Tidyman, who had won a Best Screenplay Oscar for The French Connection.[6]. The outlaws arrive and easily overcome the poor resistance of the townspeople; the defenders are all killed, while the survivors are rounded up in the saloon. Is 'High Plains Drifter' based on a book. 1h 45m, Production Co: Finally, the High Plains Drifter script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the Clint Eastwood movie. [4] In addition to Eastwood, the film also co-stars Verna Bloom, Mariana Hill, Mitchell Ryan, Jack Ging, and Stefan Gierasch. He favored a less explicit and more supernatural interpretation, and excised the reference. Sep 7, 2010, Runtime: Coming Soon. The town's solution to their quarrel with the marshal. Yeah, I'm thinking that this guy doesn't so much drift the high plains, as much as he drifts the regular plains, while high, which would be appropriate, considering he is the prince of sin. The Best, Craziest, Weirdest Moments From Cannes, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. It is gradually revealed that the townspeople hired the outlaws to murder Duncan when he discovered that the local gold mine was illegally dug on government-owned land and would have to be closed, destroying the town's livelihood. With Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Mitchell Ryan. Edgar Wright talks about High Plains Drifter (1973) - Reddit Id argue that the movie is just as brutal and cynical as Leones westerns if not more. That fact that we cant identify with the silent mysterious main character like we usually do during westerns puts us more into the shoes of the agitated townsfolk, which was a nice twist. There's always retribution for your deeds. He's nearer now, a bearded man in a dark cowboy hat and long dusty overcoat--the Stranger (. It's never revealed who the drifter is, but it's implied that he's the Devil, or the Angel of Death, or the ghost of Marshal Duncan - either way, it's at least a little supernatural, and very. This uncertainty is kind of understandable, as Eastwood must work hard to transcend natural shortcomings to this minimalist narrative, which is still meaty, yet would have seemed meatier if style didn't also come with its own immediately questionable elements. Wayne wrote back saying this movie is terrible because of the violence and it's revisionist portrayal of westerns. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Still from the opening scene. r/movies - 'High Plains Drifter' Is Clint Eastwood's Mysterious I'm 98% sure the idea for this is drawn from that movie. Book: Green, Philip . (2) The stranger was Marshal Jim Duncan himself come back to exact his revenge (perhaps through a deal with the devil.). High Plains Drifter is a morality tale carved out of the harsh Western desert and directed with a panache that synthesized the styles of Sergio Leone and Don Siegel, two directors who had worked with Eastwood frequently. "[14], Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called it "a nervously humorous, self-conscious near satire on the prototype Clint Eastwood formula of the avenging mysterious stranger. The Stranger lures one of the Carlin brothers outside and whips him to death, then kills the remaining outlaws one at a time. The movie concerns awell, drifter who wonders into a small town from the high plains. This is the film of a magnificent intellect. >> http://bit.ly/24NeaTM 367 42 comments 73 shares Most relevant Wendy Banks Nice 2y Brings back the memory of my Dad bringing home a . High Plains Drifter Script - Dialogue Transcript - Script-O-Rama It didn't thrill me or anything, but it did keep my attention from start-to-finish so it's evidently a good film. The librettist is Temistocle Solera. [12], Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film "part ghost story, part revenge Western, more than a little silly, and often quite entertaining in a way that may make you wonder if you lost your good sense. I was mostly satisfied by the story as the more it went on the more I got interested. Tap "Sign me up" below to receive our weekly newsletter 0-00-638354-8. [10] The Italian, Spanish, French and German dubbings restored it. Dee Barton's score is genuinely refreshing, capturing the supernatural feel of the film through a fusion of classic western themes and a whimsy which ranges from colorful to rather intense, while Bruce Surtees' cinematography, despite being not quite as playful as Barton's still-underused efforts, is also attractive in its bleakness, with a rugged palette over gritty art direction by Henry Bumstead. At least Sergios movies had the humour to counterbalance the depraved killings and the degenerate treatment of women. "Clint Back in Saddle in 'Drifter'". Before he was known as a conservative filmmaker (both stylistically and politically), he made this strange and surreal Western. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. The supporting cast is all of humanity. Edit, Awards Dee Barton wrote the film score. After having sex with him in his room, she slips out as three men enter. He. Marshal, being whipped to death by outlaws Stacey Bridges and brothers Dan and Cole Carlin, as Lago's citizens watch in silence. The residents of Lago at first view the stranger with suspicion, but when news that some outlaws that are out for blood are on their way to town, they ask the stranger for his help. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/HighPlainsDrifter. Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. He could also be some sort of avenging spirit as well. 'High Plains Drifter' Is Clint Eastwood's Mysterious, Overlooked Masterpiece, Scan this QR code to download the app now. After a federal marshal discovered that Lago's mine was on government land (which would have forced the closing of the mine), the town hired three gunfighters to murder him. The Stranger accepts seemingly reluctantly, to be put in charge of order and mounting a defense, recruiting the factotum dwarf as his Deputy. Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is Copyright 2009-2022, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}The Best, Craziest, Weirdest Moments From Cannes, Celebrities Who've Shaved Their Heads for Roles, 'Avatar: The Way of Water' Is Finally Streaming, 'Guardians of the Galaxy 3' Sticks the Landing, Damon Lindelof Was 'Asked to Leave' Star Wars, Christopher Nolan Is Hyping Up 'Oppenheimer', Pedro Pascal, Ethan Hawke Are a Great Cowboy Match, Seeing Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa Will Break Me, 'The Flash' Just Debuted Another Massive Trailer, 13 Great Movies That Were Booed at Cannes. [4] Clint Eastwood: Interviews . English, Director: [11] On Metacritic the film has a score 69% based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [19] Jon Landau of Rolling Stone concurred, noting "thematic shallowness" and "verbal archness"; but he expressed approval of the dramatic scenery and cinematography. "[18], The film had its share of detractors. High Plains Drifter is Western star Clint Eastwood's first attempt at directing one of his own westerns. This cantata, from 1725, begins, effectively, as musical reminiscence and narrative longing, a continuation of where the St. Fra Angelico : Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb (1440-41), Fresco, Convento di San Marco, Florence. The Stranger is then shown painting "HELL" over the Lago town sign. Cigars In The Movies | Cigar Aficionado It exalts and delights in a kind of pitiless Old Testament wrath. As a freshly minted red-hot commodity both at home and abroad, Eastwood quickly parlayed his new-found bankability into a handful of macho and muscular studio pictures like the fish-out-of-water cop thriller Coogans Bluff and the bloated WWII action-adventure Where Eagles Dare. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. The next morning, as the Stranger rides out of town, he passes Mordecai carving a fresh grave marker. [3] The film was influenced by the work of Eastwood's two major collaborators, film directors Sergio Leone and Don Siegel. Anushka Pathania. It's also a pretty violent business that won't disappoint the millions who flocked to the Leone westerns. You see, Lago is a town with a past. [12] On Metacritic the film has a score 69% based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". 2014 . Starring: Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill Watch all you want. Machoism is also a meaty theme of most westerns but that is given a slap to the face also in the film. The Stranger drags Sarah, kicking and screaming, into her bedroom (the only room in the hotel not damaged) where they have sex. I mean, theres horses and saloons and tumbleweeds. "I never did know your name" "Yes you do", as the camera pans to show the previous marshal's gravestone and name. Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study . The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who metes out justice in a corrupt frontier mining town. Over the years, a number of fans have asked where was High Plain Drifter filmed. It was one generations Great Western Star reaching his hand out to the previous generations. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Maybe thats because back in 1973, working as a director for only the second time, Eastwood was still figuring out what kind of director he wanted to be. A mysterious gunfighter without a name (Clint Eastwood) rides across the desert landscape and arrives in the mining town beside the sea "Lago" to stay for the night. Tidyman's screenplay was inspired by the real-life murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens in 1964, which eyewitnesses reportedly stood by and watched. The premise of the movie is basically this; (spoiler) Clint Eastwood plays a Marshall named Jim Duncan. High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - Whipped to Death, High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - Whipping the Outlaw, High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - Blowing Up The Hotel, High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - The Sheriff and the Mayor, High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - Shave and a Shootout, High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - Shooting Up Hell, High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - Killing the Outlaws, High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - Target Practice, High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - The Stranger Rides Away. Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. Meanwhile, a group of outlaws are about to return to the town and take their revenge. With his cigar in his mouth, whether it was his Man with No Name in Leone's films or the Stranger in his own High Plains Drifter, Eastwood was a taciturn loner not looking for trouble. In this, then, is also created the possibility of free will. Now, with those murderers just released from prison, they want Eastwoods Stranger to defend them. The Stranger only agrees to take up the role after the town meets his bizarre demands including painting the town's buildings red and rechristening the town itself as "Hell". Westerns often have mysterious, strong silent protagonists but high plains drifter might have gone as far as to have the stranger be some kind of spectre or ghost, sent to the town to punish them for their sins. 106 (1818), Dante: Paradiso 1 Congruence of the One and the Many, Giuseppe Verdi Luisa Miller (1849) Power and Violence, Beethoven Piano Sonata 27 in e, Op. Book: Hughes, Howard. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who metes out justice in a corrupt frontier mining town. That night, in his hotel room, the Stranger dreams of Jim Duncan, a federal marshal, being whipped to death by outlaws Stacey Bridges and brothers Dan and Cole Carlin, as Lago's citizens watch in silence. High Plains Drifter Explained Impressed by his abilities, the townsfolk hire him to protect the town, but start to second-guess their hire when he begins to take advantage of them. In Rabbinical literature, the angel of death, a creation of God on the first day, exacts slaughter, in the manner ordained by God, to restore the honour of mankind. Ive watched High Plains Drifter probably a half dozen times and every time Im more and more convinced that the Stranger is the ghost of Duncan meting out punishment from the Great Beyond. As an actor, he is probably better than he allows himself to be. Will the town's leaders convince the mysterious man to help? That isn't the American people who settled this country. Speaking about the composition, Hammett said he didn't set out to write a song based on the movie, but upon finishing it, he realized it "conveyed the same sentiment as the film, so the piece was christened accordingly. I suppose that would be cooler if this film was more exciting, because even though it is decent, it does indeed drift, more so than it ought to. Theres one last reason why I adore High Plains Drifter and it really has nothing to do with what happens on screen. This film just feels mean, and the nastiness all comes from the character of the stranger. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "High Plains Drifter". | The stranger was Marshal Jim Duncan himself come back to exact his revenge (perhaps through a deal with the devil.). This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Find a list of the best recent and upcoming film and TV titles added to Music title data, credits, and images provided by, Movie title data, credits, and poster art provided by. He passed through this small town a long time ago. The jail-freed trio realizes too late that he's after vengeance for the whip-torment they inflicted on weakling Marshal Jim Duncan (Buddy Van Horn) years ago, still the stranger's daily nightmare. 2011 . The Stranger assembles a group of citizens to defend the town and has them practice shooting, but soon realizes that none have the necessary skills. After being shot at by the town's three hired gunmen, the stranger shoots all three and then asks for a room for the night. He looks like the tight-lipped, cigar-chewing sharpshooter of Hang 'Em High or Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy, and on paper High Plains Drifter certainly reads like your typical Clint Eastwood western. Not for nothing did it earn a controversial X rating in the U.K. when it opened there.

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