"Clint Back in Saddle in 'Drifter'". . High Plains Drifter was released in theaters on this day in 1973. 978-0823230143 . Geoffrey Lewis, Juliette Lewis' Father, Dies at Age 79 The film was critically acclaimed at the time of its initial release and remains popular. Even when the film is traditional in structure, it's often distancing, for Eastwood's quiet directorial intensity is often more quiet than intense, and therefore more dry than Eastwood can handle as a sophomore directorial storytelling, resulting in dullness that is the biggest issue of the final product. In an interview, Eastwood said that earlier versions of the script made the Stranger the dead marshal's brother. "Mortal combat, East and West". 1-57806-070-2 . 2013 . Stay up-to-date on all the latest Rotten Tomatoes news! [22], American musician Kirk Hammett included a song named High Plains Drifter, which takes its title from the film, on his 2022 extended play, Portals. The best thing about western is that they have good story, and this one is no different. The Stranger replies, "Yes, you do." Edit, A stranger (Clint Eastwood) rides his horse out of the hot undulating waves of the desert and into the mining town of Lago and asks for a beer, a bath, a shave, and a haircut. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who metes out justice in a corrupt frontier mining town. 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. Starring: Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill 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". The librettist is Temistocle Solera. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Now, with those murderers just released from prison, they want Eastwoods Stranger to defend them. Watch the Clint Eastwood movie "High Plains Drifter". It was one generations Great Western Star reaching his hand out to the previous generations. Terms and Policies "[15], Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a stylized, allegorical western of much chillingly paranoid atmosphere and considerable sardonic humor that confirms Eastwood's directorial flair. Flashbacks to Marshal Duncan's murder showed Cole wearing the biggest grin; he's definitely not smiling when he gets on the wrong end of the bullwhip, but. Not for nothing did it earn a controversial X rating in the U.K. when it opened there. 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? While setting the ambush for the three outlaws, he tells a group of Mexicans to prepare some long tables for a "picnic". Meanwhile, the best you can say for High Plains Drifter is that the title is a low pun. New York, NY . The film was well received by many critics, and rates 93% positive on Rotten Tomatoes based on 27 reviews. Obviously he's not okay with rape and he's sure as hell not trying to glorify it - but the execution seems miscalculated, to say the least. 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. But more than anything, its a ghost story (if you choose to see it that wayand I do) in frontier drag. Anti-heroes are still common, but with stronger roles for women and more-sympathetic portrayal of Native Americans and Mexicans. High Plains Drifter is a 1973 American Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ernest Tidyman, and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. A mysterious drifter referred to only as "The Stranger" rides into the dismal mining town of Lago, which has a crisis on its hands: three ruthless gunmen are making their way to the town so they can settle scores over an old wrong done to them by the townspeople. It's the story of a mysterious, crack-shot out-of-towner paid handsomely to protect an idyllic California . 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. An American Journey: Issues and Themes . 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. 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. High Plains Drifter. Who Was Marshal Jim Duncan? - AR15.COM The camera then reveals the name on the grave marker to read "Marshall Jim Duncan, Rest In Peace." Theme by, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), J.S. New York . Knee is a concern, and might not be only one, de High Plains Drifter is Western star Clint Eastwoods first attempt at directing one of his own westerns. 2009 . He found out the mine was on government land and was going to report it, which would result in it being closed. Clint Eastwood's America . Thomas, Kevin (April 6, 1973). Eastwood's direction is overambitious and undercooked at the same time, but when middleground is found, it's hard to deny the potential which has since gone on to be fulfilled more tightly by the talented filmmaker, who sells a fair bit offscreen here, though not as much as he does onscreen. Did he want to be a stripped-down bareknuckle filmmaker like Siegel, or a baroque allegorist like Leone? 20th highest-grossing film released in 1973, "The Representation of Justice in Eastwood's, "Kino: Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter Detailed for Blu-ray", "Metallica's Kirk Hammett Soundtracks a Six-String Shootout on New Song 'High Plains Drifter', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=High_Plains_Drifter&oldid=1151485503, This page was last edited on 24 April 2023, at 10:54. Regal In an interview, Eastwood said that earlier versions of the script made the Stranger the dead marshal's brother. Tap "Sign me up" below to receive our weekly newsletter the marshal was killed because he was going to close down the mine, the Stranger is the ghost of the dead marshal, given that he relives the marshal's death, which he wasn't there for otherwise. 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]. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. As we slowly learn in an onion-peel haze of almost-psychedelic flashbacks and dream sequences, the townsfolk silently watched as three of its scuzziest citizens brutally whipped Lagos marshal, Jim Duncan, to death. The, [First published two years ago, 14 April 2021.] Get a list of the best movie and TV titles recently added (and coming What to Watch Right Now on Amazon's Prime Video. After having sex with him in his room, Callie slips out as three men enter. Before he was known as a conservative filmmaker (both stylistically and politically), he made this strange and surreal Western. Elements include a darker, more cynical tone, with focus on the lawlessness of the time period, favouring realism over romanticism. [8] The film was completed in six weeks, two days ahead of schedule, and under budget. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. "[14] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and wrote, "What does work very well indeed is Eastwood's presence, personal style, and direction. Cinemark The next morning, Sarah tells the Stranger that Duncan cannot rest in peace because the town buried him in an unmarked grave. 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. 1999 . [6] An uncredited rewrite of the script was provided by Dean Riesner, screenwriter of other Eastwood projects. The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. He accepts only after he is given free rein to do as he pleases around the town, an offer which he does not waste at all, forcibly taking any woman he wants and throwing families out of their hotel rooms so he can have the entire building to himself. Watch High Plains Drifter | Netflix Book: Gentry, Ric . High Plains Drifter Script - Dialogue Transcript - Script-O-Rama Then, upon the Stranger's final departure from Lago, the midget Mordecai is seen tending to an unmarked grave which now bears the name Jim Duncan. That, however, is small comfort as this cold, gory and overthought movie unfolds. And High Plains Drifter is wall to wall with killing (not to mention some pretty un-P.C. | Brutal story-line which is about as close to an explicit allegory as the western has ever come. The Stranger accepts the job and takes full advantage of the deal: he appoints a downtrodden dwarf named Mordecai as both sheriff and mayor, provides a Native American and his children with blankets and candy when the shopkeeper refuses to serve them, gets a new saddle and boots, and forces the saloon to serve everyone free drinks. Powerful and timeless. Given that he was mentored by the likes of Don Siegel and my personal favourite director Sergio Leone it's no wonder that Eastwood went on to make hits like The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven. High Plains Drifter (1973) - Trailer HD 1080p - YouTube This content is imported from youTube. 1558491201 . Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story: Season 1, Link to Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Link to RT25: Celebrating 25 Years of Rotten Tomatoes, Link to Prime Video Acquires J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves. [9], 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. [19] Jon Landau of Rolling Stone concurred, noting "thematic shallowness" and "verbal archness"; but he expressed approval of the dramatic scenery and cinematography. One of the three gunmen shares his fate later in the film. I don't suppose the film, running only a little over 100 minutes, is too draggy, but there are a few overdrawn set pieces, some of which are a little forceful in a manner which makes the implied twists sort of obvious sooner that they ostensibly should be, or at least leaves the plot to outstay its welcome enough to hit formulaic moments. Privacy Policy 0786484217 . Schnabel, a consummate, For many years my wife and Iwould hike the mountainsthe Rockies when we lived in Alberta, and the North Shore and, Copyright 2002-2023 Hendrik Slegtenhorst. Upon arriving, the Stranger has a lucid and graphic dream about Jim Duncan's death, in which Duncan declares damnation upon the townspeople for not saving his life. 978-1300981176 . Supported by Eastwood casting his own stunt double as the dead marshal. Callie and several men, including Morgan Allen, decide to kill the Stranger. Sep 7, 2010, Runtime: Book: Hughes, Howard. The Drifter's rape of Callie seems to be motivated by the fact she was rude to him. Amid shoot-outs and existentialism, a stranger is hired to protect a town from outlaws -- but his recipe for defense could be a deal with the devil. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "High Plains Drifter". With Eastwood, the cigar seemed to work as a brake on a temper that was quick to favor violence. The film was directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Ernest Tidyman and stars Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom and Mariana Hill. It turned out that Eastwood was a natural born director, albeit a different breed of one. The leading role is Christs. For a video version of my thoughts, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4hLVDc9yrs. After a shoot-out leaves the town's hired-gun protectors dead, the town's leaders petition the Stranger to stay and protect them from three ruthless outlaws who are soon to be released from prison. It was a hit. Cracks in the Pedestal Ideology and Gender in Hollywood . Slaughter may be by burning, beheading, or throttling. But the three worst the town ever saw, which they were hired to check, are being released from jail. [4] original, Release Date (Streaming): [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. He later orders the hotel owners, Lewis and Sarah Belding, and all the other guests to vacate the premises, leaving him its sole occupant. [19], Nigel Andrews of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that "after Play Misty For Me, High Plains Drifter emerges as a disappointingly sterile exercise in style, suggesting that the first thing Eastwood should do as a director is forget the lessons he has learned from other film-makers and start to forge a convincing style of his own. High Plains Drifter is a 1973 Western directed by (and starring) Clint Eastwood, with a screenplay by Ernest Tidyman ( The French Connection, Shaft ). 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.