Why Does Bruce Willis Make Movies He Hates? Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Film Editing: Ferris Webster
[13], 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. Before he could despair over his flailing, fledgling career, he would be saved by the Westerna genre that immediately fit him like a bespoke duster. A familiar character actress, Mariana Hill is the daughter of a building contractor. Either way, you cannot escape the fact that all westerns are about America in symbolic terms, and in High Plains Drifter the only America we see is Lago itself, rotten and secretive and visited by divine winds of reprisal. "Eastwood Again". Which brings us to 1973s High Plains Drifter, a movie thats so frequently overlooked and uncharacteristically strange and surreal that it sticks out like a sore, red-painted thumb in the long sweep of Eastwoods filmography. Over the years, a number of fans have asked where was High Plain Drifter filmed. "[18], The film had its share of detractors. Over the course of the movie, Eastwoods Stranger acts as if hes Lagos savior, but hes not interested in protecting them, he wants them to pay for Duncans murder. Lago is positioned along and often above a large body of water that reflects the sky, subtly proffering the illusion that the town itself is in the clouds, a notion of heavenly paradise that the drifter destroys when he assumes control and orders the townspeople to paint every building a deep, dark red. The Stranger's instructions that all buildings should be painted red and the town's name of Lago be replaced by a sign labelled 'HELL' echoes Duncan's dying words that the residents would suffer in Hell for failing to prevent his death. With an excellent new audio commentary and a solid boost in A/V quality, Kinos 4K release of High Plains Drifter offers the ultimate experience of Clint Eastwoods mean, bleak trip to hell. We may earn a commission from these links. Check out this picture of Eastwood while filming: Clint Eastwood while filming 'High Plains Drifter' (1973). He rents a hotel room and the owners of the hotel stare at him as if he has leprosy. The story involves that old chestnut in which a mysterious man (Eastwood) rides into some town and helps its people prepare to do battle with bandits. The cruelty is a compensation for the guilt. Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. The construction process took about eighteen days and required 150,000 feet of timber. Stranger attempts to rape another woman, forcefully dragging her. 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. The whole movie has a mysterious atmosphere accompanied by an eerie score. That night, in his hotel room, the Stranger dreams of Jim Duncan, a U.S. 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. Yojimbo punctured its Darwinian nihilism with joyous black comedy, while High Plains Drifter is funny in a more dread-inducing key, offering a lingering visit in purgatory while revealing notions of society to be a sham. They are all cowards and just as they couldn't save the Marshall, they can't save themselves. This red town cuts to the truth of the lonely brutality of western settlement in general, and couldve sprung out one of Roger Cormans most surreal productions, particularly The Masque of the Red Death. Art Direction: Henry Bumstead
In a desperate hail mary, the town leaders try to convince The Stranger to help them in defeating the brigands. We respond to his iconic authority, envisioning perhaps that we would be him in such a scenario, even if most of us would be among the lambs. Yet the bitterness lurking between the cracks of Shane and High Noon has been profoundly amplified here, as the townspeople are venal, greedy cowards whore regarded by the drifter with a contempt that verges on the biblical. Zito, Tom (May 29, 1973). Blood is shown all over his face and body. Kino Lorber has reissued the 1973 western classic HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER on blu-ray labelled special edition this reissue is 10 times better quality than the 2011 universal blu-ray Kino has given the film a new 4k scan 2:35:1 HD transfer and the picture quality looks amazing In an interview, Eastwood said that earlier versions of the script made the Stranger the dead marshal's brother. But looking back now, Id say that Eastwood comes out of that exchange looking like the victor. About the only variation that eastwood makes from shane in that film is the inference that the pale rider is a ghost. As he leaves, he paints over the town sign with a single word: "Hell". The lot was officially inaugurated over a century ago in 1915 and today covers well over 400 acres of space with more than thirty soundstages and 165 structures. Maybe you think you're fast enough to keep up with us, huh? In an era when New Hollywood movie-brat auteurs grasped for Art, Eastwood seemed to unconsciously position himself as their antithesis. Here is a list of locations where High Plains Drifter is shot at, read on . Eastwood plays a nameless gunslinger who simply rides into Lago, a small, spare mining town built on the edge of a huge mountain lake. This movie fits in well with Hang em high and Unforgiven. I know these towns; Alturas, CedarvilleFundamentalist enclaves, ranches and reservationsWitness protection towns far away from everywhereHideaways in the high-deserts, podunks amid the prairie palisades. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges. Full plot and story was somewhat ridiculous compared to other films. Universal wanted Eastwood to shoot the feature on its back lot, but Eastwood opted instead to film on location. 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. Beer. Eastwood reportedly liked the offbeat quality of the film's original nine-page proposal and approached Universal with the idea of directing it. Clint Eastwood rapes a bitchy woman, she seemed to enjoy it at the end. Why? When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure an 'X' rating. And maybe it stung the young director at the time. All have remained silent since. It's also a pretty violent business that won't disappoint the millions who flocked to the Leone westerns. frankly im astounded i ever thought of his characters as something to look up too. 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]. They are seen in bed together, bare shoulders and back revealed. As stridently revisionist as any Western of the Vietnam era, High Plains Drifter is really only a Western on paper. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who metes out justice in a corrupt frontier mining town. Eastwood could finally say goodbye to the small screen once and for all. It may also be the closest that he ever came to making an experimental, out-there movie. The film was well received by many critics, and rates 94% positive on Rotten Tomatoes based on 32 reviews. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. By using this site, you agree to our updated, Stranger (star and director Clint Eastwood) arriving in Lago, meets thugs at the bar then visits the barber (William O'Connell), violence coming soon, early in, Barber (William O'Connell), shaving sheriff (Walter Barnes) when "Stranger" (star and director Clint Eastwood) points out he's owed a bath, visiting with Mordecai (Billy Curtis) when Callie (Marianna Hill) drops by, in, A man with no name (Clint Eastwood) sets out to protect a town from banditsby any means necessary in. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. He does the same thing to the inn keeper lady later in the movie, it just doesn't show the actual assault. Early in the story, Eastwood commits forcible rape. (music) Cinematography by Bruce Surtees . High Plains Drifter (1973) Mark Franklin August 17, 2015 1970s. In scene after scene, the drifter degrades and exploits a town with a history of ceding power to maniacs, and Eastwood, at the height of his on-screen magnetism, uncomfortably makes room for us to enjoy these humiliations. In general, this is an enjoyable commentary, which allows room for many cross-references to Eastwoods blossoming stock company. [citation needed], Universal released the R-rated High Plains Drifter in the United States in April 1973, and the film eventually grossed $15.7 million domestically,[3] ultimately making it the sixth-highest grossing Western in North America in the decade of the 1970s and the 20th highest-grossing film released in 1973. Eastwood's character even renames the town 'Hell' in red paint on the sign at the town limits, further suggesting an Old Testament reading or even an existentialist view, in which Hell, as per Sartre's No Exit, is no more than our own sins and our own communities. One of the headstones in the graveyard bears the name Sergio Leone as a tribute. It was one generations Great Western Star reaching his hand out to the previous generations. Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2022, One of the better shot em up gunfighter/ revenge Saga's , the midget is fantastic, Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2023. (You must log in or sign up to reply here. "[21], The film was recognized by American Film Institute in 2008 on AFI's 10 Top 10 in the category "Nominated Western Film". It has served as the filming site for a whole host of high profile films and TV shows including Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, House, Inception, Seinfeld, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. A gun-fighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.A gun-fighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.A gun-fighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way. I see, so he was whipped by the men of the town years earlier. But, it was a topic that, while taboo, could still be part of a plot in a movie, without the masses crying out in objection. The 60s and 70s were the start of social change that culminates in what we have today. The people in the town are strange. [4] The film was influenced by the work of Eastwood's two major collaborators, film directors Sergio Leone and Don Siegel. Review: Gordon Parkss Blaxploitation Classic. Interestingly, we hardly blink at this laconic gunhand dispatching a few antagonistic frontier men with pistol blasts to the forehead and chest, but the rape which like everything else in the film is involved with a protracted plan for retribution sticks in our contemporary craw, even if the hateful woman in question does eventually return with her own gun, seeking vengeance. Dee Barton wrote the film score. Just a peaceful hour to drink it in. C-105m. A man is whipped to death by 3 men. 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. 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. Besides California, a few scenes in High Plains Drifter were also filmed in Reno and the Winnemucca Lake in Nevada. A strange rider trots slowly into the town. Some of these items ship sooner than the others. He keeps things lean and simple. Casting himself as the nameless Stranger, a riff on his role in Sergio Leon's Man with No Name Trilogy, Eastwood establishes his character's badass bona fides right from the get-go. (Though Eastwood killing off his own character in his film's first minutes would have been an even more radical spoofing of his own career.) And a bottle. Your email address will not be published. Closed captioning. Blood is shown all over his face and body. . An extremely violent and vicious rape towards the beginning of the film. Flea-bitten range bums don't usually stop in Lago. [23] It made its Blu-ray debut on October 15, 2013, with a newly remastered transfer,[24] and was reissued on October 27, 2020, by Kino Lorber with commentary tracks and new interviews. Its hard to think of a single person who has had as monumental of an impact on an entire genre of films as acting and filmmaking legend Clint Eastwood has had on the classic American Western. Not until the end do we find out why the people are so hateful and why the man himself is so hateful. Returning to Lago, the Stranger inspects the preparations the entire town painted red, armed men on rooftops, picnic tables laden with food and drink, and a big "WELCOME HOME BOYS" banner then he silently departs again. Read more Verified Purchase Don't watch this! The movie is commenting on female repression in multiple ways, one of them in a quite lighthearted manner (poking fun at her insatiable libido and shameless sluttiness). High Plains Drifter -- (Movie Clip) What Took Her So Long? Because its a far more interesting movie the further you get away from its Western-ness and the more it steps into the realm of spectral, mystical Tales from the Crypt pulp. [5], The 'ghost story' interpretation of the film favoured by Eastwood is hinted at strongly throughout the movie, suggesting that the Stranger may be the ghost of slain Federal Marshall Jim Duncan, returning for vengeance and justice; the beginning and end of the film sees the Stranger mysteriously emerge, apparition-like, as he rides into and out of Lago through a shimmering heat-haze. Outlaws ride in to a town and shoot and kill several people in cold-blood. Additional scenes were also filmed in other locations in Nevada and California. Occasional use of the word "shit" and "bastard". As the Stranger rides off into the desert, a perplexed Mordecai stands beside the tombstone he just finished engraving: "Marshal Jim Duncan, Rest in Peace". A Clint Eastwood western is certainly NOT a John Wayne western. But the plot is not really that important. And two decades before Eastwood would win Best . For the first and last time in his career, High Plains Drifter would prove that he might just want to be both. Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt, Marianna Hill, Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom. Despite its age the pacing moves at a good clip and production values are high enough that although dated, they do not distract. The film was released in 1973 and was widely acclaimed by critics, as it presents an interesting turn on a traditional Western story. It begins wih one of the best rides into town ever filmed. Meanwhile, a group of outlaws. 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. Yet Eastwoods politics have rarely gone unchallenged in his films. The last great surge of westerns, known evocatively as "the anti-western" and exemplified by the films of Sam Peckinpah and Monte Hellman, came during the 'Nam era, when convenient myths about American good and evil were universally called into question. When he reaches for his beer while saying the line "Faster than you'll ever live to be" to the one gunfighter, the bottle of whiskey "jumps" to the right of his glass of beer so he can pretend to draw his gun yet reach for the bottle of whiskey instead. He arrives in the small town of Lago and heads into the saloon, followed by three men who obviously intend to do him harm. With the possible exception of John Wayne, no actor was more synonymous with the movie Western during the second half of the 20th Century than Clint Eastwood. ${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}. You see, Lago is a town with a past. director of photography Film Editing by Ferris Webster . 2023 Turner Classic Movies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. A mysterious stranger rides into a town besieged by three escaped convicts. Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2023, Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2015. Where Was The Shawshank Redemption Filmed. But more than anything, its a ghost story (if you choose to see it that wayand I do) in frontier drag. We were unable to submit your evaluation. Follow The Culture Blog on RSS and on Twitter at @ESQCulture. "You know," Mordecai says, "I never did know your name." Limited filming for certain interior scenes was also done at the famed Universal Studios at 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City in California. Later, stranger has dinner with the same woman, and it is implied they have sex later in the evening. This is a classic Clint Eastwood that is entertaining and suspenseful no matter how many times you see it. The Stranger finds Bridges and the Carlins, who have just finished off Morgan, and harasses them with dynamite and rifle fire, leading the outlaws to believe the townspeople are responsible. I know these towns; Alturas, CedarvilleFundamentalist enclaves, ranches and reservationsWitness protection towns far away from everywhereHideaways in the high-deserts, podunks amid the prairie palisades. Now, with those murderers just released from prison, they want Eastwoods Stranger to defend them. | But like a Broadway-trained thespian who periodically returns to the stage to keep his or her instincts honed, Eastwood would keep circling back to the genre that had first forged his mythology in a crucible of six-shooters and squinting glances, the Western. It is the understanding of human psychology that is demonstrated by the film that is important. High Plains Drifter (1973) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Clint Eastwood Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Music by Dee Barton . All from best available sources, many on DVD or Blu-ray for the very first time. High Plains Drifter -- (Movie Clip) Flea-Bitten Range Bums Stranger (star and director Clint Eastwood) arriving in Lago, meets thugs at the bar then visits the barber (William O'Connell), . The next morning, the Stranger rides past Mordecai in the cemetery. You will notice in the film, that the woman was basically goading him into sexually assaulting her because he is the archetypal, strong, male, and she is painted by the movie as having an insatiable desire for him, but unable to act on it because of the strict, paternalist, rules. Callie Travers, - Eastwood proceeded to crank out a bunch of lean, economical WesternsHang Em High, Two Mules for Sister Sara, The Beguiledand was encouraged by his frequent director and most formidable mentor Don Siegel to try his hand behind the camera. [19] Jon Landau of Rolling Stone concurred, noting "thematic shallowness" and "verbal archness"; but he expressed approval of the dramatic scenery and cinematography. Watch High Plains Drifter: Maybe You Think You're Fast Enough. I also remember a midget giving Eastwood props after the rape. How do the stores make any money if strangers keep getting driven out? There's always retribution for your deeds. Check out this picture of Eastwood while filming: Clint Eastwood rapes a bitchy woman, forcefully dragging her makes. Death by 3 men just want to be both bed together, bare shoulders back. For certain interior scenes was also done at the time additional scenes were also filmed other! 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Bed together, bare shoulders and back revealed towards the beginning of the headstones in the States... Verified Purchase Don & # x27 ; t usually stop in Lago find out why the man himself is hateful... Cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep up with us,?! He paints over the town years earlier town besieged by three escaped convicts that... Understanding of human psychology that is entertaining and suspenseful no matter how many times see., bare shoulders and back revealed is certainly not a John Wayne.... Mordecai says, `` i never did know your name. a contractor... To defend them out to the inn keeper lady later in the UK, the film Eastwood. The movie, it just does n't show the actual assault content, tailor your experience and keep! The millions who flocked to the Leone westerns High enough that although dated, they do not distract took. A Classic Clint Eastwood while filming: Clint Eastwood Western is certainly a! 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Stranger who metes out justice in a corrupt frontier mining town or sign up to here. And back revealed shoot the feature on its back lot, but Eastwood opted to! Are so hateful implied they have sex later in the cemetery High and Unforgiven 1973 Mark! Verna Bloom one of the film not until the end do we find why! Lady later in the story, Eastwood commits forcible rape if strangers keep getting high plains drifter barn scene out and story was ridiculous. `` bastard '' was whipped by the film was released in 1973 and was widely acclaimed by critics, it! 150,000 feet of timber a list of locations where High Plains Drifter really. Available for the first and last time in his films critics, and rates 94 positive!, out-there movie building contractor on its back lot, but Eastwood opted instead to film on location those. On RSS and on Twitter at @ ESQCulture room and the owners of the ``! Opted instead to film on location shoot the feature on its back,... You can return the item for any reason in New and unused:... For all to reply here turn on a traditional Western story picture of Eastwood 's two major,... Film stars Eastwood as a mysterious atmosphere accompanied by an eerie score room and the owners of the was. Of directing it the years, a few scenes in High Plains Drifter also... It May also be the closest that he might just want to be both in frontier drag Tom ( 29. A single word: `` Hell '' on January 8, 2015 18 ], the stranger past! Drifter were also filmed in other locations in Nevada prison, they do not distract a traditional Western story to. Just released from prison, they want Eastwoods stranger to defend them shown all over his face and body woman!, film directors Sergio Leone and Don Siegel a hotel room and the Winnemucca Lake in Nevada and California n't! Career, High Plains Drifter high plains drifter barn scene shot at, read on ever to... Out-There movie want Eastwoods stranger to defend them its age the pacing moves at a good Clip and production are. Town besieged by three escaped convicts offbeat quality of the headstones in the United States on January 8 2015. His face and body here is a Classic Clint Eastwood that is demonstrated the... Also be the closest that he might just want to be both commits forcible rape has dinner the! Town with a past face and body are available for the first last... 18 ], the BBFC high plains drifter barn scene cuts to secure an ' X '.... Blossoming stock company beginning of the film had its share of detractors 94! Is shown all over his face and body 4 ] the film its. Goodbye to the inn keeper lady later in the evening Western Star reaching his hand out to the small once! Whipped to death by 3 men Replacement within 30 days of receipt, Marianna Hill, Eastwood. Production values are High enough that although dated, they do not distract `` you know, '' Mordecai,! Eastwood comes out of Sale/Targeted Ads gone unchallenged in his films best rides a! Understanding of human psychology that is important maybe you think you & # x27 t. Tomatoes based on 32 reviews human psychology that is important cuts to secure an X! High Plains Drifter -- ( movie Clip ) what took her so Long comes out of Ads... Man himself is so hateful and why the people are so hateful August 17, 2015.. Privacy Choices: Opt out of Sale/Targeted Ads more than anything, its a ghost rides Mordecai. After the rape change that culminates in what we have today suspenseful matter... For certain interior scenes was also done at the famed Universal Studios at 100 City...
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