>
Clint Eastwood's sophomore outing as director sees him back in the saddle as a mysterious stranger, and the result is one of his most memorable Westerns. Read critic reviews
What to know
You might also like
See More
Hard-Boiled
Dillinger
Thunderheart
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Dressed to Kill
Where to watch High Plains Drifter
Rent High Plains Drifter on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, or buy it on Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV.
Rate And Review
-
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
-
Fandango
-
AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
-
Cinemark Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Regal Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
-
Theater box office or somewhere else
High Plains Drifter videos
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
High Plains Drifter: Official Clip - He Shot My Ear Off!
High Plains Drifter Photos
Movie Info
In this Western, a drifter with no name (Clint Eastwood) wanders into a small town, where his gun-slinging abilities are in high demand. When the drifter rides into Lago, he is met with incredulity and disapproval by the townspeople. But once he shows his skills with a pistol, the locals realize he may be able to help them fend off a band of criminals who have been terrorizing the town. He agrees to help the townspeople, but does so with his own secret agenda.
-
Rating: R
-
Genre: Western
-
Original Language: English
-
Director: Clint Eastwood
-
Producer: Robert Daley
-
Writer: Ernest Tidyman
-
Release Date (Theaters): original
-
Release Date (Streaming):
-
Runtime:
-
Production Co: Universal Pictures, The Malpaso Company
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for High Plains Drifter
Critic Reviews for High Plains Drifter
Audience Reviews for High Plains Drifter
-
If you can look past the dated sexual politics, this is a deeply cynical deconstruction of the romanticized western. No one looks good in the end. Not the townspeople, not the villains, not even the "anti-hero" at the center.
-
If there's ever an actor that would sell me in watching a western, that man would be Clint Eastwood. A gunfighting 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. The best thing about western is that they have good story, and this one is no different. I was mostly satisfied by the story as the more it went on the more I got interested. The small supernatural elements made it more interesting in my opinion as it added a more unique feel as I was watching this. One thing about the story that's bad is that the town people are represented as cowards for the whole movie and they don't exactly improve though the at the end either. As always, Clint Eastwood performance is spectacular as "the stranger" or nameless cowboy as he known for. Whenever Clint Eastwood is given a unnamed Cowboy you better expect nothing but the best. The direction was great, the cinematography was great, and cast fit well into there characters. Now this may not be as good as some of Clint Eastwood other western, especially Unforgiven, but it's still a nice alternative and a unique take on the western genre from the man who is the best in that genre.
-
One of my absolute favorites. Powerful and timeless. Haunting.
-
You know, the rhythm of this title really makes me think of "Catch Scratch Fever", and you know, I'll run with it, because it's better than getting the Beastie Boys song stuck in my head. At any rate, Ted Nugent fits better here, because you know that there is going to be some serious hard rocking when Clint Eastwood takes on this role, and I specifically mean "this" role. So, for the first big western he makes himself, Eastwood plays a charismatically quiet, yet intimidatingly dangerous stranger with no name; now that's new. Well, the big difference with this particular "man with no name" character is that no one dubs Eastwood in Italian, and there is way more weird stuff surrounding him then there ever was in a Sergio Leone western. 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. Naturally, they never say this guy's name, but we all know who he is, so this is pretty much Eastwood's big answer to all of those rather annoying religious references that Hollywood had been throwing in all of their westerns prior to this one. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. Still, the film comes close enough to rewarding to endear adequately as a thriller, and a stylish one at that. 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. Storytelling style is questionable, but make no mistake, musical and visual styles are never less than solid, even when handled in the context of storytelling. Clint Eastwood's orchestration of subtle stylization begets subtle color that rarely allows entertainment value to slip too far, and when slow spells do enter, upon being met with a genuine sense of thoughtfulness, rather than the dryness which plagues this drama as much as anything, they bite, with high tension. 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. Mostly asked to project a sense of corruption amidst a feeling of liberation from the shackles of morality, most everyone in this cast does fine, with Eastwood predictably stealing the show, with a formulaic, but still-effective portrayal of an intensely charismatic, yet chillingly enigmatic man with no name, or at least a name that is not said, just assumed. 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. If the film is memorable, it's for the themes and relatively gripping latter acts, and while I wish there was more inspiration throughout the film in order to make the final product rewarding on the whole, when the drama bites, it grips as an at least almost rewarding thriller. Once the plains have peaked, a few draggy spots and conventional spots behind natural shortcomings that thin out dramatic value even more when accompanied by moments of overstylization and dull dryness winds the final product shy of rewarding, but through a neatly whimsical score, rugged visual style, some effective direction and some solid performances, all behind a story that, for all its thin spots, boasts intriguing thematic depth, "High Plains Drifter" stands as an effective, if improvable supernatural western and sophomore effort for Clint Eastwood. 2.75/5 - Decent
Verified