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"High Plains Drifter": Thoughts and Insights?

post #1 of 21
11/5/06 at 7:51pm
Thread Starter 
I had never seen this film until last night. I thought it was great, pure and simple. What I'm interested in is what everyone thought it "meant".

Eastwood's character rides into town, seemingly bent on tearing it apart and running it into the ground. He has flashbacks to the marshal who was murdered while the town looked on and let it happen. He paints the town red, renames it "Hell", pits neighbor against neighbor, takes liberties with the town's money, and then, when trouble comes, he leaves them to fend for themselves. In the finale, after returning and delivering eerily similar retribution towards the marshal's murderers, he leaves.

Mordichae is etching the marshal's name into a grave as Eastwood leaves, and says, "I never knew your name." to which Eastwood replies, "Yes, you do." It then pans to the marshal's name, as Eastwood rides away, and then vanishes on the horizon.

So, my interpretation was that Eastwood is a ghost, a sort of avenging angel sent to plague, and ultimately, save the town. He disappears, which I think is meant to imply more than just a cinematic trick, plus, the implication that his name is the same as the marshal's. I'm looking for insights, as I really enjoyed the movie.
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post #2 of 21
11/5/06 at 8:05pm
According to an interview with Eastwood, originally it was intended for his character to be the brother of the marshal. Later he liked the idea of his character being a force of revenge. So the idea of his being a ghost avenging the slain marshal matches what ended up on the screen.
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post #3 of 21
11/5/06 at 8:28pm
Probably my favorite Eastwood Western.
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post #4 of 21
11/5/06 at 10:04pm
Probably my favorite Eastwood Western

Agreed
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post #5 of 21
11/6/06 at 1:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint G
According to an interview with Eastwood, originally it was intended for his character to be the brother of the marshal. Later he liked the idea of his character being a force of revenge. So the idea of his being a ghost avenging the slain marshal matches what ended up on the screen.
The idea of avenging angel is fairly clear, but the name issue kind of threw me a curveball. He tells Mordichae that he knows his name, and the camera pans around to the name of the marshal. I suppose this could imply a brother, but I sort of like the idea of The Stranger being an embellished ghost of the marshal himself.
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post #6 of 21
11/6/06 at 1:26am
Love this flick.
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post #7 of 21
11/6/06 at 3:31am
Definitely the Marshall's ghost or some force that came back to avenge him. Pale Rider is very similar plot wise. Drifter is second best Eastwood Western. The Outlaw Josey Wales is one.
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post #8 of 21
11/6/06 at 5:05am
The avenging ghost was the first thing that occured to me when I saw it last year (I was behind on Eastwood westerns too). I didn't hear the brother theory until later (in these forums, actually), but I don't think it works as well.

And I agree with Namor that this and Josey Wales are Eastwood at the top of his western game.
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post #9 of 21
11/6/06 at 5:11am
*cough* Unforgiven *cough*
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post #10 of 21
11/6/06 at 5:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stew
The idea of avenging angel is fairly clear, but the name issue kind of threw me a curveball. He tells Mordichae that he knows his name, and the camera pans around to the name of the marshal. I suppose this could imply a brother, but I sort of like the idea of The Stranger being an embellished ghost of the marshal himself.
I believe they dropped the brother angle during filming, and went with the force of nature angle. How else would Eastwood know all the dirty secrets of the town ? The character's identity becomes a major point of the movie also, the 'who are you scene ?' being particularly chilling. I am not up on my undead types, but Eastwood would need to be an angry avenging ghost, since it seems as if his personality is different than the marshals (would that be a revenant ?).

In the Eastwood made pantheon, this one is second to Unforgiven for me. With Joset Wales third, then Pale Rider. While similar to Pale Rider, his charater in High Plains Drifter is less a dead man getting revenge, and more a mean force of nature.
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post #11 of 21
11/6/06 at 5:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by General Zod
*cough* Unforgiven *cough*
Oops.
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post #12 of 21
11/6/06 at 6:06am
The brother interpretation also doesn't square with the flashbacks. Why would anyone have flashbacks to something that happened to their brother? I've always assumed it was an avenging angel kind of deal.
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post #13 of 21
11/6/06 at 10:32am
GREAT movie, and I agree with the revenge spirit interpretation.

Let's not forget about Hang 'Em High, which is, I think, the most underrated Eastwood western.
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post #14 of 21
11/6/06 at 10:38am
Any movie that makes me not mind that a woman is getting dragged by the hair to be raped in a barn can't be all that bad.
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post #15 of 21
11/6/06 at 2:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gabriel Williams
The brother interpretation also doesn't square with the flashbacks. Why would anyone have flashbacks to something that happened to their brother? I've always assumed it was an avenging angel kind of deal.
I would never come to the brother conclusion based on the movie itself, I heard it from a interview with Clint when he stated that was the original plan. My thoughts on the 'man with no name' identity follows the same thought path of Stew. I wish I had this movie on DVD, as my VHS copy does me no good since I do not have a VCR anymore. I guess I will just stick it in my netflix que.
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post #16 of 21
11/6/06 at 5:20pm
Thread Starter 
I have no trouble accepting that the Stranger is an avenging angel. I think the rather obvious disappearance on the horizon virtually seals the deal. My question now revolves mainly around his name. Mordichae is scribing the marshal's name on the grave, says he never knew Eastwood's name, and he replies, "Yes, you do", and the camera focuses on the marshal's name. Am I focusing on this too much, or is there real significance. It almost feels like something that would jive with the "brother" approach, like they were going that direction but changed gears towards "ghost".

I really lved this movie, can't believe I waited so long. I'd plavce it just behind "Unforgiven", but aside from that, Eastwood's best western.
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post #17 of 21
11/6/06 at 5:38pm
Isn't it obvious Eastwood IS the marshall? Back from the dead -ghost, spirit, force, whatever- to right the wrong done to him?

I saw this movie when I was 6 years old. It was obvious then, too.
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post #18 of 21
11/6/06 at 6:19pm
Thread Starter 
That's basically what I'm getting at. I think it's fairly obvious that he is the marshal, albeit in a harsher, more avenging form. Otherwise the business about his name makes no sense.
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post #19 of 21
11/6/06 at 6:56pm
I'm not sure why the name on the gravestone is giving you a problem with the avenging spirit interpretation. If he's the ghost of the sheriff, then that's his name. It seems like a fine way to impart the information to the audience without actually coming out and saying it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diva
Any movie that makes me not mind that a woman is getting dragged by the hair to be raped in a barn can't be all that bad.
That is a harsh scene, and Eastwood has said that he wouldn't include that scene if he were making the film today. Personally, I think it establishes a hard tone early in the film that ultimately helps it. When I first saw it, I wondered "How am I supposed to like this guy now?". Of course, you're not supposed to. He's not there to be a good guy, he's there to get revenge, so it's not a matter of right and wrong.
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post #20 of 21
11/6/06 at 10:33pm
In his Spaghetti Westerns book, Leone expert Christopher Frayling draws comparisons from this film to THE STRANGER'S GUNDOWN (a.k.a. DJANGO THE BASTARD) (1969), in which Antonio De Teffe stars as a gunslinger who quite literally avenges his own death. There's a strong possibility that Eastwood saw the film and borrowed that idea.
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post #21 of 21
11/7/06 at 2:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg David
I'm not sure why the name on the gravestone is giving you a problem with the avenging spirit interpretation. If he's the ghost of the sheriff, then that's his name. It seems like a fine way to impart the information to the audience without actually coming out and saying it.
It's not giving me a problem. I'm saying that the implication is that the name on the gravestone is the real name of the Stranger. That would make him the ghost of the marshal himself, which I think is far cooler than just being a generic "avenging angel". I'm just pinning that down, as I think it's a bit more clear, cute, and dried than some think.


Quote:
That is a harsh scene, and Eastwood has said that he wouldn't include that scene if he were making the film today. Personally, I think it establishes a hard tone early in the film that ultimately helps it. When I first saw it, I wondered "How am I supposed to like this guy now?". Of course, you're not supposed to. He's not there to be a good guy, he's there to get revenge, so it's not a matter of right and wrong.
Great point. The scene really surprised me. It's completely unapologetic, and surprisingly mean-spirited, but intentionally so.
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