IslandGuru Who payed the critics

SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

laetitiapayombo Oh yeah for sure that's fun! Great directing, funny jokes, everything is great with this handsome cowboy. So great that when he rapes women they love it and want more. This movie is not about rape or revenge but manhood. And that's my problem. I had a great time watching this movie. And that's my problem. Not Clint Eastwood fault it was a time where no meant yes. A time where men were supposed to stand for themselves protect their property. But in 21th watching this kind of movie seems dangerous. So despite the great pleasure I had watching this remarkable western, I keep a despicable aftertaste.

Pjtaylor-96-138044 'High Plains Drifter (1973)' has got some dodgy sexual politics that can't go unmentioned. Aside from that, this is an enjoyable western that takes a revisionist stance and doesn't pull any punches. It doesn't try to reinvent or even comment on the genre - it's actually pretty standard aside from an interestingly ambiguous supernatural element - but still provides some fun sequences especially when Eastwood starts squinting and the bullets start flying. It may be showing its age more than others in the genre, but its dark approach makes it a worthwhile watch. 7/10

AudioFileZ We all conscientiously form initial impressions as to how to process a movie, a book, music, architecture, clothes, or any number of things. When watching the opening sequence of High Plains Drifter I scratched my head a bit and decided this film was going to explore the dark side of human nature. That would include revenge, jealousy, lust, greed, and hypocrisy.The town people of Lago are attempting to live in a kind of a bubble. They desire to ignore as much as possible outside their city. They want a kind of closed utopia even if the bond between the various members in the town is all fake as everyone is out for number one with their only shared desire being keeping a profitable mine open. This was solidified after a earlier visit from some dark men resulted in the murder of the Lago sheriff who knew a dark secret about the mine that could destroy the town. After taking care of the sheriff situation the town decided to hire enforcers for what they couldn't stomach themselves. These men would be the filter keeping outsiders out and, also, to protect them from the same dark men who killed the sheriff as they went to prison unexpectedly which if they ever get out could be a revenge call waiting to happen. Now it's clear we have tenuous line between law and order, moral men and those pretending to be.Clint Eastwood's mysterious character (he isn't even revealing his name) is on the surface as bad as any gun slinging outlaw, but maybe the town can use him to their advantage as in short order the enforcers are all dead and those murderers seeking revenge are thought to be days away from being released from prison (i.e. more commentary on corrupt laws?). Thus a uneasy truce between Eastwood's drifter and the town is born. It's going to be a strange marriage to say the least.The uneasy truce gets more strange and things, naturally, reach a critical mass. The drifter is all about what you reap you sow it would appear as what is left of Lago will have to start over. Perhaps it will be a very different town sans certain hypocrites and a hideous red paint remaining. Lago is a town that won't be the same and that's for sure. The story is the movie and the movie is the story. It's a bit surreal and dreamy at times, but it's a solid western tragedy rooted in the classics. It's the old story of evil vs. good, just not as straightforward and more cryptic thanks to Eastwood's drifter character. A newer classic is the bottom line.

damienbiggs I'd give this movie some marks for being one of the most unique westerns I've ever seen. Clint Eastwood acts well in the movie and the action scenes are done well in my opinion.The main issue is that the main hero character rapes one woman and borderline forces another women to have sex with him. These scenes in and of itself wouldn't stop me watching a movie. It's quite different though when a movie sets up the rapist as the hero of the movie!You'll read a bunch of reviews about how this rapist goes to this town to dispense justice to cowardly townspeople who covered up a murder in relation to their mine. I'm sorry but that does not excuse rape. Clint Eastwood's character is meant to be an anti hero but he's not really. Ultimately his portrayal is far closer to a conventional hero than to say a Walter White.For a point of reference, I'm a man in my thirties. The 70s were definitely different in terms of attitudes to movies!