Harry
Tash Jayasinghe
Dexter
CibbuanoWesterns: 'High Plains Drifter'(1972)
May 31st 2006 08:56
I'm not sure if anyone else is lamenting the demise of the once dominant film genre of the western but I certainly am. The western was the twentieth century's most commercially successful genre; a genre that shaped masculinity and served as a gauge of society's attitudes towards justice, morality and gender.
These days, apart from occasional 'art' revivals such as 'Dead Man' (1994) and 'Unforgiven' (1991), or nostalgia pieces such as 'Dances with Wolves' (1992) the western hasbeen relegated to the genre rubbish heap, joining musicals and classic noir.
Despite the trajectory of the western from dominant genre to 'irrelevant' historical curiosity, there are some great westerns out there that remain as powerful and relevant today as they were at the time of their original production and release.
One of these is 'High Plains Drifter' (1972) a film in which Clint Eastwood both stars and directs. Following in the footseps of other post WWII westerns such as 'Red River' and 'The Misfits', 'High Plains Drifter' subverts traditional western values and icons.
Appropriating the character that he played in Sergio Leone's 'Dollars' trilogy, Eastwood plays one of his nastiest characters, who although remaining anonymous, is a twist on The Man With No Name. Entering the town of 'Lago' he calmly and contemptuously sets himself up as head of the town while making its lowliest citizen, Mordecai the dwarf (Billy Curtis), sheriff and mayor, renaming the town Hell, painting it red (literally) and effortlessly destroying all who oppose him as he turns Lago's self-inflicted need for a saviour against them.
The Stranger's treatment of women is problematic. When he rapes a woman (Mariana Hill) who deliberately crosses him, are we supposed to think she deserved it (she's in cahoots with the villains) or is it to show the lack of guts the town leaders have in not standing up to the Stranger's misdemeanours? Will they allow any moral outrage as long as things go their way? The other female character, Sarah (Verna Bloom) is one of the few decent people in the film, but even she reluctantly relents to the Stranger's dubious charms. I guess this ambiguity is part of the film's reimagining of the western form - a rendering in which it's difficult to draw easy moral conclusions.
High Plains Drifter is a peculiar Western which almost sends up the genre with its sardonic humour, but has a slow, dreamlike approach. Add the plentiful violence and bizarre details and you have one of the strangest hits of the seventies, and one that would be another addtion to Eastwood's interesting incarnations in his iconic screen roles.
These days, apart from occasional 'art' revivals such as 'Dead Man' (1994) and 'Unforgiven' (1991), or nostalgia pieces such as 'Dances with Wolves' (1992) the western hasbeen relegated to the genre rubbish heap, joining musicals and classic noir.
Despite the trajectory of the western from dominant genre to 'irrelevant' historical curiosity, there are some great westerns out there that remain as powerful and relevant today as they were at the time of their original production and release.
One of these is 'High Plains Drifter' (1972) a film in which Clint Eastwood both stars and directs. Following in the footseps of other post WWII westerns such as 'Red River' and 'The Misfits', 'High Plains Drifter' subverts traditional western values and icons.
Appropriating the character that he played in Sergio Leone's 'Dollars' trilogy, Eastwood plays one of his nastiest characters, who although remaining anonymous, is a twist on The Man With No Name. Entering the town of 'Lago' he calmly and contemptuously sets himself up as head of the town while making its lowliest citizen, Mordecai the dwarf (Billy Curtis), sheriff and mayor, renaming the town Hell, painting it red (literally) and effortlessly destroying all who oppose him as he turns Lago's self-inflicted need for a saviour against them.
The Stranger's treatment of women is problematic. When he rapes a woman (Mariana Hill) who deliberately crosses him, are we supposed to think she deserved it (she's in cahoots with the villains) or is it to show the lack of guts the town leaders have in not standing up to the Stranger's misdemeanours? Will they allow any moral outrage as long as things go their way? The other female character, Sarah (Verna Bloom) is one of the few decent people in the film, but even she reluctantly relents to the Stranger's dubious charms. I guess this ambiguity is part of the film's reimagining of the western form - a rendering in which it's difficult to draw easy moral conclusions.
High Plains Drifter is a peculiar Western which almost sends up the genre with its sardonic humour, but has a slow, dreamlike approach. Add the plentiful violence and bizarre details and you have one of the strangest hits of the seventies, and one that would be another addtion to Eastwood's interesting incarnations in his iconic screen roles.
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