Talk:High Plains Drifter

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Patent Nonsense- Delete NRM

(Note: The above comment refers to an earlier version of this article which was deleted. -- llywrch 4 July 2005 22:42 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Environmental Themes?

One line that has been in this article from it's inception is that this film explores environmental themes as have many of Eastwood's other films. I have seen this film several times, and there are themes of justice, vengeance, cowardice, etc. I can't remember any scene or series of scenes that have environmental themes. I might be remembering wrong or perhaps I'm not as astute as I think I am! Anybody else want to chime in on this?

ps I wonder what other Eastwood films the author believes explore environmental issues? Dirty Harry? The Bridges of Madison County? Unforgiven? Oh, and just because there are trees in the film doesn't make it environmental. It has to be a theme.

--Bridgecross 15:08, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

I'l second that motion. There are no environmental themes explored in this movie. The writer may be referring to the use of widescreen, which creates some interesting scenery. But that is mentioned above, so this would be a redundancy. 10stone5 16:54, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
The gold mine the town depends on is illegally on federal property -- & the sheriff is killed to keep this fact a secret. The movie is shot on the shores of Mono Lake, which has been ravaged by Los Angeles' endless thirst for water. I'd say those are some strong indications of environmental themes -- & since this was filmed at a time when environmentalist sentiments were very strong, I wouldn't dismiss these points as sheer coincidences. -- llywrch 05:55, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Two good points, but I could counter them this way;
-the gold mine being on federal land is a property issue or an economic issue. There is no indication that the townspeoples' environment is affected by the gold mine or their lack of access to it. If the gold mine were leaching heavy metals into the water or if they used strip mining then I would agree, but that never comes up in the film.
-The film is SHOT on the shores of Mono Lake, but in the context of the film the environmental damage from LA is decades in the future. While watching the film it just looks like a bleak lake, akin to salt flats that are common in some parts of the west. There is never a mention of the area being damaged in any way.
Now if you had an Eastwood quote from an interview saying that's why he chose that location, I might agree. Thoughts?--Bridgecross 17:41, 26 February 2007 (UTC)
My thoughts are, first, you have made some good arguments. Second, my concern on this matter is that almost everything I know about this movie is from having watched it many times; for all I know, the possible environmental angle is something everyone but me (& a number of folks who enjoy his movies, but don't read the books about him or his movies) knows is an established fact. Thirdly, Eastwood shows that he was a skilled filmmaker in this movie, & I think it is accurate to say that he put serious thought into everything in this movie; that leads to the problem of trying to determine just what is worth paying attention to in this work. If you or anyone can point us to some published information about just what Eastwood had in mind with this movie, I think that would be very welcome. -- llywrch 21:56, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

I've never tried to delete anything from a Wikipedia article but I wish somebody would edit out that environmental nonsense from the High Plains Drifter article. It's not in the movie anywhere. Richard8081 01:52, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Interpretation

This section is mostly speculation and doesn't belong in an encyclopedia article. However, before I make any drastic changes I'd like to spark some discussion on what should be done with it. It would be a shame to delete it completely, but it isn't satisfactory at its current state.--CountCrazy007 05:04, 4 March 2007 (UTC) High Plains Drifter had total "rentals" of about seven million dollars back in 1973, from Variety magazine's issue of May 10, 1993, which has a table of "Alphabetical All Time Film Rental Champs", starting on pC76. You can adjust that for inflation by noting that The Godfather had total rentals of about eighty five million dollars or so, in 1972; Love Story had total rentals of about fifty million, about the same time. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly came out in 1967 and had total rentals of about six million dollars. The Unforgiven came out twenty years after High Plains Drifter, and had total rentals of 36 million dollars, but here we start getting serious inflation-adjustment problems. The Bill and Ted movies came out about the same time as The Unforgiven, and both of them did about seventeen million. ("rentals = about half of box office; note the "about".) You get the idea. High Plains Drifter was no blockbuster. A first viewing of High Plains Drifter is nearly inexplicable. It's a movie that REQUIRES interpretation. What will happen here is that the uninitiated will watch the movie (the DVD version preferably since it contains several scenes that are shortened unforgivably in the version seen on TV and in the theaters); and then they will scurry to Wikipedia to see what is going on with this unusual flick; and then watch it again, privy now to a first order interpretation provided so authoritatively by the Contributors. For example, how can a first time viewer possibly make any sense out of the interchange between The Stranger and The Preacher. After Mordecai gives the command to paint the town red with 200 gallons of barn red paint, and the Preacher says, "Surely you don't mean the Church?", The Stranger responds with "I mean especially the Church!" For those who have read the Wikipedia interpretation, The Stranger's answer isn't strange at all: The Church stood silent as a murder was committed; an avenging angel is going to exact divine retribution and it's going to be exacted especially from the Church, yes indeed. Richard8081 04:39, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A related movie

I just read the plot summary of Bad Day at Black Rock, & was struck by the numerous similarities between the older movie & this one. Has this ever been pointed out by a film critic? I'd be a little surprised, considering how well known "Bad Day" was (at least in Hollywood circles), that no one at least suspected that the one inspired the other. -- llywrch 22:17, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

The similarities are a matter of opinion. Do you have a reliable source that makes this connection? In my opinion, Bad Day was more a story about the problems of racism and the acceptance of disabled war veterans, while Drifter was primarily a story of revenge and karmic justice, so I don't see an obvious relation between the two. — Loadmaster 21:50, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
There are recurring themes in many stories, and I could quote several that share similar events with High Plains Drifter (Dead Man's Shoes, Wilderness, etc.) but in my opinion these parallels, as with those with Bad Day, hardly merit inclusion in Wikipedia. ALLOCKE|talk 00:20, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Django the Bastard

A few edits added the italian film Django the Bastard [1] as an influence on HPD. While this may be true, this probably needs a citation to be included in the article. Also, the way it was worded was rather unencyclopedic. — Loadmaster 21:45, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Strangerhpd2.jpg

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BetacommandBot 19:07, 30 November 2007 (UTC)