The Clint Eastwood Classic Western You Can’t Stream Anywhere
Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter is sadly not streaming on any subscription services.
With so many streaming services offering thousands of movies apiece, it is hard to imagine movies that can’t be found on a subscription platform. That is exactly the case for the Clint Eastwood Western classic High Plains Drifter. According to JustWatch, the film from star and director Eastwood is unavailable to stream for free on any platform, but is available to rent.
On the surface, High Plains Drifter has a classic Western premise. A mysterious gunslinger rides into an unassuming desert town. At first, the townsfolk are unsure whether or not he can be trusted, but the lone cowboy becomes the town’s only hope at stopping a gang of ravenous outlaws from pillaging the community.
It sounds a lot like The Magnificent Seven, until you uncover the horror movie DNA that composes this unique entry in the genre. Clint Eastwood plays The Stranger, one of his famously anonymous characters, in High Plains Drifter. The character’s anonymity underscores Eastwood’s preferred interpretation of the film, which is that The Stranger is the vengeful ghost of a murdered sheriff.
Clint Eastwood plays the revenant in his typical cool cowboy fashion, but the result of High Plains Drifter is far less heroic than Eastwood’s earlier Western escapades. With this film, Eastwood set out to critique his own place as a Western hero.
By showing the same sort of character he played in his Spaghetti Westerns in a scenario with less obvious ethical parameters, he highlighted the moral ambiguity of the archetype. To Eastwood, these outlaw heroes of the American West were not people to look up to; depending on the circumstance, they could easily be the villain. Eastwood elaborated on that theme further with 1992’s Unforgiven.
Clint Eastwood made High Plains Drifter his second feature-length directorial effort. He was inspired by the work of master directors like Sergio Leone and Don Siegel, whom he had worked with on several Westerns.
Universal urged Clint Eastwood to shoot High Plains Drifter on a studio lot, but the director pushed for location shooting. Alone in his truck, he scouted several places in multiple states until he finally picked an area near Mono Lake, California. The scenic views were perfect for what Eastwood wanted, and a construction crew built the film’s small town in 18 days.
Clint Eastwood had full buildings constructed so that he could shoot interiors and exteriors for High Plains Drifter all in the same place. The move paid off with the film finishing ahead of schedule and under budget.
Clint Eastwood was already an established star when High Plains Drifter was released. The film came after hits like The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly and Dirty Harry, but preceded some of his greatest work like The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven. The film was well received and remains a standout in Eastwood’s filmography, which the filmmaker continues to grow.
At 92 years old, Clint Eastwood is still directing movies – 50 years after the release of High Plains Drifter. He will direct his next film, Juror #2, while also starring alongside Toni Collette and Nicholas Hoult. The film is listed as in development.
Few filmmakers have led careers as iconic and prolific as Clint Eastwood’s. The man has dedicated his life to making movies, and his contributions to the form are irrevocable. If you have not yet seen the early directorial work of Clint Eastwood, High Plains Drifter is a fascinating classic well worth the rental.
