You're Not A Western Fan If You Haven't Seen Clint Eastwood's '70s Masterpiece On Netflix

Clint Eastwood has proven time and time again that he's incredibly flexible when it comes to working in just about every genre, whether it be an ensemble war movie ("Kelly's Heroes"), conspiracy thriller ("Absolute Power"), or a romantic drama ("The Bridges of Madison County"). But there's no denying that the essence of his screen image is most often associated with that of the Western. It was the CBS TV series "Rawhide" that paved the way to Eastwood's career getting truly off the ground. Thanks to his role as ramrod Rowdy Yates (which he played for eight seasons), Eastwood would end up joining forces with Spaghetti Western director Sergio Leone, who then proceeded to make him an international star by casting him in the widely revered Dollars trilogy. "A Fistful of Dollars," specifically, built up Eastwood's image as the mysterious gun-slinger who rides into town and inevitably gets wrapped up in someone else's conflict. It's a Western genre archetype that Eastwood carried over into his directing career with 1985's "Pale Rider," but his sophomore outing at the helm saw him twist it into something uniquely sinister.

In 1973's "High Plains Drifter," Eastwood's mysterious Stranger doesn't have the moral ambiguity of the actor's Blondie from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," nor the mostly good nature of his Preacher from "Pale Rider." He's an unquestionably evil presence who defaults to the role of protector because the people of the mining town of Lago have no one else. I didn't see this masterful horror Western until just last year, and it's since become one of my favorites among Eastwood's directorial oeuvre. Thankfully, more people can finally check it out for yourselves, seeing as it's currently streaming on Netflix.

It's always a pleasant surprise when Netflix adds a movie from the 1970s, considering how hilariously few of them are on the streaming platform. It also picked a great one to allow contemporary audiences to discover for themselves, especially since "High Plains Drifter" is such a mean movie that Universal Pictures wouldn't dream of greenlighting today. There's a supernatural ambiguity as to whether or not Eastwood's Stranger is actually the Devil incarnate, as he becomes Lago's de facto protector in the wake of effortlessly killing the armed gunmen that threaten to harm its civilians. This is partly due to Eastwood himself, who loved Ernest Tidyman's screenplay, but felt his character being the brother of the slain Marshal Jim Duncan (Eastwood's stunt double Buddy Van Horn) was too tidy.

Cinematographer Bruce Surtees shot a lot of Eastwood's films in the '70s and '80s, and here, he creates a setting that's visually and spiritually Hell on Earth. That includes some gorgeous compositions of the Stranger backlit by nothing but fire, which feel downright apocalyptic. Since "High Plains Drifter" was shot near Mono Lake, California, the rocky terrains highlight Lago's isolation from the rest of the world. Tombstones are the first and last thing you see on the outskirts of town, some of which contain nods to Eastwood's filmic mentors. I audibly gasped when one of the town's major transformations appeared onscreen, especially since it was all built for real. I can't imagine actually seeing such a haunting image on the horizon.

In "High Plains Drifter," the communal apathy of a town with a guilty conscience makes friends with a walking demon. It's an incredible piece of moviemaking from a filmmaker who was just getting started.