High Plains Drifter (1973) ****

Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter (1973) was only the second film (and first western) that he directed. An impressive revisionist take, obviously influenced by Sergio Leone and Don Siegel, HPD is a mythical, mysterious, and ghostly grim tale. Eastwood wouldn't make anything this bleak for almost another 20 years, with Unforgiven (1992) (review). Beautifully shot at the incredibly photogenic Mono Lake and featuring a haunting score by Dee Barton, reminiscent of Ennio Morricone—HPD is a merciless revenge picture that sets the screen ablaze and paints it blood red.

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