HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER

Eastwood's next film as a director brought him back to his western routes with High Plains Drifter in 1973, a mythical anti-hero out to save a corrupt town. Eastwood shared with Leone a rebellious desire to tumble the old Western values and presented audiences with a new, more mystifying piece of supernatural storytelling utilizing close-ups to great effect and shooting the film in sequence, a tactic used so the actors could grow into their roles. Eastwood began to achieve a level of artistic respect he never quite managed as an actor. Although, what Eastwood had learned from Leone was literally abolished for one of Eastwood’s most successful westerns in 1976 The Outlaw Josey Wales. Leone’s style and mannerisms of his Westerns were never influenced while on set and as a director, Eastwood preferred to deal with dramatic narrative rather than special effects: his films tended to be bleak, compelling stories with several strands of intimate character details, shot in rich, textured shady light as well as still renowned for his low budgets, humble attitude and limiting rehearsals.

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