If there ever was an actor outside of John Wayne who is synonymous with Westerns, it would have to be iconic actor Clint Eastwood. In the Western classic High Plains Drifter not only did he star in the movie, but he was also the film’s director. This is the second film he directed. In this film, you can see how much influence Spaghetti Western director Sergio Leone had on his directing style.

High Plains Drifter is a tale about vengeance. A mysterious person, referred to as “The Stranger” who comes to the small town in Lago, CA. As he arrives in Lago, the townsfolk gaze upon him, looking intimidated, with that what does he want expression. As he settles into the town, and after killing three men in an impressive fashion,  the stranger is hired by Sheriff Sam Shaw (Walter Barnes, The Big Gundown) to fight off a trio of outlaws who are on their way to Lago and take care of some unfinished criminal business. The Stranger seems to know who these men are and appears to have a past with them.  

High Plains Drifter is a riveting film with a great story and supporting cast including an unforgettable scene that the stranger has with Callie Travers (Mariana Hill, Messiah of Evil) early on. The cast for the film all hand in fantastic performances, especially Mariana Hill who goes way over the top and is easily the second most compelling character in the film. The pacing is perfect with an explosive shootout at the film’s finale as the payoff. The lush cinematography is by Bruce Surtees, and his shots of the landscapes are top-notch. The visuals in the film contribute to the film’s effectiveness. Eastwood’s role as the stranger will remind you of the man with no name, in fact some of his roles in American Western films are reminiscent of the same character.

High Plains Drifter arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. While it is true that the film has been released on Blu-ray before, Kino has added some supplements to make this a better package, particularly if you like extras.

The Blu-ray does come an already existing “older” HD master, but the picture quality is still fantastic and more than passable. The image still holds up well with beautiful, rich and clear outdoor scenery under the blue skies. This is one of the few instances where older or dated HD master did not need a newer scan, unless it is upgraded to UHD.

English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.

lossless 2.0 track are the two tracks offered for this release.  Both offering crisp, clear dialog without any issues such as drop-offs and hissing. Dialog, action sounds and the music numbers by Dee Barton are strong, with the lossless 2.0 track being a bit more on the aggressive side. Optional English SDH subtitles are offered for this release.

Extras as aplenty for this release. There is a brand new exclusive new audio commentary for this release by filmmaker Alex Cox.

There are two Trailers from Hell featurettes.

Trailers From Hell One is with director Edgar Wright, while Trailers From Hell Two is with screenwriter Josh Olson

The vintage extra, A Man Named Eastwood has been ported over for this release. The is the feature which focuses on the production of High Plains Drifter and talk about Clint Eastwood’s career.

There are brand new interviews with three cast members that were done exclusively for Kino Lorber. William O’Connell, Mitchell Ryan and Mariana Hill. Each actor discusses what it was like to work with Clint Eastwood during the making of High Plains Drifter.

This release has a slipcover and has even a reversible Blu-ray sleeve cover with vintage poster art for High Plains Drifter.

There are still more extras; there are TV Spots, a vintage radio spot, an image gallery consisting of a collection of vintage posters and images from the film and of course, trailers. Trailers for this release focuses on films with Clint Eastwood: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Two Mules for Sister Sara and Joe Kidd.

What more can be said about High Plains Drifter? It is undeniably a timeless classic that has become more beloved by fans as time marches forward. This release with the excellent audio and video quality and the mix of old and new extras makes this a highly recommend release!

High Plains Drifter

Director- Clint Eastwood

Cast- Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill

Country of Origin- US

Distributor – Kino Lorber

Number of Discs – 1

Reviewed by – David Steigman

Date- 12/4/20