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re: High Plains Drifter-Who, or what, was the Stranger, exactly? (Spoilers)
Posted on 5/31/24 at 7:51 am to fr33manator
Posted on 5/31/24 at 7:51 am to fr33manator
quote:
But in the end, when the Little Man asks the stranger, "who are you?"
He replies, "you already know."
And the camera pans around to the newly carved headstone for the fallen Marshal Jim Duncan.
This is the answer. Don't overthink it.
1
Posted on 5/31/24 at 9:30 am to Master of Sinanju
quote:
This is the answer. Don't overthink it
Yeah, I get that.
What doesn't make sense is...it's a corporeal "ghost" who looks different?
That just doesn't make sense.
An avenging spirit in human form. Demon, angel, wraith...that makes sense in the context of the story.
Not a straight up ghost
Posted on 5/31/24 at 9:51 am to Brosef Stalin
quote:
Seems obvious he's the ghost of the former town Marshall who was killed by the bandits while the rest of the town did nothing. He came to get revenge on the bandits who killed him and the townspeople who did nothing to help.
It's this. Plain and simple. No question. How can anyone miss this?
Posted on 5/31/24 at 9:55 am to PowerTool
quote:
Why? Enjoy watching rape scenes with your kiddo?
Pretty fricking weird your mind would immediately go there.
Posted on 5/31/24 at 10:02 am to fr33manator
quote:
I'd agree, except for the fact that ghosts don't typically shoot, screw, smoke and sleep.
He is far too tangible to be a ghost
It depends on what ghost you are using as your basis. It's supernatural. There really are no rules with this stuff. That's what makes it cool, mysterious, and also kind of a writer's crutch.
Posted on 5/31/24 at 10:12 am to TygerTyger
quote:
There really are no rules with this stuff.
Except there is. There is a historical cultural understanding of what a "ghost" is, especially in western culture.
They are ephemeral, and either look like the person that died, or some vaguely human, wispy mass.
What they Don't look like is a completely different man who rides into town on a horse, drinks whiskey, gets a shave, kills men, rapes a woman, gets a bath, complete with a midget rub.
Ghosts don't eat dinner, stay in town, etc. etc. etc.
We know he's Connected to Marshall Duncan, and makes the town pay for their misdeeds,
But I don't believe he's THE ghost of Marshall Duncan.
He's something more. Something physical and powerful and vengeful
Posted on 5/31/24 at 10:15 am to fr33manator
Think of it like Heaven Can Wait. The marshal dies but has unfinished business on earth so he is sent back/reincarnated in another man's body who died at about the same time. That way the townies and villains don't immediately recognize him and ruin the movie.
Posted on 5/31/24 at 10:30 am to rebelrouser
quote:
The marshal dies but has unfinished business on earth so he is sent back/reincarnated in another man's body who died at about the same time.
Now that's one I haven't seen yet and pretty good.
Sort of a purgatorial thing.
Makes a lot more sense than a ghost.
So...he got a second shot at life after...
As the Pale Rider?
Posted on 5/31/24 at 5:49 pm to chinese58
quote:
ETA: I don't know if Luke Wilson has ever been in a Western, but he should fit. He is a real Texan anyway. That thought may have passed thru Costner's head too.
Luke had a small part in the 3:10 to Yuma remake. He was in the tunnel the Chinamen were digging. He had several lines but nothing too memorable.
Posted on 5/31/24 at 6:57 pm to fr33manator
He literally vanishes into thin air at the end. There's also the scene when the bandits raid the town towards the end and one of them is standing in the bar. He whips them over the swinging doors at a downward angle. That's an unnatural angle for a normal human. I don't know how anyone can say its not a ghost.
Posted on 5/31/24 at 7:34 pm to Brosef Stalin
Yeah. Not sure how we are still debating this. Not only does he disappear at the end but he is shot at point blank range in the bathtub and no issues.
And he has flashbacks of how he was killed. How else would he know this? And remember he reacts to the horse whip early on? All like the ghost of someone whipped to death.
And he has flashbacks of how he was killed. How else would he know this? And remember he reacts to the horse whip early on? All like the ghost of someone whipped to death.
Posted on 5/31/24 at 9:14 pm to kciDAtaE
Everything said about the ghost theory makes sense, but I am a practical person never prone to think about supernatural stuff. When I saw the movie as a kid, at the end I immediately assumed he was the dead marshal’s brother.
Tip: Marshal has one L. That was a plot point in an episode of Justified.
Another tip: The new US Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas is worth a visit. Very well done, and good for kids and adults.
Tip: Marshal has one L. That was a plot point in an episode of Justified.
Another tip: The new US Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas is worth a visit. Very well done, and good for kids and adults.
Posted on 5/31/24 at 10:41 pm to Twenty 49
This thread is strange to me. I’ve seen this movie at least five or six times and I never considered that it could be anyone else than the dead former sheriff.
Posted on 5/31/24 at 11:22 pm to Brosef Stalin
quote:
I don't know how anyone can say its not a ghost.
Because ghosts don't have corporeal form, which he obviously does.
Supernatural, yes.
A "ghost"? No.
Show me another ghost that eats, screws, shoots, sleeps, shaves.
It doesn't match up.
Posted on 6/1/24 at 4:43 am to fr33manator
I don't know what the established ghost lore was in 1973 when this movie came out but we saw ghosts pour drinks, clean Jack Nicholson's suit, and maybe open a door in The Shining. A few years later we saw ghosts give a bj, eat, and drive a taxi in Ghostbusters.
Posted on 6/1/24 at 6:54 am to kciDAtaE
quote:
but he is shot at point blank range in the bathtub and no issues.
Because she's a terrible shot and doesn't know what she's doing.
Posted on 6/1/24 at 6:59 am to Brosef Stalin
quote:
but we saw ghosts pour drinks, clean Jack Nicholson's suit, and maybe open a door in The Shining.
Dammit. Good point.
I guess ghosts can kind of just do whatever you need them too.
I just thought it was something a little deeper than just "it was his ghost."
Posted on 6/1/24 at 7:21 am to fr33manator
I kinda get the feeling that when he does things like eat, and drink, etc. it’s for a purpose not to himself but to others.
Just like when he’s offered free rein on anything in the town.
He’s not just there to kill Stacey and the other two.
He’s there for everyone in the town. Some of the town’s people would die, but they all needed to be reminded in some way of what they allowed to happen.
He paid for the shave, but he was interrupted. He never got the shave or a refund for it. It was just for a purpose.
Just like when he’s offered free rein on anything in the town.
He’s not just there to kill Stacey and the other two.
He’s there for everyone in the town. Some of the town’s people would die, but they all needed to be reminded in some way of what they allowed to happen.
He paid for the shave, but he was interrupted. He never got the shave or a refund for it. It was just for a purpose.
This post was edited on 6/1/24 at 7:23 am
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