With only his second directorial effort, “A Stranger With No Name”, Clint Eastwood has buried the American Western. You can stream the ultra-brutal FSK-18 tearjerker on Prime Video.
As a stoic-looking, cigarillo-smoking pistolero who always hits the mark, Clint Eastwood (“Mystic River”) rose to become the absolute icon of the Italo-Western in the Sergio Leone classics “For a Fistful of Dollars”, “For a Few Dollars More” and “Two Glorious Scoundrels”. With “A Stranger With No Name”, only Clint Eastwood’s second directorial effort after “Sadistico”, the icon took on the genre that once gave him his breakthrough in 1973 – and in a particularly gruesome way.
At one time, “A Stranger with No Name” was even on the Index because of its nihilistic cruelty. In the meantime, the brutal Western has been rehabilitated, but still has a more than deserved FSK-18 rating. Right now, you can stream the 1970s smash on Amazon Prime Video for a fee.
THIS IS WHAT “A STRANGER WITH NO NAME” IS ABOUT
A nameless horseman (Clint Eastwood) finds himself in the small waterfront town of Lago. There, he is initially viewed with suspicion by the inhabitants, who gradually all turn out to be cowards. But when the stranger sees to it that local scoundrels are finished off once and for all, the villagers are determined to persuade him to stay.
A group of bandits is expected in town shortly, freshly released from prison and seeking revenge for their year-long stay in jail. The fearful inhabitants of the town ask the stranger for help in the fight against the gangsters and give him all the powers they need. After some hesitation, he finally agrees…
A DARK RUSH OF VIOLENCE
Although “A Stranger With No Name” is only Clint Eastwood’s second directorial effort, he was never to go to such bestial lengths thereafter as he did in this one. As a ghost western, which Eastwood himself would revisit years later with the marginally better “Pale Rider”, we are confronted from the start with an identity-less man who emerges like a mirage from the shimmering haze of the desert landscape. What he’s about is already clear after a few minutes: violence.
Although it appears on the surface that Clint Eastwood’s Ghost Rider wants to save a completely helpless village community, his true motivation is pure selfishness. When he lets the revolver speak, it is not to help, but to satisfy his own urges (here primarily revenge, but often it is also pure sadism). In my opinion, this leads to a very atmospheric deconstruction of the romantic John Wayne Western, but it also harbours problems.
“A Stranger with No Name” is animated by Eastwood’s undeniable talent in terms of directing and moves forward with a grimness that is still quite surprising today. The image of women, however, is nauseating because it continually confirms a thoroughly questionable cult of masculinity. Clint Eastwood is not only extremely brutal with a shooting iron, shooting down any number of scoundrels. He’s also a rapist who takes advantage of women who hopelessly fall for him during this act of humiliation.
Of course, this limits the viewing pleasure to a certain extent, but as a deeply dark, thoroughly rustic violent western, “A Stranger with No Name” is ultimately convincing. Eastwood’s craft is not only too accomplished (especially the finale, which is almost cast in surreal, delirious visual compositions, is a real eye-catcher), but also impressive in its determination to bring all the corrosive, immoral, rough and disgusting aspects of this (still halfway) lawless time to the surface. A no-holds-barred monstrosity of a film.
