Movies like High Plains Drifter (1973)
The best movies like High Plains Drifter (1973) are The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), The Quick and the Dead (1987) and Pale Rider (1985). If High Plains Drifter hooked you with its western and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTombstone (1993)7.6/10 from 2,600 votes
- NewestRust (2024)Released 2024
The Fastest Gun Alive (1956)
Whenever it becomes known how good he is with guns, ex-gunman George and his wife Dora have to flee the town, in fear of all the gunmen who might want to challenge him. Unfortunately he again spills his secret when he's drunk. All citizens swear to keep his secret and support him to give up his guns forever -- but a boy tells the story to a gang of wanted criminals. Their leader threatens to burn down the whole town, if he doesn't duel him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quick and the Dead (1987)
In 1876 Wyoming, the gun is the only law. And for Duncan and Suzanna McKaskel, newly arrived settlers beset by outlaws, rugged frontiersman Con Vallian is the only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPale Rider (1985)
A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJane Got a Gun (2015)
After her outlaw husband returns home shot with eight bullets and barely alive, Jane reluctantly reaches out to an ex-lover who she hasn't seen in over ten years to help her defend her farm when the time comes that her husband's gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisJoe Kidd (1972)
A band of Mexicans find their U. S. land claims denied and all the records destroyed in a courthouse fire. Their leader, Louis Chama, encourages them to use force to regain their land. A wealthy landowner wanting the same decides to hire a gang of killers with Joe Kidd to track Chama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHannie Caulder (1971)
After she's raped by the outlaw trio who murdered her husband, a frontierswoman hires a bounty hunter to instruct her in the ways of a gun in order to exact her revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Missouri Breaks (1976)
When vigilante land baron David Braxton hangs one of the best friends of cattle rustler Tom Logan, Logan's gang decides to get even by purchasing a small farm next to Braxton's ranch. From there the rustlers begin stealing horses, using the farm as a front for their operation. Determined to stop the thefts at any cost, Braxton retains the services of eccentric sharpshooter Robert E. Lee Clayton, who begins ruthlessly taking down Logan's gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJubal (1956)
Jubal Troop is a cowboy who is found in a weakened condition, without a horse. He is given shelter at Shep Horgan's large ranch, where he quickly makes an enemy in foreman Pinky, a cattleman who accuses Jubal of carrying the smell of sheep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtreme Prejudice (1987)
Lean, mean Texas Ranger Jack Benteen locks horns with a former friend, Cash Bailey, now a ruthless drug kingpin. Though they're on opposite sides of the law, they share a love interest in the sensual Sarita. When a crew of rogue soldiers descends upon the border town for an off-the-books mission, all roads lead to a bloody, to-the-death showdown, as loyalties shift and the lines between good and evil are blurred.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mountain Men (1980)
The story concerns two grizzled mountain men -- Bill Tyler and Henry Frapp -- during the dying days of the fur-trapping era. The plot begins when Running Moon runs away from her abusive husband Heavy Eagle and comes across the two seedy fur trappers. The mountain men take her in, unaware that Heavy Eagle has dispatched an army of Indian braves to reclaim her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSurrounded (2023)
After her stagecoach is ambushed, a woman is tasked with holding a dangerous outlaw captive and must survive the day when the bandit’s gang tries to free him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn a Valley of Violence (2016)
The story of a drifter named Paul who arrives in a small town seeking revenge on the thugs who murdered his friend. Sisters Mary Anne and Ellen, who run the town's hotel, help Paul in his quest for vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky Number Slevin (2006)
Slevin is mistakenly put in the middle of a personal war between the city’s biggest criminal bosses. Under constant watch, Slevin must try not to get killed by an infamous assassin and come up with an idea of how to get out of his current dilemma.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeadwood: The Movie (2019)
Follow the 10-year reunion of the Deadwood camp to celebrate South Dakota's statehood. Former rivalries are reignited, alliances are tested and old wounds are reopened, as all are left to navigate the inevitable changes that modernity and time have wrought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRust (2024)
Infamous outlaw Harland Rust breaks his estranged grandson Lucas out of prison, after Lucas is convicted to hang for an accidental murder. The two must outrun legendary U.S Marshal Wood Helm and bounty hunter Fenton "Preacher" Lang who are hot on their tails. Deeply buried secrets rise from the ashes and an unexpected familial bond begins to form as the mismatched duo tries to survive the merciless American Frontier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl Dorado (1966)
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Harrah. Together with a fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHigh Ground (2021)
In a remote corner of the wild country, a bloody war rages. Travis is a bounty hunter with one last hope of redemption. Gutjuk is a young Indigenous man trying to save the last of his family. Together they embark on a manhunt, which unravels a secret that ultimately pits them against each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell or High Water (2016)
A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisButcher's Crossing (2023)
In the 1870s, a young Harvard dropout seeks his destiny out West by tying his fate to a team of buffalo hunters led by a man named Miller. Together, they embark on a harrowing journey risking life and sanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
SnoozefestMovies like thisTom Horn (1980)
A renowned former army scout is hired by ranchers to hunt down rustlers but finds himself on trial for the murder of a boy when he carries out his job too well. Tom Horn finds that the simple skills he knows are of no help in dealing with the ambitions of ranchers and corrupt officials as progress marches over him and the old west.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl Topo (1970)
El Topo decides to confront warrior Masters on a trans-formative desert journey he begins with his 6 year old son, who must bury his childhood totems to become a man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig Muddy (2014)
Martha Barlow, a modern day outlaw, must reconcile her dark past after her teenage son commits a horrible crime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western & drama
Young Guns (1988)
A group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTombstone (1993)
Legendary marshal Wyatt Earp, now a weary gunfighter, joins his brothers Morgan and Virgil to pursue their collective fortune in the thriving mining town of Tombstone. But Earp is forced to don a badge again and get help from his notorious pal Doc Holliday when a gang of renegade brigands and rustlers begins terrorizing the town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Quick and the Dead (1995)
A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Killer (2017)
In lawless badlands, reclusive Cabeleira sets out to discover the fate of his gunman father and grows to be a feared assassin himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shootist (1976)
Afflicted with a terminal illness John Bernard Books, the last of the legendary gunfighters, quietly returns to Carson City for medical attention from his old friend Dr. Hostetler. Aware that his days are numbered, the troubled man seeks solace and peace in a boarding house run by a widow and her son. However, it is not Books' fate to die in peace, as he becomes embroiled in one last valiant battle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattle of the Bulge (1965)
In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent it, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeast Beast (2021)
A look at the lives and trauma surrounding three people living in a southern town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)
A nameless gunfighter arrives in a town ripped apart by rival gangs and, though courted by both to join, chooses his own path.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like High Plains Drifter?
The closest matches to High Plains Drifter are The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), The Quick and the Dead (1987) and Pale Rider (1985). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after High Plains Drifter?
Start with The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), the closest match to High Plains Drifter.
What is the highest-rated movie like High Plains Drifter?
Tombstone (1993), rated 7.6/10 by 2,600 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like High Plains Drifter?
Rust (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like High Plains Drifter?
Yes: The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), The Quick and the Dead (1987) and Pale Rider (1985).
How are movies similar to High Plains Drifter chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside High Plains Drifter, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.