Pale Rider does nothing to disprove the wisdom that this genre is best left to the revival houses. A double feature of Shane and Eastwood's High Plains Drifter will do just fine, thanks.
Pale Rider (1985)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:24
Fresh:22
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.3/10
Synopsis: A girl kneels over the grave of her murdered dog, praying for a miracle, while off in the distance, a man rides toward town on a pale horse. Clint Eastwood's PALE RIDER was the filmmaker's first... A girl kneels over the grave of her murdered dog, praying for a miracle, while off in the distance, a man rides toward town on a pale horse. Clint Eastwood's PALE RIDER was the filmmaker's first Western in nearly a decade. It finds a pleasant balance between the mystical revisionism of films such as HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER and the traditional Western. Eastwood stars as the Preacher, who wanders into a dusty California town and tries to rescue a community of gold prospectors that is being terrorized by the local corporate mining operation, which is strip-mining the land. He's taken in by Hull Barrett (Michael Moriarty), who lives with Sarah Wheeler (Carrie Snodgrass) and her 14-year-old daughter, she of the murdered pooch, Megan (Sydney Penny). The Preacher is something of a blend of Eastwood's Man with No Name and the title character of George Stevens's SHANE. The story and treatment are straightforward and entertaining, and the strong performances draw the audience in. The Preacher remains a mysterious character, but in the end, as he takes on the evil mining corporation's hired guns, it's impossible not to root for him. [More]
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Chris Penn
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Chris Penn, Richard Dysart, Sydney Penny, Richard Kiel
Director: Clint Eastwood
Director: Clint Eastwood
Reviews for Pale Rider
It had been so long since a quality western had hit America's screens that it appears as if Eastwood purposely set out to remind audiences of all the elements that make the genre work.
It's all been seen before, but Eastwood serves it up with authority, fine craftsmanship and a frequent sense of fun.
His saddle bag is a mixed one, though Pale Rider still has the touch of quality associated with latter-day Eastwood. [Blu-ray]
...who else would you want coming to your rescue than the Preacher Man With No Name?
It's a lightweight, easygoing affair, reminiscent of some of Hawks' or Ford's lesser Westerns.
Eastwood's mythic Western divided film critics: Some were baffled by the audacity of his playing a religious figure, while others claimed he was just embodying the mysterious knight-stranger, a common character in classic Westerns.
[Eastwood] understands so well how he works on the screen that the movie has a resonance that probably was not even there in the screenplay.
Clint Eastwood stars as the mysterious stranger who arrives in a town and challenges the citizens to fight evil.
A lesser Western by Eastwood's standards, but many a filmmaker would consider this a career high point.
I'm just now beginning to realize that, though Mr. Eastwood may have been improving over the years, it's also taken all these years for most of us to recognize his very consistent grace and wit as a filmmaker.
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