Pale Rider Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
... and hell followed with him.
Clint Eastwood is a mysterious preacher who comes to a gold mining camp near a small town in the mountains. The miners are in grave danger as a ruthless landowner decides to take their land, with the support of the sheriff. The only one who seems brave enough to save them is this preacher who came from nowhere and nobody knows his past or his real name. Why is the sheriff afraid of him? Why is he such a good shooter? Is he really a preacher?
| Clint Eastwood | Preacher |
| Michael Moriarty | Hull Barret |
| Carrie Snodgress | Sarah Wheeler |
| Chris Penn | Josh LaHood |
| Richard Dysart | Coy LaHood |
| Sydney Penny | Megan Wheeler |
| Richard Kiel | Club |
| Doug McGrath | Spider Conway |
| John Russell | Stockburn |
| Charles Hallahan | McGill |
| Marvin J. McIntyre | Jagou |
| Fran Ryan | Ma Blankenship |
| Richard Hamilton | Jed Blankenship |
| Graham Paul | Ev Gossage |
| Chuck Lafont | Eddie Conway |
| Clint Eastwood |
7.00 out of 10 (8742 votes)
Visitor Reviews
great movie
posted on 09 Aug 2009One of the greatest westerns of all times.. They don't make 'em like this anymore! Clint Eastwood is perfect in the role of the nameless preacher. You would sleep easy at night,knowing he is there to protect you. Of course the bad-guys in this film are great characters too. The seven evil deputies are so evil,that every movie hero would have a hard time to defeat them,but not the preacher.. Carrie Snodgress is also perfectly cast as the lonely farmers wife,and Christopher Penn has a great brake-thru as a young villain. But the real star of the film is Eastwood as the silent preacher, who rides away in the deep deserts of loneliness after killing all the bad guys, in a blaze of gunfire and bullets.
Eastwood's Best Film
posted on 07 Aug 2009"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth" (Revelation 6:8). We hear the first sentence of this verse with the appearance of the Pale Rider in the camp of miners; the second sentence is not read but is present throughout the film, and its silence is why many misunderstand and fail to comprehend the significance of the appearance of the angel of death and its meaning for the film. "Around the hero everything becomes a tragedy; around the demigod, a satyr-play; and around God everything becomes--what? perhaps a 'world'?--" (Nietzsche, BGE, 150). Pale Rider is a concealed satyr-play posing as a tragedy that takes place in the world of God. It is not surprising that this ironic or dissimulating aspect of the film very often escapes attention, for that is the nature of irony.
Pale Rider is an obvious simulacrum of Shane. As others have pointed out, miners do not generate as much sympathy as homesteading farmers. What is missed by those who believe this, however, is that the film is pointing deliberately, although indirectly, to the violence necessarily consequent when a political community imposes by law and, if necessary, force, the American faith in anthropological equality. Obviously these people are not equal, just as they were not in Shane. The dramatic religious setting and background images the order of rank, the hierarchy, of souls of human beings in various states and degrees of need or lack. The film also points to the connection between the modern exaltation of courage--combined with the equal right to pursue mastery of other humans--and an over-indulgence in violence and vulgarity. It is striking that there is a complete lack of moderation in the souls represented herein; there is no moderation of the satisfaction of personal desire. The miners tell themselves that they are more righteous than LaHood because they are trying to better their families. Of course this is merely cover for the personal greed of the miners, made evident by their crude and braggadocios behavior after finding some gold. It still breaks down to love of one's own without moderation--a refusal to recognize natural limits. Even the women who implore their men to avoid violence do so only to avoid personal pain. This is the meaning of the unspoken second sentence of Revelation 6:8 which is ever present in the film: all seem to believe it is given to them, as sovereign individuals, to rule as they wish with sword, beasts, machines, etc., and this appears to be a necessary result of the modern desire to turn the juridical notion of equality before the law into a metaphysical doctrine of justice (the Rawlsian spirit writ large). Liberty and equality have turned into freedom from self-restrainst and a rejection of order and rank, which has resulted in moral bankruptcy. Our way of life in America is supposed to be based on the Enlightenment principle of reason; instead a crass individualism has devolved out of the theory of the social contract and its emphasis on self-interest with the practical effect of leveling all hierarchies and unleashing the destructive forces of unmitigated passion, always in the name of equal rights. Thus the film evinces a Nietzschean interpretation of this phenomenon as the spirit of revenge and the dawn of the era of the Last Man. In sum we are made to see that a political community ruled by the passions of the demos is by nature vulgar. All grand purposes and virtues have been muted in favor of the self-expression of even the lowest capacities. The modern project to master nature which began with Bacon's and Descartes' exhortations to conquer nature for "the relief of man's estate" (and has its political corollary in "rights" politics, derived principally from the right to self-preservation) has resulted in nihilism.
How are we to react to the fact that the Pale Rider guns down seven (and here we are being asked to associate the number seven with the seven seals in Revelation) men so that miners can make money and fulfill their hearts' desires? How are we to view the people who admire the man who actualized the spirit of revenge that they themselves wanted to enact but lacked the courage to carry out? Given the dramatic context of the film, I suggest we are to view these as examples of the nature of man as a Fallen creature. Whence Eastwood's emphasis on the Biblical themes of the evil of man and the avenging angel of death, not only in this film, but really in most of his films, and especially his Westerns. I say this not to join the contemporary view that the West was somehow bad or evil, for contemporary America manifests the same principle of revenge when those who say the West was bad do so from the perspective that it fell short of the utopian dream of equality. It is the attempt to inculcate and enforce the metaphysical doctrine of justice as equality that has disastorously damaging effects on the human soul, not the belief in, and desire to maintain, principles of hierarchy of the good. This is what Pale Rider the film can teach us, and what those who view it too narrowly--as a simple Western tale of the Stranger saving the little guys from the big guys--miss. "Has it escaped your notice, that--by Homer's account--you are bringing not a stranger but some god? He says that besides the other deities the god of strangers especially becomes a companion to those men who participate in just reverence, and that 'he looks down upon both outrages and lawful conduct' [cf. _Odyssey_ 9.269-271 and _Odyssey_ 17.485-487]. So perhaps here too the stranger that accompanies you might be among the Mightier, come to look over us and refute us, since we are feeble at giving accounts--a sort of refuting god" (Plato, Sophist 216a-b).
Adult, Mischevious, Camp, Classic American Western
posted on 30 May 2009I'm tempted to give this paralell-universe "Shane" five stars if only for hired-gun Stockburn's infamous deputies. Six silent men in pale dusters, who throughout never utter a peep, never talk among themselves, never smile, never scowl, never even blink -- it is absolutly classic American Western filmmaking. You laughed at WB Cartoons' spoofs of such melodramatic Wild West moments if you're old enough to remember those.
So it's campy, but in a great way. In Westerns, Clint Eastwood is a true player, though I think he must have had his toungue in cheek a lot. I love the metaphysical hints in the plot, the flirting with biblical identity, his version of upholding the honor and "code" of the West as a man-of-the-cloth/gunslinger, both of whom bear the Eastwood Curse of always being attractive to women (!) -- it's great stuff! He pushed the envelope in this brazen variation of Shane and although it was made in 1985, I'd say it was really more of a '70s movie in some regards, but that's part of its appeal. Eastwood is a good filmmaker and a tiny bit mischevious.
It has gratuitously violent gunplay in some scenes, and the manner of the implied sexual attractions is nearly as gratuitous. That drops it a star in my book, as it makes it an awkward film to watch with kids or older folks from a more modest and dignified era. That said, part of the film's appeal for me is that those lustful tuggings were very believable and actually must have been part of the equation in many real-life pioneer situations. There was a time I could have been in Megan's very shoes; teen-age girls could learn something from this movie!
I'm a lover of Westerns, and this one is certainly in my top ten. An enjoyable move that gets better with time and perspective.
Powerful symbolic movie
posted on 14 May 2009First time I saw this movie I was Around Eight and few scenes made a strong impression with me especially the killing of Megan's dog and the end fight against Stockburn. Now that I saw Pale Rider again and understood the meaning behind. The main theme is about the conflict between a corporation and individuals. In these frameworks the movie addresses the exploitation of natural and human recourses, corruption of government institutions while the Establishment is shown with good intentions but incapable or slow to act. The themes seem to make the movie actual now more then ever. There is typical western composition of good against evil while good prevails. A priest rides in and pulls the people together. While it doesn't seem enough he disbands his signs of religion and picks up a gun and takes out opposition.
Nothing particularly new,...but it all comes together so nicely
posted on 20 Apr 2009PALE RIDER is a breathtakingly beautiful movie to watch due to its being filmed in the mountains of Idaho. With just a touch of snow now and again, the picture looks almost like a travel brochure! Interestingly enough, the movie is supposed to be set in Northern California! While apart from the pretty location, there isn't a whole lot new or innovative about this film, though the sum total of the parts make for a dandy picture. Sure, the film very heavily borrows from SHANE (particularly with the very end--I almost expected the girl to yell out "Come back, SHANE!!!" instead of "I love you") as well as Clint Eastwood's other Westerns--particularly FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. But, despite all this and knowing where the picture is going, this movie is an absolute standout film.Particularly noteworthy is the acting by Michael Moriarty. He does a marvelous job of playing an ordinary man who is willing to stand up for himself--especially with the help of Eastwood. Eastwood's character, not unexpectedly, is an enigma--sort of like the "man with no name" in his much earlier films. Here, he is just known as "the preacher", though many times throughout the film it seems pretty unlikely he is a man of the cloth. After all, for a preacher, he does some mighty fine shooting and drinks whiskey (though not to excess, mind you). Perhaps he is supposed to be an ex-gunfighter who has taken the call. The ambiguity of the man actually is a good thing--as it allows the viewer the chance to think instead of having this spoon-fed to him or her. Richard Dysart, the late Christopher Penn, Richard Kiel and the rest do a fine job of support.About the only part of the film that just didn't ring true was the tiny portion of the film when the young girl went for a ride on the mule. Right in the middle of a MAJOR feud, she just wanders into the camp of the enemy and almost gets raped!! This part is just too dumb and inexplicable to understand. Removing it from the film would certainly tighten up and improve the film.Now, a comment about the music. Unlike the "Spaghetti Westerns" Eastwood made in the 60s, this film has a very minimalistic score. The over-the-top and crazy music from these earlier films was exciting and cool in a silly way. This much quieter film score seemed more appropriate for an older and wiser Eastwood. Both were about perfect for each type of film.Finally, although this movie is rated R, I really cannot understand why. Sure there's some gun-play and a couple guys get bullets in the head. BUT, the film really isn't that explicit and could have easily been rated PG-13 or possibly even PG! The language isn't a problem either and there is no nudity in the film. About the only objectionable content might be when a girl is almost raped, but I would feel comfortable if I let my teens see the film.
Best Western of the 80's?
posted on 08 Jan 2009I don't know if this is the best Western of the 1980's, it wouldn't be too hard I suppose as there wasn't really that many made in that decade, or now unfortunately. Its the best Western of that decade that I have seen, the only other good one I can recall is Silverado and Young Guns was pretty good though the sequel was even better. The 1990's was a much better decade for Western fans, Dances with Wolves, Unforgiven, Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, Young Guns 2, The Quick and the Dead and of course Bad Girls (Only joking!). Anyway Pale Rider seen Clint Eastwood return to the Western after quite a few years doing other types of movies and luckily Pale Rider is a great film. As has been mentioned in numerous other user comments it does borrow very heavily from the Classic Western Shane and Clint's own High Plains Drifter but it never tries to hide this fact and its a great film in its own right. Very moody and beautifully shot with great performances all round. Clint was on top of his game on this one and produced a top notch Western that ranks amongst one of his best below The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Unforgiven and The Outlaw Josey Whales. I would love to see Eastwood make another Western but find it highly unlikely as he couldn't possibly top his last one Unforgiven but at least Kevin Costner has got one coming out later this year. Look out for Richard Kiel in this one he played Jaws in a couple of Bond films and Sean Penns brother Chris, who was a lot thinner in those days! Highly recommended ***8/10***
Eastwood's return to the saddle will make your day.
posted on 03 Jan 2009Made years prior to his classic Unforgiven, Pale Rider offers positive proof that no other contemporary filmmaker understands the mythic texture and rhythm of the American Western better than actor/director Clint Eastwood. Combining elements from Shane and High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider tells the tale of a mysterious gunslinging preacher that comes to the aid of embattled settlers in the Pacific Northwest. While the film does have its weakness, namely too closely resembling superior films, it has its strengths as well, mainly invoking the laconic, rugged individualism that is the hallmark of all great westerns, some rousing actions scenes, and well drawn characters and situations. The religious underpinnings are also of larger interest thanks in part to the screenwriting of Dennis Shyrack and Michael Butler (who used similiar theological symbolism in their scripts for the Eastwood chase thriller The Gauntlet as well as the B-movie level horror show The Car).
Not the best, but still pretty good
posted on 01 Dec 2008Although most reviewers site this film as a remake of SHANE, Eastwood is really returning to the storyline of his own 1972 film HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, but minus that film's brutality and, unfortunately, its single-mindedness. PALE RIDER has a difficult time finding its center: is it Eastwood's "Preacher" or Michael Moriarty's settler? Although the weakest of the quartet of Westerns Clint directed, it's still entertaining and beautifully shot, and the sequence where seven assassins gun a miner down in the street is memorable.
anamericancallederik
posted on 25 Nov 2008The Pale Rider is one of the worst westerns I have seen. What makes it painful is the potential that it had to be a great movie. It has all the elements, a town in trouble and a mysterious stranger with a past who can save it. The whole idea with the symbolism in the movie was good, such as the Pale Rider, or Death, from the book of Revelations and the chance that this stranger might just be Jesus. But the movie was just too dragged out. There was not enough action. The part where the girl tells Eastwood that she loves him is just laughable.
Solid 80's Western
posted on 09 Nov 2008Though this movie copied some things from SHANE (1953) and HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (1973), PALE RIDER (1985) is a classic in it's own right. I find it so unfair when a lot of people discredit this movie, just because it's a clone in some ways. I know that not all will agree with me, but I'll say again, this western is a classic in it's own right, a big hit under Clint's belt, not his best, but it did enough during those times to keep his stardom alive, until he came up with UNFORGIVEN (1992), his crowning achievement. A thrill rider from start to finish, I give a 10/10.
is not all that bad....
posted on 28 Oct 2008When I watched the movie, i was given the impression that the preacher was the angel of death (pale rider) sent by God in response to the girl's teary prayer. Although, this could have been explained further in the film. The scenery was beautiful and the actors performed well. I especially liked the bit with the marshals being gunned down, because it wasn't a silly drawn out gunfight, he shot them, they died. I thought the 15 year old girl falling in love with the preacher dragged on for a bit, but I would still watch it on a Sunday afternoon. All in all I give this film a 7/10.
You can't beat a good bit of Hickory.
posted on 13 Oct 2008The opening to Pale Rider is just excellent, at first all is calm and serene, but then the peace is shattered by the thundering of hooves. A group of men employed by Coy LaHood, tear thru a small mining community, shooting guns and trampling over all in their way. During this callous act of bullying, one of the men shoots and kills young Megan's dog. When Megan buries her beloved pet, she calls to god to send someone to help them against the greedy LaHood, because LaHood is intent on stripping the locals of their claims, and he literally will stop at nothing to get them. Later on Megan is reading from the bible, she reads aloud to her mother about "beholding a pale horse and that the man who sat on it was death", we then see a lone horseman riding towards this under fire place...........Behold the pale horse because the man that sat on him was Clint Eastwood!, and that's all you really want to know as regards what drives the film on. It had been quite some time since the movie watching world had witnessed a dam good Western, so it is obvious that Eastwood, knowing the genre inside out, felt it time to remind all and sundry about this engrossing genre and all its little peccadilloes. Riffing on his own High Plains Drifter from 1973, Eastwood again uses supernatural leanings to play out this intriguing tale. Pale Rider works well because Eastwood cares for the genre so much, no frame is wasted and the acting on show delivers the necessary amount of quality to enhance the pictures impact. From the thundering opening to the gorgeous final shot, Pale Rider is an expertly crafted Western that still holds up today as a great entry on Eastwoods CV.Pale Rider 8/10
Soild 80's Western
posted on 07 Oct 2008I'm just disgusted why a lot of people consider PALE RIDER (1985) a clone of SHANE (1953) and HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (1973). Okay, facts are very clear that PALE RIDER has indeed copied some things from SHANE and HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. I for one have seen HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER and it's jus plain marvelous. SHANE, on the otherhand, I haven't yet, but seeing the reaction of others who've seen it, I have agree too it's a classic also. But don't discredit PALE RIDER too much, I know that everyone will not agree, but this western is a classic in it's own right. Not Clint's best, but it helped keep his star power afloat, when he seemed to hit rock bottom in the late 80's and early 90's, until he came up with UNFORGIVEN (1992), his crowing achievement. An exciting western from start to finish, I give it a 10/10.
No Alan Ladd
posted on 17 Sep 2008This is of course a rip-off of "Shane," but with the plot modified so Clint can beat up and shoot more people. Otherwise, it follows the classic original right down to ending with a youngster standing on the edge of town shouting "I love you" as the hero rides off (but not wounded as Ladd's character was). One parallel does not work, though. In the 1950 version, we can understand why the Jean Arthur character will be attracted to the clean-shaven, quiet-spoken, peace-preferring Shane. But why would the Carrie Snodgrass character and her nubile daughter played by Sydney Penny possibly be drawn to the scruffy, menacing Preacher, who too obviously relishes the destruction of other human beings?
Not Clint's best, but a damn fine western anyway
posted on 11 Aug 2008Pale Rider is often reputed to be below the standard of the rest of Eastwood's oeuvre, and this would seem to be the case, but even a lesser Eastwood film is a damn sight better than the majority of other westerns. This time, Eastwood stars as a more benevolent incarnation variation of his classic 'man with no name' character; a preacher that rides into a town that is being terrorised by a neighbouring landowner, intent on stealing the locals' land. Eastwood, after helping a man fend off some other men that are trying to steal his goods, finds himself at that man's home living with his fiancé and daughter. What we are then left with is a sort of mix between spaghetti western, and a story of an outsider living with another man's family. That, coupled with the central theme of the townsfolk being oppressed by their invaders makes gives the film a number of different angles.The film is slow to start, but unlike many films that are slow; this one is never boring. The drama and the way the scene is set is constantly engaging, and even through you're watching and want gunfights; I doubt that you'll get bored. Clint Eastwood directs and stars in the film, and does a great job at both. The way the landscape is photographed is spectacular, there are more than enough moments of tension, and the gunfights are very well staged. There's no need to go into Clint's performance as it's solid as always and overall, he proves why he's my favourite actor. Some actors just exude cool, and Clint is the coolest of the bunch. Despite having a slow start, the film still manages to boil down to one of the most exciting finale's in western history. In fact, the film is worth watching just for that. As I mentioned, there is a theme of invaders taking what isn't theirs going in this film, but other than that it's pretty thin on substance. Still, it doesn't matter because it's lack of substance is made up for with lots of fun and basically; if you like Westerns, you'll like this.
Clint Mixes Western and Allegory
posted on 28 May 2008In talking about COMES A HORSEMAN I discussed a curious switch in the stereotypes of the characters there - that Jason Robards was not the all powerful land baron that appears in say SHANE. Oddly enough the same thing happens with Richard Dysart in this film, but while COMES A HORSEMAN is set in the late 1940s, PALE RIDER is set in the late 19th Century.Dysart is seen at the start of the film returning from a business trip to the state capital. He is leaving the train, and his face is tired and somewhat discouraged looking. The big honcho of the local area he is approached by the sheriff and his deputies about the news he has to bring. And here it veers closer to Robards' in COMES A HORSEMAN, and further away from...say Forrest Tucker visiting the territorial governor in CHISUM. Dysart says that due to changes (more middle class voters in the state than formerly) his clout is not as big as it was a decade or so before - especially because of the local farmers and the rival mining interests. And he does not know if he can reverse the trend. Like Robards the big 20th Century rancher in COMES A HORSEMAN, Dysart is finding that he is on a potential slippery slope to bankruptcy.It is an interesting aspect of the westerns we were raised on. So many fortunes were torn out of the American west - frequently by less than honest means, that it is not usually recognized that many of these fortunes did not last. For every Leland Stamford or James J. Hill or Harriman (the railroad tycoon we never see in BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID), there were others like Haw Tabor (the basis for Edward G. Robinson's millionaire in SILVER DOLLAR) who lost it all in the end.It is not the only odd thing about PALE RIDER. Clint Eastwood took elements from the film SHANE, and combined them with a type of dark-viewed religious allegory. His character, "Preacher" has some ancient history with the sheriff and his deputies and Dysart - they talk of some threat in the past that they took care of, and there is evidence that Preacher was once seriously wounded (maybe left for dead). Yet the silent, relentless Preacher almost seems more than an avenger - like an angel of vengeance from the Lord, perhaps. The weakness (I feel) in the movie is Michael Moriarty. He tries hard, but does not seem as forceful a father and husband as Van Heflin was in Shane. But perhaps that is just as well.One final interesting point in the film: Richard Kiel. Best known as the oddly likable villain "Jaws" (in the later Bond films with Roger Moore), Kiel plays "Club" who is one of the workers/goons used by Dysart to do his dirty work. But he is also supposed to keep order in Dysart's business. When Chris Penn (Dysart's son "Josh") and some of the others start molesting a woman, Kiel actually runs over to try to prevent it. He is preempted by the arrival of Eastwood, who thrashes Penn and his buddy. Interestingly enough, Kiel enjoys seeing the would-be rapists punished.
Pale Imitation
posted on 22 May 2008Actor/director Clint Eastwood shoots himself, so to speak, in this competent remake of a much better movie.He's still clinging-on to his youthful man-with-no-name image that Sergio Leone so skilfully crafted many years before. Here, the persona, like the man, is beginning to look a little threadbare.'Shane' set a wonderful standard of an (almost) nameless stranger reticently championing the cause of a community threatened by an avaricious villain. Alan Ladd cut a much more believable and human figure. He appeared as an ordinary bloke, whereas Eastwood had to be a preacher turned ken-do expert. A pretty unlikely combination. Shane got the micky taken out of him and a bloody good hiding. He also got shot, all of which - again - Eastwood's vanity evidently wouldn't stomach. The rather strange-faced boy of the earlier movie is here replaced by a young girl scarcely beyond the age of puberty. Quite what she would see in a grizzled old cuss like Eastwood is unclear. He must be old enough to be her grandfather in this portrayal. Perhaps it's his vanity showing again. The cut-and-shut editing between galloping horsemen and the peaceful mining community is a slightly over-laboured intro. And the final shoot-out is one of the biggest anti-climaxes in western history. That said; Eastwood does a competent job of trying to sanitise the mysterious man-with-no name persona and pad-out his character a little. The other players fill their parts well, even though most are little more than cameos. There are some sly little interactions between the lead characters. Though 'Spider's' drunken tirade is rather over-the-top, I think. Ambiance, lighting, sound and camera-work all deserve their due.Locations are extremely well chosen. There are some fine if chilly panoramas of America's snow-flecked 'big country' that remind me of 'The Shootist'. But the ending, with the kid hollering after the departed hero reminds us all too clearly where Eastwood found his inspiration, and how pale his imitation.It's a very competent movie in its own right, and well worth a watch. But it's also an inferior copy.
Not Clint's best but not his worst
posted on 24 Aug 2009Dear Readers,Pale Rider is an okay movie. The camera work is breathtaking and the acting is okay. The Action makes the movie good, but it gets a bit graphic at times. Clint Eastwood plays a mysterious Preacher who knows how to handle a gun very well. Michael Moriarty plays a slightly naive miner desperate to protect his family and willing to rely on Preacher to help him. The rest of the actors are okay. the main heroine is pretty and a good love interest for Clint Eastwood...despite the fact she's only 14. The action, like I said, is graphic but good. The final Battle is ruthless and gritty and pretty awesome and memorable. All in all, Pale Rider is worth buying and watching, but it's not Clint Eastwood's best.Signed, The Constant DVD Collector