Pale Rider (1985)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writers:

Michael Butler (written by) &
Dennis Shryack (written by)

Release Date:

28 June 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

Hell comes home

Plot:

A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.

Plot Keywords:

Preacher | Sheriff | Gold | Small Town | Bible

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Preacher
Michael Moriarty	...	Hull Barret
Carrie Snodgress	...	Sarah Wheeler
Chris Penn	...	Josh LaHood (as Christopher Penn)
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 (as Chuck LaFont)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:16 | Spain:13 | Argentina:16 | France:Unrated | Brazil:16 | Peru:PT | New Zealand:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1985) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Columbia State Historic Park - 22708 Broadway, Columbia, California, USA

Company:

Malpaso Company, The

Trivia:

Warren Clarke has said in an interview with TV Times that he was offered a role in this project

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Megan picks up her dog which has just been shot dead the dog's body is stiff, an obvious prop.

Quotes:

The Preacher: Nothing like a good piece of hickory.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso (1993) (TV)

'Pale Rider'

In the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns of the 60s, Clint Eastwood rose to fame playing the man with no name. In 'Pale Rider', Eastwood creates his own variation of this character. Eastwood plays a mysterious gunfighter who is given the name 'preacher' because of the preacher's collar he wears. When the 'preacher' arrives at a gold mining community, he helps them stand up against a callous landowner.

Eastwood cuts deep into the film's characters in what is a rather standard script. Particularly, in the scenes involving the preacher and a gold-mining family. Eastwood also succeeds in giving his film a dark atmosphere which only adds to its intensity.

'Pale Rider' may not be as good as the director's best westerns, 'Unforgiven' and 'The Outlaw Josey Wales', but it can be regarded as a strong effort in what has been an illustrious career for Eastwood.

Rating: (8/10)