Cheap Pale Rider (DVD) (Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Sydney Penny) (Clint Eastwood) Price

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Customer Reviews of Pale Rider

A Good, Though Cliched, Western. 3.5 Stars
The late 70's-early 80's were not very kind towards westerns, and it was feared that the genre might be gone forever. But then, in 1985, Lawrence Kasdan's masterpiece "Silverado" blazed across the screen, and westerns were back again, unfortuanately for a rather short-lived comeback (until 1994, with the last great western: "Tombstone"). "Silverado" was not alone, however, because that same year Clint Eastwood also returned to the saddle after a nine-year period (his last, "The Outlaw Josey Wales", was back in 1976). And though not among his best, "Plae Rider" makes for worthy entertainment. The story concerns a group of prospectors who are constantly harassed by the neighboring millionare and his thugs, warning the miners to clear out or else. But the prospectors have held strong, though none of them are sure how long they can keep it up. One day, however, a mysterious stranger rides into town (sound familiar?) and decides to help them out. The whole film is basically nothing more than a rehash/merging of "Shane" and "High Plains Drifter" (Eastwood's first directorial western), with Eastwood repeating his signature role (no, not Dirty Harry) of the mysterious gunman without a name. I know that critics have declared Clint Eastwood one of the greatest actors who has ever lived (and I fondly agree), this is getting a little old, isn't think?! I mean, the man has played the part a hundred times over! "A Fistful of Dollars", "For A Few Dollars More", "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly", "Two Mules For Sister Sara", "High Plains Drifter". . . . . . . the list goes on and on.

Okay, those were the cons, and now for the pros. However unoriginal the plot is, it has little sprinkles of the supernatural here and there, and the film possesses the dark, errie atmosphere that was found in "High Plains Drifter". And this time, the stranger is a preacher (or claims to be). And, like Eastwood's first western, you never really can tell: is the stranger just an ordinary man out for revenge, or is he a shadow of the past from beyond the grave? Whatever your opinion on it, the whole feel of it is really cool. As usual, Clint is at his squint-eyed best, and the rest of the cast does an overall great job as well. It's really nice to see John Russell ("Rio Bravo") back in a western again. Just that whole thing with the Preacher and the teenage girl I found weird, out of place, and simply pointless. The climactic showdown holds some suspense, but it's nothing to get excited about.

"Pale Rider" has been placed under the awesome Clint Eastwood Collection brand of DVD's. But it's a bit of a disappointment, especially after buying/viewing the CEC of "The Outlaw Josey Wales". While that western received a seamless remastering job as well as special features worthy of the title Special or Collector's Edition, this DVD's picture and sound quality are only passable. It's a bit blury, and the darks (especially during the night scenes) seem more blue than black. And all you get is production notes and a trailer. Oh well; I guess the better the movie, the better the DVD treatment.

Conclusion: If you're an Eastwood fan, buy it. If you're partial to originality, go get "Shane" or "High Plains Drifter" instead.

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Pale Western
CLINT EASTWOOD returned to the saddle after almost a decade with the film PALE RIDER. He alternated duties between acting the mysterious dark hero only known as "Preacher" and as the films director. And in the end, PALE RIDER is a sturdy Western. It also tends to be predictable as most Western's are, since they travel by such strict mythic guidelines.

Land hungry villains relentlessly harass some prospectors. Just when their spirit is about to break, The Preacher arrives and revitalizes the village, giving them the desire to fight. Of course the powerful villainous leader, Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart) wants their inspiration wiped out so he brings in some hired guns to eliminate the Preacher. And, like so many other Westerns, it will all be sorted out by a gunfight in the middle of town.

PALE RIDER is a simple story with the exception of an awkward love triangle involving a mother and daughter. That alone is the only drawback to the solid storytelling. Clint himself emits extreme star power over the film, even with a minimum of dialogue. And of course, this is a must for his core fans and those who love westerns.

The DVD offers both a widescreen and pan and scan transfer which loses much of the beautiful expansive scenery. But in both transfers, there are problems in the dark end signaling a standard transfer. The audio is only sufficient for a DVD. But, the film doesn't play like a spectacle so none of that matters. There is nothing of major note in the arena of extra features except a text discussion of Clint on Directing and trailers for the film as well as Eastwood's next Western, the Oscar Winning UNFORGIVEN.

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an homage to clint westerns
yes the story is similar to shane (although the preacher was
(likely) dead before the film starts, compared to shane who
was (likely) dead as the film ends)

but if anything this was more like a retrospective of clint's
western characters, with a hint of Dirty Harry thrown in
for good measure

the parallel with High Plains Drifter is obvious; the ending
where LaHood gets shot is straight out of Joe Kidd. the character
of the preacher is a pastiche of the man-with-no-name; the way

the last deputy is dispatched looks like a scene from Hang 'Em
High (and after all, by then he had fired 6 shots -- or was it
only 5?)