Review of Pale Rider (1985) by Kevin M. W — 17 Dec 2011

"You..........YOU!!

I am a huge fan of westerns.....probably my all time favorite film genre just because you can do so much with it. Pale Rider goes the ethereal western route. Clint Eastwood himself has admitted that "The Preacher" is a ghost. Who has returned for divine redemption. Once you dont take everything happening literally, it makes this movie so much better.

There are several clues in the movie that the preacher is not real. For instance, his 6 or 7 bullet hole scars on this back....nobody could of survived that. Also, how he appears and disappears almost by magic like at the train station and during the final shootout. There are also obvious religious references in the film. From the very obvious, the preacher himself to the not so obvious, the dude always eating an apple with the apple serving as a memento mori. I dont believe Clint just randomly had this guy eating an apple in two different scenes. There are probably other religious cues I'm forgetting or dont know about as well.

My personal take on the whole movie is that "The Preacher" in his real life was actually not a good person but has come back as an ethereal body to atone for his sins by helping the tin panners become better people....and for divine redemption on the man that killed him. Thats another great thing about this movie....it never says who "the preacher" actually was in his former life or why he died. Makes it all the more interesting to think about.