Review of Pale Rider (1985) by Brad H — 22 Apr 2008
Eastwood's most mystical and supernatural Western to date, this underrated film plays like a companion piece to Shane, with the obligatory man-with-no-name.
A group of impoverished gold panners are in the process of being scared off their land by a ruthless, large scale miner. In one raid, umong other things, a girl's dog is killed, she makes a prayer for a miracle.
Out of the mist comes a man. As the girl sits reading from revalations as he appears.
'And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
You can see the Leone influence in Eastwood's direction and there are Kurosawa Japanese values showing how cinema flows from film to film.
The viewer is left to decide who the Preacher is. An angel? A man? Death? The title gives perhaps the clearest indication.
This review of Pale Rider (1985) was written by Brad H on 22 Apr 2008.
Pale Rider has generally received positive reviews.
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