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IMDbPro

Pale Rider

  • 19851985
  • RR
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
61K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,570
627
Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)
Trailer 1
Play trailer1:10
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaWestern
A mysterious preacher (Clint Eastwood) protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.A mysterious preacher (Clint Eastwood) protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.A mysterious preacher (Clint Eastwood) protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
61K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,570
627
    • Clint Eastwood
    • Michael Butler
    • Dennis Shryack
  • Stars
    • Clint Eastwood
    • Michael Moriarty
    • Carrie Snodgress
    • Clint Eastwood
    • Michael Butler
    • Dennis Shryack
  • Stars
    • Clint Eastwood
    • Michael Moriarty
    • Carrie Snodgress
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 196User reviews
    • 56Critic reviews
    • 61Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Pale Rider
    Trailer 1:10
    Watch Pale Rider

    Photos121

    Clint Eastwood and John Russell in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood, Sydney Penny, and Carrie Snodgress in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood, Sydney Penny, and Michael Moriarty in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood and Sydney Penny in Pale Rider (1985)
    Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Clint Eastwood
    Clint Eastwood
    • Preacher
    Michael Moriarty
    Michael Moriarty
    • Hull Barret
    Carrie Snodgress
    Carrie Snodgress
    • Sarah Wheeler
    Sydney Penny
    Sydney Penny
    • Megan Wheeler
    Chris Penn
    Chris Penn
    • Josh LaHood
    • (as Christopher Penn)
    Richard Dysart
    Richard Dysart
    • Coy LaHood
    Richard Kiel
    Richard Kiel
    • Club
    Doug McGrath
    Doug McGrath
    • Spider Conway
    John Russell
    John Russell
    • Stockburn
    Charles Hallahan
    Charles Hallahan
    • McGill
    Marvin J. McIntyre
    Marvin J. McIntyre
    • Jagou
    Fran Ryan
    Fran Ryan
    • Ma Blankenship
    Richard Hamilton
    Richard Hamilton
    • Jed Blankenship
    Graham Paul
    Graham Paul
    • Ev Gossage
    Chuck Lafont
    • Eddie Conway
    • (as Chuck LaFont)
    Jeffrey Weissman
    Jeffrey Weissman
    • Teddy Conway
    Allen Keller
    • Tyson
    Randy Oglesby
    Randy Oglesby
    • Elam
    • (as Tom Oglesby)
      • Clint Eastwood
      • Michael Butler
      • Dennis Shryack
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The first horse assigned to Richard Kiel collapsed the first time he climbed aboard. He was then assigned a stronger horse.
    • Goofs
      When Megan picks up her dog which has just been shot dead the dog's body is stiff, an obvious prop.
    • Quotes

      Megan Wheeler: [Reading from the Book of Revelation] And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth beast said: "Come and see." And I looked, and behold a pale horse. And his name that sat on him was Death.

      [the Preacher rides up on his pale horse]

      Megan Wheeler: And Hell followed with him.

    • Crazy credits
      The credit for catering just says "The Caterers" (including the quotation marks in the credit).
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Back in the Saddle Again: The Rebirth of the Western (1985)

    User reviews196

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    a film that revived the Western genre
    During the early 80s, the Western genre was beginning to lose its position in Hollywood, and losing its impact on the audience. And the financial disaster of the Western "Heaven's Gate" did not really make very many producers any more enthusiastic about putting their money in to make Western films. But one of the producers, more famous as an actor and director, who was willing to make another Western, was Clint Eastwood. Maybe because Westerns like "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" had started his career in the 60s, he felt he owed it to at least himself to try and revive the genre before Hollywood officially threw it in the scrap pile.

    "Pale Rider" was, and still is, a phenomenal success of a film. After its release, the Western genre was saved and brought back to life for several more years. It has fallen down nonetheless, but has not disappeared from cinema screens. And we really owe it all to Clint Eastwood for this film. "Pale Rider" is one of his best Westerns. It is well-acted, well characterized, has plenty of action, and is overall a great achievement.

    As one might expect, Clint Eastwood plays a mysterious stranger in this film. Very much like in the Dollars Trilogy and "High Plains Drifter", his character is never given an actual name. The character Eastwood plays in this film, however, is different than the squinting gunslingers he played in the past. This character is more anti-violent than the previous ones and doesn't even put his hand on a six-gun until the film is more than half-over. He mingles with the bad guys plenty of times, but rarely ever with a shooting iron. He's still a man of few words, but isn't as cold and self-concerned.

    Along with Eastwood, we have a cast made up of fine actors such as Michael Moriarty, the late Chris Penn, Richard A. Dysart, and one of the most popular of Western villains John Russell as a corrupt marshal by the name of Stockburn. Russell's character is one of the coldest cinema villains I've seen in a long time and his limited screen time aids in his impact and appearance. Russell's cold, almost lifeless voice added with Lennie Niehaus's eerie background music score brings a spine-chilling atmosphere to the film when the character speaks some of his first dialogue in the film. Like Eastwood's character, Stockburn is a character that says little, yet still delivers an enormous impact.

    Scenery in "Pale Rider" was absolutely beautiful, especially when combined with the effective lighting and cinematography. Many times in the film, we see a mountain directly smack center in the background. The cinematography is most of the time, dark and eerie. Dark scenes are even darker than usual, making this vision of the Old West even dirtier and savage than in most Westerns. And yet it isn't shown as being entirely savage, for it wasn't. True, the West was a tough place to live in the 19th century, especially during feuds over gold, but it wasn't a day of just regular killing.

    Some people have accused "Pale Rider" was being a rip off of the classic 1953 film "Shane". I will not deny the fact that they are very similar in a lot of regards and share similar scenes. A stranger coming to a settlement in the Old West during a feud between a successful land tycoon and homesteaders on land he wants was used in "Shane". But "Pale Rider" is in no way, shape, or form a rip-off. Any similarities to "Shane" is a homage, a tribute of respect. After all, Eastwood was attempting to save the Western genre, and perhaps this was his way of reminding the audiences of the great films of the past. Yet, he could do it without copying it. He just re-visioned it.
    helpful•59
    8
    • TheUnknown837-1
    • Dec 2, 2007

    FAQ7

    • Why didn't Barret use another method to remove the boulder in the stream instead of trying to break it apart with a sledgehammer?
    • What is LaHood's business? Why did he want the prospectors land?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 28, 1985 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Idaho, USA
    • Production company
      • The Malpaso Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 55 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Stereo

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