ElMaruecan82 "Pale Rider" is a Western with such an aura, such an attitude and such a stance over the Western myth that it's almost a miracle it could flirt with self-consciousness while never sinning by it. Clint Eastwood might be the only director still capable of such miracles. The actor has always been a man of a few words, of stares that could speak more ominous statements than a Samuel L. Jackson's monologue. His ways of standing, looking, existing could exude more magnetism than the Magnificent Seven put together. But more than his natural blessings that made him a man women liked and men wanted to be like, Eastwood had an all-American attitude toward the frontier spirit. He who was made a star through Western (before Leone, there was 'Rawhide') he returned back the favor after the disastrous failure of "Heaven's Gate" seemed to have sealed the genre's fate. It's like Eastwood and Westerns form a natural cycle, they both define one another, as if there was a true predestination in his name being an anagram of Old West Action. Though "Pale Rider" isn't much about the Old West as it is about action, the film retells the story of George Stevens' "Shane" with miners replacing homesteaders and standing in the way of a powerful and influential industrialist named Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart) who believes he and progress make one. His attempt to buy 'tin pans' out and to threaten them through acts of intimidations almost destroys their spirit until a mysterious rider comes into the picture and prove that before being about action, Westerns are about 'states of mind'.I mentioned Eastwood's natural aura because it's integral to the story's believability. Alan Ladd was good at Shane but he wasn't exactly threatening, he had to prove his worth at gun, at fist-fight and through a few one-liners such as "I like it to be my idea". Eastwood doesn't even need himself, only a silhouette appearing and then vanishing before you notice it, a weak lighting that can only reveal his piercing eyes or just being mentioned in a conversation. When young Megan (Perry Sidney) buries her dog, killed by LaHood's men, she has a prayer where she begs the Lord for help, her "please" has that childish resonance that indicates how hopeless they are. Eastwood intercut it with his arrival, it's not played for subtlety but to establish his mystical charisma.The man, like Eastwood's seminal antihero, has no name, he is called the Preacher. He doesn't quote the Bible much but he saves the day in more than one occasion, without leaving mortal casualties... not yet anyway. He accepts to help the miners, but they didn't ask for help, just for him to stay as if his presence was healing their spirit already. But Eastwood counterbalances the sanctification with the idea of a pending doom. His entrance coincides with a 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse- recitation and he obviously fits the description of "Death". But as he said it himself: "God works in a mysterious way", you can't explain providence, but you just can tell that there's something providential about the man, even if he means Death.And in the same vein of intelligence, it also means that there's something 'evil' about LaHood even if he means Progress. He knows "blood is a big expense" and tries to get the Preacher out through bargain and only resorts to violence in extreme cases, but for all his malevolence, he's got a business to run, and his interactions with this son (a youngish and thin Chris Penn) and his men aren't those of an evil mastermind briefing his troops. There even comes a point where the Preacher starts to negotiate with LaHood, and submit his offer to the miners. Intelligently enough, the Western is able to deconstruct a few tropes for the sake of three-dimensional characterization.On a similar level, it also depicts Hull Barrett (Michael Moriarty) not as a Beta Male but as a decent human being, brave enough to defy LaHood's thugs, to support his family and to take care of Sarah, Megan's mother (Carrie Snodgress), even waiting that she makes up her mind to get married but as the Preacher said "it might be along wait". It might take longer as both daughter and mother are infatuated with the Preacher (can we blame them?). But while it's a sort of teen crush for Megan, for Sarah, it's like a nasty teasing from fate. She's been abandoned by a man she truly loved -as she tells Megan she's a child of love- and her feelings toward the Preacher are worryingly the same.Maybe there's the idea that some things or some people are too grand to stay, their appeal is eternal but they're not meant for the common people though there is nobility in being a simple, decent and hard-working human being. The Preacher incarnates an idea of the Old West, a few words, but action, spirit, courage and determination... and a few resurgences of the past here and there. The past is a lone rider throughout the story, it's the dog's death that trigger's Penny's desire for revenge, it's Sarah's past with men that forged her suspicion and made Hull her whipping boy, and there's something about the Preacher's past hinted through some wounds and lines of dialogues that takes its full meaning when his nemesis is brought up in town, Marshal Stockburn played by an equally intimidating John Russell.The hints about the past mystify the film and let it venture in the realms of fantasy but without getting too far from the Western narrative. Eastwood's directing is confident enough and allows him to get away with contrivances... what can't be explained isn't forced fantasy, but meaningful mystery. (Still, the greatest mystery of all is that it seems to have escaped everyone's attention that the film is a remake of "Shane", as there's no mention of "Shane" in Ebert's review or on Wikipedia.)

Leofwine_draca Here's another eerily evocative western from the undisputed master of the genre. PALE RIDER might well be my favourite Eastwood western yet: it's a perfectly made movie in which the star is at the top of his career both in terms of direction and acting. The plot itself is nothing remarkable – poor gold panners are hassled by a big wig business boss and a mysterious stranger turns up to fight for their cause – but it's the execution where this film excels. With a beautiful backdrop of mountainous scenery and a talented supporting cast, Eastwood delivers one of the finest westerns of the 1980s.I particularly enjoyed Eastwood's turn as the unnamed preacher in this one. It's a reprise of a similar character he played in HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, although his origins here are perhaps even more mysterious (he shows up when one of the characters prays to God for a miracle). Michael Moriarty, the archetypal quirky star of '80s genre fare, has possibly his most sympathetic role as the family man striving to do good who finds himself outnumbered by the bad guys. Carrie Snodgress gives sterling support as the backbone of his family, and the beautiful young Sydney Penny is captivating as his young, innocent daughter. The bad guys are well supported, too, with a brief show-stopping turn from Richard Kiel, Chris Penn playing a typical sleaze, Richard Dysart as the bluff businessman, and the excellent John Russell as the sinister lawman with whom Eastwood's character has a score to settle.The story plays out pretty much as you'd expect, but there's an emphasis on plot and character over lame shoot-outs. The action, when it occurs, is stylishly done (early on our hero kicks backside with a piece of wood in a scene that would act as inspiration for Steven Seagal's entire career), with the traditional shoot-out at the climax particularly accomplished. Overall, this is a moving production, with believable characters and a story arc that doesn't disappoint. An underrated favourite.

punishmentpark There is a lot of beautiful scenery in 'Pale rider', which is probably the best thing about it. The story, about a group of 'tin pans' who are in conflict with the big shot gold digger who owns most of the land around them, and more specifically, the girl who prays to the Lord to help them and then a tall, dark stranger is sent their way, could have worked, but things stay pretty simple, clichéd and blunt.The hero is always there at just the right moment and is basically a western Superman, even if he is also referred to as Death himself. The intended dramatic impact of the two women who both have their hearts set on the hero and the other man (Hull Barrett) who quietly wants to be part of the 'family', remains pretty much absent, all the more because the films switches between Eastwood's macho efforts, Superhero gunslinging, simplistic moral lessons and some bloody killings. But I wasn't much impressed with Sydney Penny's acting either. The rest of the cast did okay, mostly.Maybe this one is simply not for me, even if I was certainly mildly amused by most of it. 5 out of 10.

tenshi_ippikiookami This is a good movie for a free afternoon, with some wisdom and interesting characters, but that has suffered the pass of time in his visuals and in the way the plot develops.The plot of "Pale Rider" is easy enough that anyone will understand it: some people live in a small settlement where they search for gold, while the bad guy and his henchmen want to force them out and try to scare them constantly. After their last attack to the settlement, where they injure some of the people, break everything they can and kill a dog, the young Megan, the owner of the poor animal, asks for help while burying the little fellow, and, voila, Clint Eastwood, appears. I say Clint Eastwood because we have here the hard-looking, tight-lipped, no-time-for-silliness portrayal that made him famous in his spaghetti-westerns. It may be "Preacher" but it's not so far away from his other portrayals of mysterious gunslingers who will not stop for anything till they finish their mission.Even if it is not very original, the movie is good. The actors are good and do a great job to go through some ambiguous moments (as when they have to decide if accepting an offer to leave the settlement), even if it is a story of bad, very bad, and good, but flawed, people. Clint Eastwood is as good as ever, bigger than life, expressing a lot without doing actually much. The best part is seeing the struggle of all the people that have to live in a hard world, without knowing what will come tomorrow and if there is a point in what they are doing. If you like westerns you will enjoy it, and if you like Clint, probably too.