Pale Rider

"Nothing like a good piece of hickory!"
The Gold Rush in nineteenth-century California attracted all types of people seeking their fortunes. Some would settle in small mining encampments where each had their claims to search for the precious ore, but greed could encourage some to try and drive people away from their claims. Such was the setting for the 1985 film "Pale Rider", which was directed by Clint Eastwood. Located a few miles from a small town, a mining encampment includes the hard-working Hull Barrett (Michael Moriarty), a woman that he's been living with named Sarah Wheeler (Carrie Snodgrass) and her teenaged daughter Megan Wheeler (Sydney Penny). Frustrated with rising bills at the nearby country store and a greedy & wealthy man named Coy LaHood (Richard A. Dysart) who is trying to drive away the miners, Hull and Sarah's relationship is somewhat strained. After Megan prays for assistance and is reading a verse in the Book of Revelation that states "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat...

Clint Eastwood Creates a Resurrected and Sexualized Version of "Shane"
In "Pale Rider", Clint Eastwood has taken the classic 1953 Alan Ladd movie "Shane" and turned it into a "modern" sexualized version. There is no mistaking the sexual tension in this film. Clint plays the mysterious "Preacher" (a character the antithesis of sex,), who comes to a mining settlement to rescue persecuted settlers who are a target for a larger mining interest. Eastwood's "Preacher" creates sexual tension with both female leads, the widow Carrie Snodgrass and her duaghter Megan, played by the beautiful Sydney Penny (the memorable "Meggie" in "The Thorn Birds"). Due to previous trauma, the widow has a dead love life and her interest in a new love is reborn with the arrival of Eastwood. Megan, a precocious child of 14 is ready to give her young love to the answer to her prayers, the Preacher.

"Pale Rider" is Eastwood's first western since "The Outlaw Josie Wales", 9 years earlier. In the mid-1980's, the western genre was considered "dead" in Hollywood with...

Pale Rider, BluRay
Very, very poor HD transfer - save your money and make warner Brothers do this one right. The new BluRay release has poor picture quality. Buying this one for $10 does not justify a poor transfer. The 20 - 25% of this film that takes place in a brighter sky does look very nice. But a dominant amount of the film reveals poor black levels, look at the far right side of your screen - throughout the film. Even visible to some degree in the brighter scenes. The story is a classic, but hang on to your DVD for a while longer. Shame on you Warner Brothers!

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