Pale Rider

Summary

Pale Rideris the only time in Clint Eastwood ’s career that he played a supernatural character . Clint Eastwood progress his career on his appearances in Western , beginning with the idiot box seriesRawhide . His work in Sergio Leone’sDollarsmovie trilogy not only cemented his stardom but also help establish the spaghetti Western writing style too . In the years , that followed , Eastwood made many more horse opera , includingTwo Mules For Sister Sara , The Outlaw Josey Walesand later signed off on the genre withUnforgiven -though 2021’sCry Machois a neo - westerly .

Pale Riderfollows Eastwood ’s mysterious " Preacher , " who arrives in a pocket-sized Ithiel Town to serve a kin being terrorized by a greedy minelaying company . Pale Rideris basically Eastwood ’s riff on 1952 classicShaneand even have a similiar finale . While it has all the figure of speech of a typical Eastwood Western , it has a noticeable supernatural edge to it too . Pale Rider heavily hints that Preacher is a supernatural being of some kind , and Eastwood himself would afterward confirm this in an consultation atClintEastwood.net , calling Preacher an " out and out spook . "

Pale Rider is a 1985 western starring and direct by Clint Eastwood . Here ’s a plaster cast and character breakdown for the cultus favorite .

Pale Rider (1985)

Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider Character Explained

Eastwood Was Drawn To The Biblical Parallells Of Preacher

Pale Riderstands out among Clint Eastwood picture show as the only time he ’s encounter a supernatural theatrical role , and one of the few occasion he ’s experimented with horror as a writing style . Eastwood rarely souse his toe in the horror genre throughout his career , but he claim he wanted to explore the mythology and biblical implication ofPale Rider’shero . Pale Ridermakes several biblical references throughout — with the title itself referencing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , with Death ride a " pale Equus caballus " — and Eastwood ’s Preacher is usher to have six bullet wounds in his back .

Pale Rideris thus Clint Eastwood ’s only affirm supernatural lineament , which adds an intriguing grain to the story .

Pale Ridersupporting character Marshal Stockburn later claims to have killed him too , as Preacher wipes out the evildoers in the Ithiel Town during the finale . However , While Preacher might be a supernatural character , the pic still features a relatively grounded tone , and he never displays any overt ghosty abilities .

A collage image of three shots of Clint Eastwood as Preacher in the 1985 movie Pale Rider, created by Tom Russell

Pale Riderfeels like something of a spiritual continuation to Eastwood’sHigh Plains Drifter , where he play another mystifying stranger who arrives in a rundown Ithiel Town to attempt revenge . In the movie ’s original playscript , it was made clearEastwood ’s – who has turn down many illustrious role — Stranger was the brother of the town ’s hit sheriff , but the director settle to make this more ambiguous , implying The Stranger was really the sheriff ’s spirit seeking retaliation .

However , High Plains Drifternever clarify this , with Eastwood wanting interview to make up their own brain . Pale Rideris thus Clint Eastwood ’s only confirmed supernatural lineament , which adds an intriguing texture to the story . It ’s a shamePale Riderdidn’t play up this subtext a little more , but given that Eastwood has little interest in repulsion , maybe it was best he diddle to his strength .

Clint Eastwood is one of Hollywood ’s most iconic filmmaker and picture show stars . In nigh 70 years of work on films , here are his best .

Clint Eastwood on a horse in Pale Rider

This Unique Clint Eastwood Film Is One Of His Best

Pale Rider Stands Out For More Reasons Than Preacher Being A Ghost

WhilePale Ridermay stand out as something of an queerness among Clint Eastwood ’s many moving-picture show , it ’s also inarguably one of his best . Even though Preacher is a vindictive look , andPale Rideris something of a supernatural horror - western rather than a gritty crime drama or a hard - hitting Spaghetti Western like theDollarstrilogy , both the flick andcharacter are beloved by Clint Eastwoodfans . Pale Riderstill has a 93 % sexual conquest onRotten Tomatoes , with an 83 % hearing rating , for exercise .

While Preacher may be the only supernatural character wreak by Clint Eastwood , Pale Ridershows that he could have experimented more with fantastical element in his incredibly grounded movies

It ’s not only in retrospect thatPale Riderhas been a achiever either , as the picture performed incredibly well at the box seat function when it released in 1985.Pale Riderlanded over $ 41 million at the box seat - office staff against a budget of $ 6.9 million ( viaBox Office Mojo),making it one of the most successful Westerns of the 1980s .

A man and a woman on a horse in Pale Rider

The religious subtext inPale Rideris insure as particularly noteworthy , though even without the supernatural elements , it stands as an incredibly self-coloured Western and a highlight of Clint Eastwood ’s life history as both an role player and conductor . While Preacher may be the only supernatural character played by Clint Eastwood , Pale Ridershows that he could have experimented more with fantastical elements in his incredibly grounded moving-picture show and still been extremely successful .

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Cast

Collage of Clint Eastwood ’s characters from Gran Torino and The Outlaw Josie Wales

Headshot Of Clint Eastwood In The AFI Fest 2011

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pale rider