Both directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, Pale Rider (1985) was the most acclaimed Western of the 1980's. The film alluded to Eastwood's previous "Man with No Name" Westerns from the 1960's and 70's, but also added a new dimension to his Iconic Old West, no-nonsense vigilante hero character. Adding a spiritual sense, the film contains many Biblical references, and the title itself refers to The Book of Revelations 6:8, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him." The locales in Pale Rider are breathtakingly beautiful, shot mostly in Idaho's Boulder Mountains. The supporting cast is excellent as well, including Chris Penn, Richard Kiel, Michael Moriarty and Sydney Penny.
Independent gold prospectors near the town of Lahood, California in the 1880's are being forced off their land and terrorized by the neighboring big-shot Coy Lahood (Richard Dysart) and his son, Josh (Christopher Penn)...
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| Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood |
Desperate, after they kill her pet dog, young Megan Wheeler (Sydney Penny) prays to God to send a savior...
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| Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood |
and soon thereafter, a rough stranger, a preacher (Clint Eastwood), arrives on a pale horse, beating the snot out of some of Lahood's goons...
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| Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood |
The preacher becomes a hero and inspiration to the poor mining families...
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| Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood |
and a protector as well...
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| Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood |
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| Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood |
but the Lahoods won't give up their dominance easily, and pay for hired killers to rid the area of the pesky miners and the preacher...
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| Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood |
who will prevail...
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| Pale Rider. 1985: Clint Eastwood |
