Pale Rider 4K review by Bobby Blakey
2021 marked the 50th year of Clint Eastwood’s partnership with Warner Bros., which began in 1971 with the release of Dirty Harry. Since he has not only delivered an impressive resume of films both in front of and behind the camera, but more awards than you can imagine. To celebrate Warner Bros is bringing three classic films to 4K for the first time ever including Pale Rider that co-stars Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Christopher Penn, Richard Dysart, Sydney Penny, Richard Kiel, Doug McGrath, and John Russell.
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Pale Rider follows a nameless stranger who rides into a small California gold rush town (and becomes known as the "Preacher") where he finds himself in the middle of a feud between a mining syndicate and a group of independent prospectors.
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Eastwood has become a icon in the western genre both in front of and behind the camera. Of them all I think Pale Rider is one of the most unique and ambiguous with its religious undertones and story elements that are not fully explained. This was by design as the story is taking into the idea of Preacher
being something more than just a mysterious gunfighter, but it is never said or even explained, nor does it need to be which makes it so much better.
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To no one’s surprise, Eastwood knocks it out of the park on all fronts bringing his grizzled and gruff nonsense persona to the Preacher role. He rides in and you instantly know things are going to go down, but with his initial peaceful demeanor it feels like something different than we might have previously seen, but we all know that won’t last and he eventually brings the gunslinging violence to the deserving bad guys.
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Eastwood is a master of this genre fully immersing the audience into the west and culture that more often than not shows more respect than cliché. With all the violence in the time I think the most uncomfortable moment is when an underage girl expresses her love for him that wasn’t unheard of in the time, but Preacher handles it in a way that is appropriate, but also informative to the narrative and not just trying to be creepy. It serves as a major plot point in the character development as opposed to just filling time.
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The final act is more creative than most films like this opting for Preacher to use his clever tactics along with his formidable use of the pistols to take on the bad guys that out number him. It makes it more believable and damn fun to watch right up until the classic street dual to end it all. This is one of my personal favorites of Eastwood’s career and holds up to perfection looking even better in this high def of this 4K restoration.
In addition to the iconic film, this release also offers bonus content including featurettes and documentaries taking you behind bringing this film to life and the career of Eastwood.
Grab your copy of Pale Rider when it hits 4K for the first time ever on April 29th from Warner Bros Discovery.