"The Outlaw Josey Wales", "Pale Rider" And "Unforgiven" are three masterpieces in their own right. And yes, they could be the story arc of the same character.
Came here to say just this. The fact that Clint Eastwood both stared in and directed several of the best westerns ever made shows just how much he understood the genre. He treated like true art rather than cheap trashy entertainment like so many of his contemporaries did.
@@need-to-know- heh, i actually didnt think of that. More the feel of the character, William Munny had an anger to him boiling underneath. Josey Wales similarly. The Man With No Name, just didnt quite have that same edge. He generally didnt have that boiling anger, at least not as consistently as the other 2. The Man With No Name tended to be more in control and professional to me. Just my take, anyway. Edit: i can also see from her description, a kind of kindness in Munny's dead wife, as the woman Josey Wales saved and hooked up with (the character name is escaping at the moment)
The preacher would have a multicolored overcoat, with green hair and painted fingernails. He cries often and Meghan and her mom would save the day by outshooting Stockburn and his deputies.
@@shrapnel77 Congratulations, some woke idiot just stole your idea, is probably hammering an outline right now, and he/she/whatever-they-identify-as will pitch it to the fools in Hollywood...
Perhaps my favorite scene. For me it really ramped up the supernatural presence of Preacher. Especially when they lock eyes and for the briefest of seconds and Clint's eyes look solid black and hollow. Made me think he was the Angel of Death sent to claim Stockburn, who had previously gunned him down in an attempt to escape his fate.
My favorite scene was Preacher and LaHood having a drink in Lahood's office. LaHood says, 'Eeh, You're a troublemaker stranger. You spell bad sense in words that start from here to Seeeatle'. Man, he was right! Not about the 'rit'😅 though, lol.
Eastwood's characters are so fawkin ' menacing that even un-armed, all he has to do is squint and give that facial scowl, and outlaws just drop their guns and run for their fawkin' lives!
My favorite scene is when LaHood just idly mentions Preacher in Stockburn’s presence. The look of utter shock and awe coupled with primal fear across the Marshall’s face was perfect.
Pale Rider will always be my favorite Clint Eastwood movie. My father was working a mine in the Teton Mountains of Idaho where the movie was filmed and during a lull in his mining activities, he worked on the set of the movie. The photos he took of himself and Clint Eastwood, as well as the other actors from the film, are among his treasured possessions to this day. When we gather to watch the movie, which we do every few years, he gleefully points out the smoke coming out of the tent chimneys wherein he was stoking the fires, or points out the boulder that he and his mining crew had previously fragmented and then reassembled so that it could be broken apart by a single blow from the strongbad character.
“Who are you? Who are you... really?” “Well, it really doesn't matter, does it?” I agree that with a story like this, keeping things ambiguous is the best way to go. Love this & High Plains drifter, but personally I think Pale Rider has the edge
If I had to guess, I’d think Eastwood believed the High Plains Drifter story could have been told better. I do love that movie, but Pale Rider made the characters more believable, the story more intriguing, and greatly improved the cinematography. And the fact that the two movies end exactly the same way - the hero slowly riding into distance and disappearing - is no coincidence. And similarly, Sarah Belding watches him go by, with almost a longing expression, and Megan sees him leaving and literally says “I love you Preacher”
"You a bounty hunter?" " Mans gotta make a living." "Dying ain't much of a living boy." The outlaw Jose Wales is a masterpiece. To be fair Clint never made a dud movie. Not many like him left.
@@c3bhm Actually Pale Rider is a sequel to High Planes Drifter. In High Planes Drifter he's a vengeful spirt punishing those who wronged him. In Pale Rider he's a wandering spirt looking for redemption drawn to the mining camp by Megan's prayers. In both films he covers his wound from being hanged.
@@THX..1138 Now, that is interesting. I had no idea it was meant as sequel to High Plains Drifter, but now it does make sense. I always saw Preacher as the Angel of Death come to claim Stockburn.
@@johngolden3714 Yes. Eastwood has alluded to it many times, but though he directed both films they were made by 2 different studios. So if Eastwood admitted the Stranger and Preacher were the same guy the studio that made High Plains Drifter could sue for infringing on their IP. Any case my takeaway from an interview I seen with Eastwood is the Stranger/Preacher like a lot of the characters in Eastwood's westerns. He was at different times in his life either the good or the bad guy. When he died he was a Lawman doing right, but that didn't make up for his bad past. He was too good for hell and not good enough for heaven. So he was left to wander the Earth a ghost. In High Plains Drifter he saves the town, takes vengeance on the men who killed him and punishes the towns people who did nothing while he was murdered...But he wasn’t made a wandering spirit because of what was done to him, it was because what he had done. So after Hell Town he’s left to continue his purgatory. In Pale Rider he‘s drawn to miners by the girl’s prayers in hope he can atone for his past. Maybe he also came to claim Stockburn. Clearly two had a past that may have included preacher taking some bullets in the back, but Stockburn didn’t kill preacher….Really he was just another man like Preacher used to be. Either way when it’s done Preacher again continues his penance roaming the earth a ghost.
loving the reviews of smaller and older films. It balances out the “yep it’s garbage” reviews. You have a great way of reviewing movies as both entertainment and art, it’s nice to see some examples of good movies in my feed even if they’re older or not as much of a headline as the superhero movies. two thumbs up!
Me too. It broadens people to not just look at the art of the last ten minutes as if that were all there is. And with hindsight, it is easy to find classics to talk about, or hidden gems.
Older and "smaller". LOL. You are clealy young. Pale Rider was a BIG DEAL. Its not and never was a "small film". Its not even that old, although i grant you. If you are barely 20 something from the '80s would seem old.
The scene where the girl reads in the apocalypse about the horseman of death while the preacher enters the town is fantastic. I’ve had that scene in my mind since I saw it for the first time many years ago.
It's biblical heresy but's it's Hollywood heresy storytelling gold. Everybody misinterprets the scriptures and uses the scriptures to manipulate or terrify. And Hollywood puts it on the screen for all to see. We should all fear Jesus, not "the Preacher," Clint Eastwood. But while we wait for Jesus, Eastwood is very entertaining, and irreverent.
I've stopped watching recent movies almost entirely. Recently rewatched China Town by Roman Polanski. Great flick, just didn't like the ending. Other than that it is a movie worth watching over again.
"tiresome hearing about all the failures" Well if looked at by the standards of storytelling and entertainment, then yes, failures. But if looked at as Marxist Intersectional Propaganda and Cultural Vandalism then they are doing a great job. Then it is no longer tiresome but frightening. Especially considering that it is nearly all owned by 6 Multinational Corporations.
There are so many great movies out there through the decades, there's no need to watch the garbage they regurgitate(then basically spit on you for it), for me the 70s is the best though been watching some 50-60s movies. Few years ago I finally found an uncut copy of The Devils, the movie is so good it's hard to believe it was made in 1971.
Hey drinker, you celebrity bastard. I saw you on Sebastian Gorka's show. You are getting the mainstream recognition that you deserve for being one of the best movie reviewers out there. Bravo!
I've been binging Eastwood and Bronson movies ever since modern movies started getting really bad. It's helped me stay positive over the years despite the march towards oblivion.
The portrayal, by Eastwood, of the revenant character, either returning from the afterlife or just roaming the Earth, unable to rest and bringing an Old Testament reckoning to those who had wronged him and/or "the meek" is poignant and timeless, flawlessly combining the genres of western morality tale and supernatural fiction and, as you pointed out, is not ruined by excessive explanation. I love these movies.
One of my heroes as i was growing up. This particular film had a wonderful cast, superb backdrop and convincing villains once again the man with no name. Remember everyone " There's nothing like a nice piece of hickory".
@@arafat2924 Having hero's makes you weak that's why we have an infestation of woke snowflakes today who are useless members of society. Imagine actually living in a time that this film depicts. You think anyone cares about pronouns or feelings in such a time? Grow up
You forgot Michael Moriarty, who I think is the most intriguing character in the movie. He is not the badass Clint is, but he is the most decent man in the whole film. He takes care of Meghan and her mom and has a positive outlook to make the small mining community work. He even saves Clint's life at the end of the movie. He does not get enough credit for the great actor he is. I loved him on Law and Order. I also loved the cinematography and winter like atmosphere that added a bleakness to the film.
If you hadn’t mentioned “High Plains Drifter”, I was going to In The comments. What a fantastically underrated movie it is, and how it’s subtly supernatural and just so satisfying to watch. Clint Eastwood is a living treasure whom we should all appreciate before he’s gone.
It also contains one of the most memorable lines ever in cinema; "You're gonna look awfully silly with that knife stuck up your ass!" LOL, that one goes right up there with Eli Wallach's immortal delivery in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; "You're the son of a thousand fathers, all bastards like you!"
Great observation I see so many Parallels in the characters of these two movies also. Clint Eastwoods character (High plains) is told that he should be careful because he is a man who makes other men afraid, at which he responds “ It’s what men know about themselves inside that makes them afraid.” Could the Western be dying out because the modern day man is turned off by it , could that be because it makes him uncomfortable to see men who are not controlled by fear?
@@lonniewalthall1971 "Modern day man". Do you mean the latest generations, who don't know what they are and are told how to think by keyboard warriors with bigger insecurities than they have.
No I mean men that don’t believe in the bill of rights, and would give up what their fore fathers bleed and died for, to a government or anyone to be taken care of rather than taking care of themselves. Men that would give up their rights for the supposed good of all, never realizing that that also means giving up responsibility, and I believe that those men are portrayed even in the movie, so no I’d say that they have always existed, and maybe there isn’t anything that modern about them.
Such an awesome film! It's a simple and tried setup, a mysterious stranger arrives to help clean up a town under the heel of a cruel businessman, but Clint brings a fresh raw feeling to it. One of my low-key favorite westerns.
Try Robert Altman's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller". A similar basic storyline and setting, but told realistically. How an anti-hero helps build a mining village into a real community, in spite of himself. It really is a story of a town getting the hero it deserves, not the hero it needs.
This is one of my dad’s all time favorites. To this day, he and I still love watching Westerns together whenever I come back home and now that love for the genre has led to me writing two short Western stories and the beginnings of a screenplay
There are so few actors today and the ones we do have are aging and retiring. TV / movies / the visual medium is dead as art. Now we have RUclips activists, who are actors, but not artists, because activism requires acting, but precludes art. Acting without art is just an expression of "lying."
When movies are set in the past, I love when the cast that looks relatable to that time period and the lifestyle of the period. It's not for everyone, but it elevates the movies that do it well to me.
Absolutely fantastic movie. A lot of Eastwood fans (myself included) share the communal head canon that the Preacher IS the same Spirit of Vengeance from "High Plains Drifter".
Seemed to have some very different attitudes between the two movies. Of course, he WAS pretty p**sed off at the whole town in HPD, while the folks in PR had never done him any harm.
Clint Eastwood, has said in interviews that his character in Pale Rider is in fact a ghost. The spirit of a man killed by the hired "sheriff" Stockburn. The pattern of bullet wounds you see on Preachers body exactly mirrors that of the bullet pattern he shoots into Stockburn, at the end.
I just watched this movie on HBOMax. What a breath of fresh air this was! Wow! Its amazing that a near 40 year old film is one I can consider to be a breath of fresh air, but here we are.
I remember my 7 year old self sitting down to watch this with my dad. I actually enjoyed watching grown up movies and as far as westerns go this is one of my favorites. I remember getting an eerie feeling every time Preacher would do something uncanny. Now that the drinker has brought up these memories it’s time to find this movie and give it another watch since it’s been a while.
Seen this masterpiece many times, still chortle out loud when Clint whops the mallet up into the big guys nuts then gently helps him back on his horse having gained his instant respect. So funny!
Love all the old Eastwood western. No drinker we will not see a actor of this caliber again. As S.Leone said about Lee Van Cleef : He's eyes can burn hole in the screen. same goes for C.Eastwood. I would LOVE to see Mr. Eastwood in just one more western...just one more.
True. except for one scene halfway through when the far too young supporting actress tells the aging star and director that she wants him to 'teach' her some 'stuff' Edit: other than that it's really good
@@plainsimpletailor402 As the Preacher noted she's a kid and has no idea what love is, plus her mom told her that getting married and starting a family at 15 was something she did (and failed at). I had no problem with the kid be stupid, the mom on the other hand shafting the good dude the entire movie, admitting she loves him towards the end and then cheating on him by making out with the Preacher was something I hated.
This film was the perfect gestalt of American Western tales like High Plains Drifter, Shane and High Noon. Thank you, Drinker, for reminding me of a great film from when I was a young man.
One of the many versions of "Shane". A dangerous stranger is taken in by a family/town and has to go back to his old ways to protect his new family. Kurt Russell's "Soldier" is another. Love all three!
There is nothing wrong with having men shown as hyperactive. That is basically what Napoleon and Alexander were. Hyperactive and very, very ambitious. But yeah men and women being portrayed like overgrown children while kids tend to be portrayed like anything but kids is something Hollywood does not see anything wrong with. I can list examples of that too. But I'd rather forget about them
Really love Clint and his many roles and as a director. He will be sorely missed and impossible to replace for what he brought as POSITIVES in movies worldwide
I moved away from my home more than a half decade ago, this was one of the last movies I watched with my pops before leaving. It was gritty, dark and desolate, the very pinnacle of the West. Only Unforgiven tops it. How fitting it is that the last of the great Westerns went out with the greatest to do it. Absolutely recommend, Unforgiven, Pale Rider and Unforgiven are three must see movies. And no Drinker, unfortunately we probably will never see actors like this again.
Man its been more then 20 years since I've watch this. A few years before my grandfather passed. Growing up most Sundays we would go to my grandparents house for dinner and I would watch movies with him. We would get the TV guide and plan what western or WW2 movies we would watch that day.
I went to see this in the theater in Ann Arbor, one late afternoon/early evening on a Sat. As I was locking my car, I noticed a couple of guys who were leaving the previous show, getting into their car 2 spaces away. I glanced up, & noticed that one of the guys was the actor Hal Holbrook. Then I remembered he was in town to do a performance of 'Mark Ttwain Tonight" that evening.. That's it, just a little surreal to have a random celebrity sighting in the rust belt. :p
I was 12 when this movie came out and my parents loved Clint Eastwood so much they let me watch it with them (a 12 yo watching an R movie was a No No in the 80s). We had a subscription to HBO (yup, there was HBO in the 80s) and I immediately fell in love with both Westerns and supernatural movies. This is a classic
Got to meet Clint once when I used to Valet park cars. The man treated me with respect and acknowledged that I was another human being on this planet. Plus, he let me reenact a Tuco scene. Brilliant
My dad took my mom to see Pale Rider on their first date. I never knew that until very recently - yet over 30 years later I discovered it while on a Clint Eastwood binge and loved it. Definitely one of my favorites of his - although half of his filmography could fit into my favorites category.
This and 'High Plains Drifter' remain my favorite Eastwood works, and they both play with the notion of supernatural elements without outright confirming them as Drinker mentions of 'Pale Rider.' Subdued, Weird West at its finest.
I inherited my love for Westerns from my parents. Dad loved Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales and mine was Pale Rider (until Unforgiven). That ass-whipping' with that oak (hickory?) stick alone was worth the ticket of admission. Michael Moriarty was so good in this roll; I followed him during his run of Law & Order. Best part of those early days was seeing Westerns at our local Drive-Ins on the weekend.
Never liked John Wayne but Clint Eastwood is the man when it came to westerns plus spaghetti westerns. Lost count how many times I've seen Pale Rider. Brilliant film.
Good choice. That final confrontation is chilling. Man thought to be dead a long time ago but actually survived ... or something much more supernatural than that.
Judging from those six bullet scars on his back, I doubt he would have survived without supernatural intervention. (Notice those are entry wounds, meaning Stockburn shot him in the back.)
@@stevenscott2136 It's POSSIBLE that if he were shot with (e.g.)one of the early .36 calibre cap and ball revolvers, through a heavy coat and the muscles of the back or into the shoulder blades, that he might have survived naturally. But one does wonder.
@@stevenscott2136 There have been people shot multiple times and survived but yes, it is quite an uncommon event. Has happened enough times that there's a chance at least but also depending on the number of times and calibre of the weapon, rare enough that you could consider the presence of the supernatural in the context of this film as well.
One of the greatest hero one-liners ever delivered. TWO FREAKING WORDS, "You through?" That's it! That's all he says and in just two words he communicates to the henchmen and the audience just what type of malevolence is about to happen. TWO. FREAKING. WORDS!. Love it.
Spot on- I wasn't ready for this masterpiece when I saw it in high school. I WAS ready for Unforgiven in my early 20s. Now looking back, Pale Rider is more spartan in every way, but just as good. They are an excellent pairing.
I remember going to see this film with my student flat mates in the mid-80s in Heaton Chapel cinema (north of Stockport) and we all bloody loved it. Nice review.
I personally love Westerns as a genre. You see alot of influences in other movies and TV series, the good ones anyway, where elements of Eastwood style themes are embedded in the stories. You are right though, we're likely to never see anything this good in the West for a long time, if ever. We've "progressed" into uncreativity, ugliness, nihilism, godlessness, perversion, ungratefulness, and unreality. Men like the one in Pale Rider can't exist in stories these days, and certainly not in society like our's where they are actively shunned and unpersoned; but perhaps that's when they are most important and effective.
I still dig Westerns. Hollywood often times just doesn't know how to write a decent Western this century. I remember one that came out like 20 years ago that looked like a cheap Young Guns ripoff with no name actors. That was never going to work. Young Guns did it right, and actually captures some young actors at their prime. I like Open Range too even if he got a little over zealous with how many bullets are being fired from 6 shooters and rifles. It's still a pretty cool shootout at the end. and I even dug the Hateful 8, it's the Western I prefer from Tarantino over the other one.
A little known gem of a movie that demonstrates yet again the story telling brilliance of Clint Eastwood. For me this movie is more like Gran Torino than Unforgiven in story structure, but elements of both later films can definitely be found in Pale Rider.
High Plains Drifter for the longest time was my favorite movie, watched every time it came on TV, this was before home computers & VCRs, so at most I'd see it once a year. Back when Summers latest forever, today yet another one ended in the US.
"Pale Rider" is an almost direct remake of 1953's 'Shane" with elements of Eastwood's own 1973's "High Plains Drifter" mixed in. (Eastwood is clearly a huge fan of "Shane" because he also used (stole) scenes from it for "The Outlaw Josey Wales." Speaking of Josey Wales, the actor who plays "Stockburn" (John Russell) played "Bloody Bill Anderson" in that movie.)
Clint loves to give his buddies some work here and there...Ive watched both Star Trek, and Outlaw Josie Wales a zillion times...and I only JUST clued in last week during a rerun that the Andorian spy in "Journey to Babel" is the Ferry-man in Josie!!!..AND the barber in High Plains Drifter. Oh I wish I wuz in the land of cotton...... And that actor is stick kickin!
Clint has a coterie of actors he likes to work with . I imagine that he values their talent and professionalism and they in turn give their best for him.
Once one newspaper released affordable series of movies with Eastwoods on dvds (20 years ago). So maybe I saw 75% of movies by him or with him as part of the cast. He is 100% epic and spot on in all of them. English is not my first languabe and term "subdued" makes me very happy as it is perfect description of Eastwood's acting method. He is reserved and brutally honest/sarcastic in each role. Such a national treasure this fine man is.
"High Plains Drifter" is one of my other forgotten western favourites from Clint. I later learned that its apparently a very well hidden western ghost story? Not sure. The ending sure makes it seem that way.
Watched it at least half a dozen times. And even everybody says Unforgiven was his best, my all time favorite is still The Outlaw Josey Wales. "So you boys gonna draw them guns or you're going to whistle dixie?" 😁😁😁
No one gets as much out of a scene with a long look, a slight nod of the head, or a one word speech, as Eastwood can. Very clever, deft acting by the underrated Clint..
This was one of the best Westerns I ever saw as a teenager. My father took me to the theater to see it when it came out and it made me an Eastwood fan for life.
I love Pale Rider. It may be my second favorite western after The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (if not my favorite). The story is a great remake of Shane, with an even more authentic, elegiac and lived in feel. Everything from the locations, the sets, and the wardrobe feel real in a way that most films today don't. Same with the acting. There are scenes of people just sitting around talking that are done today all the time, but they have weight and purpose here whereas today it's mostly just filler. Comic fans who read Preacher will recognize elements from this film in it, and it's got one of the best movie posters of all time. Glad you did this video, Drinker!
Watched this again the other night it's absolutely pitch perfect, the typical strong low-key Eastwood performance, interesting and very well acted supporting characters, beautiful scenery, a dirty & gritty final shootout scene and a unique sense of mythical ambiguity around the main character.....I absolutely loved it and I think it might be my favorite non Spaghetti western of Eastwood's.
I love this channel. I haven't heard this guy in a while, but this guy explains movies and other media well and makes me laugh. And I'm drinking a beer here in the USA this morning because I have the day off. How appropriate. I may spend the day going back on some videos I've missed.
@@shanew5957 This guy is awesome. The first time I found his channel, I watched his videos for hours, laughing throughout. I love getting info through laughter.
@@shanew5957 Oh yeah, this guy is hilarious. "I've never heard of a ship getting so emasculated in all my life". hahaha I just wish I had more time in the day. I was watching his stuff about the new LOTR. Man, I was laughing so hard.
"And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, 'Come and see.' "And I looked, and behold, a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?' "
For those who don't know, including you Drinker, there's a Japanese remake from 2013 of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven starring Ken Watanabe in the lead role and told from the perspective of a former samurai in the early days of the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800s in Japan....it's the exact same story just from a different cultural perspective, and it's freaking awesome, of course Eastwood's original is better, but it was pretty refreshing to see the same story being told from a different perspective
The thing I like about well done westerns is that they show the dirt, grime and grit caked in every persons face, arms and hands. It looks real. Unforgiven, Pale Rider and especially the HBO series Deadwood get that down to an art. It's hard to pick out a favorite western by Clint Eastwood, they all have such good traits. Okay, I'll go away now.
Pale Rider is definitely one of my favorite Clint Eastwood films. Maybe one of my favorites in general. I’m not a big action guy, but when it’s mature, deliberate, and has soul, these are the best movies
I have a theory that this amazing film is the middle movie of a trilogy about one man at three drasticly different points of his life. I think The outlaw Josey Wales was the first movie. Josie the Cavalry based Guerilla fighter tried to repent and changed his name after the civil war and became a preacher in Pale RIder but violence pulled him back in. The third movie is "Unforgiven" An older man widower with two young children, a failing farm, and a violent past. I think this is the same man as Josey Wales and The Preacher. He keeps trying to get out, and violence keeps pulling him back in(sorry mr pachio I had to.)
They are definitely "sequel-LIKE" to be sure...I mentioned above that I wished they had more an obvious connection...but they dont really need to...theres a saying, "The Artist only really ever makes ONE work of Art"...
@@DavidWHorst Yeah, time just keeps drifting away. To me both are in the same time period I guess. Stopped watching movies and TV all through the late 80's and the entire 90's.
Drinker, as always, your spot on with this one. I rarely watch westerns but this is one that I’ll stop and watch if channel surfing. It’s western finesse! Subdue messages, quiet and patient build up scenes, excellent casting and cinematography. A pinnacle of western movies!
"The Outlaw Josey Wales", "Pale Rider" And "Unforgiven" are three masterpieces in their own right. And yes, they could be the story arc of the same character.
Yeah, i did to some degree feel that Unforgiven fit Josey Wales better than the Man With No Name.
Came here to say just this. The fact that Clint Eastwood both stared in and directed several of the best westerns ever made shows just how much he understood the genre. He treated like true art rather than cheap trashy entertainment like so many of his contemporaries did.
@@demonkingbadger6689 Because of Missouri?
@@need-to-know- heh, i actually didnt think of that.
More the feel of the character, William Munny had an anger to him boiling underneath. Josey Wales similarly. The Man With No Name, just didnt quite have that same edge. He generally didnt have that boiling anger, at least not as consistently as the other 2. The Man With No Name tended to be more in control and professional to me.
Just my take, anyway.
Edit: i can also see from her description, a kind of kindness in Munny's dead wife, as the woman Josey Wales saved and hooked up with (the character name is escaping at the moment)
Are you gonna pull your pistols or whistle Dixie.
"We are never going to see actors like this again, are we?"
No, Drinker, we will not.
The preacher would have a multicolored overcoat, with green hair and painted fingernails. He cries often and Meghan and her mom would save the day by outshooting Stockburn and his deputies.
Don't lose hope, Denzel Washington still has decades of work in him...if he can keep his patience with Hollywood.
@@shrapnel77 Congratulations, some woke idiot just stole your idea, is probably hammering an outline right now, and he/she/whatever-they-identify-as will pitch it to the fools in Hollywood...
Yea he would get kicked in the balls by feminazis a lot
@@shrapnel77
😂🤣🤣😔
"Nothing like a good piece of hickory."
A simple line, and fight scene, yet a great moment in Clint's hands.
Though when he tosses the bucket of water over the thug with the lit match...he misses the match.
Yawn.
I once used that line in real life, in a similar context. Sadly, I don't think the fool on the receiving end understood the reference.
I can see Inspector Callaghan’s character show a little during the “hickory” fight scene.
"Just put some ice on it..."
Still love Stockburn's reaction: "You.....YOU!" Leaves so many unanswered questions, yet its satisfying at the same time.
Perhaps my favorite scene. For me it really ramped up the supernatural presence of Preacher. Especially when they lock eyes and for the briefest of seconds and Clint's eyes look solid black and hollow. Made me think he was the Angel of Death sent to claim Stockburn, who had previously gunned him down in an attempt to escape his fate.
His eyes tell the whole story; it made my heart race the first time I saw the scene. We will never know why, and that's good.
Not to mention that the "holes" he left on Stockburn match the same "hole" scars that The Preacher has in his back.
My favorite scene was Preacher and LaHood having a drink in Lahood's office.
LaHood says, 'Eeh, You're a troublemaker stranger. You spell bad sense in words that start from here to Seeeatle'.
Man, he was right! Not about the 'rit'😅 though, lol.
I think Clint plays the same character from High Plains Drifter. An avenging ghost of the Wild West.
"WHO ARE YOU??!!"
“Nothing like a good piece of Hickory”. The axe handle fight is brilliant. Pale Rider is an absolute Classic.
Eastwood's characters are so fawkin ' menacing that even un-armed, all he has to do is squint and give that facial scowl, and outlaws just drop their guns and run for their fawkin' lives!
@@randynutt5660: As do gang-bangers (Gran Torino).
Hickory, dickory, dock
Another fantastic Clint Eastwood western is High Plains Drifter.
Yeah, talk about painting the town red.😝😝😝
I preferred this over High Plains Drifter.
Though similar, I prefer Clint being a reluctant Death over a vengeful Devil.
The Outlaw Josey Wales is excellent too. So many memorable lines.
I was just about to write the same comment
With a supernatural touch, one of his best, in my top 6 westerns.
This is an absolute gem of a film.
Clint Eastwood at his best telling a righteous story that everyone should see 👌
Pale Rider is a variation of the classic book and movie SHANE-which were massively popular. Highly recommend watching that one…and a drinker review
@@rbu2136 agreed. Pale Rider channels both Shane and High Plains Drifter. A bit of both. With Eastwood in the title role that Alan Ladd played.
@@rbu2136 And the girl isn’t annoying like the boy in Shane
Shaaaaaayyyyyne! Shaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyne!!!!!! Shaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyne!!!!
Annoying? You must be crazy. He had the voice of a Peg Bundy Angel
Outlaw Josey Wales was the best!
Pale Rider is one of my favourite Eastwood films, but second to my absolute favourite Eastwood Western, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
100%. I watch it every chance I get.
It's got everything that is required from a great western without glorification of killing.
It's excellent
"it's a livin, Dyin, ain't much of a livin"
Criminally underrated.
Josey Wales is his best for me. Great movie for sure.
@@goji059 👍👍
My favorite scene is when LaHood just idly mentions Preacher in Stockburn’s presence. The look of utter shock and awe coupled with primal fear across the Marshall’s face was perfect.
That was precious.
Pale Rider will always be my favorite Clint Eastwood movie. My father was working a mine in the Teton Mountains of Idaho where the movie was filmed and during a lull in his mining activities, he worked on the set of the movie. The photos he took of himself and Clint Eastwood, as well as the other actors from the film, are among his treasured possessions to this day. When we gather to watch the movie, which we do every few years, he gleefully points out the smoke coming out of the tent chimneys wherein he was stoking the fires, or points out the boulder that he and his mining crew had previously fragmented and then reassembled so that it could be broken apart by a single blow from the strongbad character.
I would be thrilled if Drinker goes through all of Eastwood's westerns.
Except bronco Billy.
I would utterly and completely be here for a full Drinker review series of Eastwood's western canon.
Awesome Idea, would love to see his take on The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Or all of Eastwood's films in general.
@@From-North-Jersey was that the rodeo one? I dont count those as Westerns.
“Who are you? Who are you... really?”
“Well, it really doesn't matter, does it?”
I agree that with a story like this, keeping things ambiguous is the best way to go. Love this & High Plains drifter, but personally I think Pale Rider has the edge
For its time, High Plains Drifter broke more new ground. Pale Rider kind of refined it.
If I had to guess, I’d think Eastwood believed the High Plains Drifter story could have been told better. I do love that movie, but Pale Rider made the characters more believable, the story more intriguing, and greatly improved the cinematography.
And the fact that the two movies end exactly the same way - the hero slowly riding into distance and disappearing - is no coincidence. And similarly, Sarah Belding watches him go by, with almost a longing expression, and Megan sees him leaving and literally says “I love you Preacher”
@@ontheroad5317 Agree. I never really got into Pale Rider because it seemed like a remake. I'll give it a new shot 30 years later
Agreed. I watch Pale Rider 3-4x a year, especially in winter when it’s a cold, bleak day as it seems to only add to the flavor of the movie.
And right before that you listen to Joy Division's Unknown Pleasure.
Same here with a glass of whiskey and the fireplace blazing in the background.
And in the heat of summer "High Plains Drifter" of course.
It's an obligation for the knowing ones.
"You a bounty hunter?" " Mans gotta make a living." "Dying ain't much of a living boy." The outlaw Jose Wales is a masterpiece. To be fair Clint never made a dud movie. Not many like him left.
"Hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he's got...and all he's ever gonna have."
"You gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?"
@@dennisryan5586 Best line I've ever seen in a movie, and played to perfection
IIRC, there was a "You know I had to come back" "Yeah" in there
@@rog6725 yeah. That was cool.
I love how the whole time, it's implied that Clint is a ghost, come from the afterlife to protect the camp and wreak vengeance on his past enemies.
Even better version of that concept in High Plains Drifter!
@@c3bhm Actually Pale Rider is a sequel to High Planes Drifter. In High Planes Drifter he's a vengeful spirt punishing those who wronged him. In Pale Rider he's a wandering spirt looking for redemption drawn to the mining camp by Megan's prayers. In both films he covers his wound from being hanged.
@@THX..1138 Now, that is interesting. I had no idea it was meant as sequel to High Plains Drifter, but now it does make sense. I always saw Preacher as the Angel of Death come to claim Stockburn.
@@johngolden3714 Yes. Eastwood has alluded to it many times, but though he directed both films they were made by 2 different studios. So if Eastwood admitted the Stranger and Preacher were the same guy the studio that made High Plains Drifter could sue for infringing on their IP.
Any case my takeaway from an interview I seen with Eastwood is the Stranger/Preacher like a lot of the characters in Eastwood's westerns. He was at different times in his life either the good or the bad guy. When he died he was a Lawman doing right, but that didn't make up for his bad past. He was too good for hell and not good enough for heaven. So he was left to wander the Earth a ghost.
In High Plains Drifter he saves the town, takes vengeance on the men who killed him and punishes the towns people who did nothing while he was murdered...But he wasn’t made a wandering spirit because of what was done to him, it was because what he had done. So after Hell Town he’s left to continue his purgatory.
In Pale Rider he‘s drawn to miners by the girl’s prayers in hope he can atone for his past. Maybe he also came to claim Stockburn. Clearly two had a past that may have included preacher taking some bullets in the back, but Stockburn didn’t kill preacher….Really he was just another man like Preacher used to be. Either way when it’s done Preacher again continues his penance roaming the earth a ghost.
@@THX..1138 Ah, straight for the horses's mouth so to speak. Very interesting bit of cinema history trivia there.
"The Lord certainly does work in mysterious ways" One of my favorite movies ever since I was a kid.
Seen this flick at least twenty times. Pretty much a masterpiece.
Lets be honest we all enjoyed this video by having this : *ruclips.net/video/mCfYi7634rU/видео.html*
one of many
Yeah it's a fantastic film for sure. I prefer The Outlaw Josey Wales but it's great all the same.
In my later year I find myself really enjoying these classic westerns. 🔥
Classy is always in style.😄
Same
Do check out Young Guns 1 & 2, they were MTV era westerns for Gen X kids. Mayb not classic westerns, but it's a guilty pleasure for that time.
Same here. They are amazing
@@leadsin99er Young Guns 1 & 2 has classic status imo. Great casting and Emilio Estevez at the top of his game as Billy the Kid is fun to watch. 💯
loving the reviews of smaller and older films. It balances out the “yep it’s garbage” reviews. You have a great way of reviewing movies as both entertainment and art, it’s nice to see some examples of good movies in my feed even if they’re older or not as much of a headline as the superhero movies. two thumbs up!
Me too. It broadens people to not just look at the art of the last ten minutes as if that were all there is. And with hindsight, it is easy to find classics to talk about, or hidden gems.
Older and "smaller". LOL. You are clealy young. Pale Rider was a BIG DEAL. Its not and never was a "small film". Its not even that old, although i grant you. If you are barely 20 something from the '80s would seem old.
@@jamesmaybrick2001 You got that right. "Kids these days" huh!
The scene where the girl reads in the apocalypse about the horseman of death while the preacher enters the town is fantastic. I’ve had that scene in my mind since I saw it for the first time many years ago.
It's biblical heresy but's it's Hollywood heresy storytelling gold. Everybody misinterprets the scriptures and uses the scriptures to manipulate or terrify. And Hollywood puts it on the screen for all to see. We should all fear Jesus, not "the Preacher," Clint Eastwood. But while we wait for Jesus, Eastwood is very entertaining, and irreverent.
It gets tiresome hearing about all the failures of today's media, so thank you for these reviews of the good stuff. Breath of fresh air.
I've stopped watching recent movies almost entirely. Recently rewatched China Town by Roman Polanski. Great flick, just didn't like the ending. Other than that it is a movie worth watching over again.
"tiresome hearing about all the failures" Well if looked at by the standards of storytelling and entertainment, then yes, failures.
But if looked at as Marxist Intersectional Propaganda and Cultural Vandalism then they are doing a great job. Then it is no longer tiresome but frightening. Especially considering that it is nearly all owned by 6 Multinational Corporations.
The woeful state of modern pop culture can only be fully appreciated by reflecting on movies and music of the past.
There are so many great movies out there through the decades, there's no need to watch the garbage they regurgitate(then basically spit on you for it), for me the 70s is the best though been watching some 50-60s movies. Few years ago I finally found an uncut copy of The Devils, the movie is so good it's hard to believe it was made in 1971.
Hey drinker, you celebrity bastard. I saw you on Sebastian Gorka's show. You are getting the mainstream recognition that you deserve for being one of the best movie reviewers out there. Bravo!
I've been binging Eastwood and Bronson movies ever since modern movies started getting really bad. It's helped me stay positive over the years despite the march towards oblivion.
Break heart pass is one of Bronson's best imo.
Bronson movies are great I've been watching a bunch on tubi and they are so entertaining
@@natestathes I'd never heard of that one. Thanks for the heads-up. Will watch it.
@@c3bhm it's free on RUclips
If you like Bronson, don't miss "Hard Times"...
The portrayal, by Eastwood, of the revenant character, either returning from the afterlife or just roaming the Earth, unable to rest and bringing an Old Testament reckoning to those who had wronged him and/or "the meek" is poignant and timeless, flawlessly combining the genres of western morality tale and supernatural fiction and, as you pointed out, is not ruined by excessive explanation. I love these movies.
High Plains Drifter
"Nothing like a shot of whiskey to wet a man's appetite." My favorite line in the movie.
I'm sure it's the Drinker's, also.
Whet. Holy shit... I'm that guy!! Arrrgggghhhh
When a dog is killed in a movie, it typically ends very badly for the perpetrators.
Right 🤣
Clint Eastwood: the original baba yaga
Stone Fox being exception.
You need to put that saying in quotes and sign it John Wick. 🙂
IT'S THE LAW!
One of my heroes as i was growing up. This particular film had a wonderful cast, superb backdrop and convincing villains once again the man with no name. Remember everyone " There's nothing like a nice piece of hickory".
Whenever someone says my hero or the like i always want to puke
@@jackburton8352 that sounds uncomfortable
you should probably get that checked out
@@arafat2924 Having hero's makes you weak that's why we have an infestation of woke snowflakes today who are useless members of society. Imagine actually living in a time that this film depicts. You think anyone cares about pronouns or feelings in such a time? Grow up
@@jackburton8352 Just let fly, no one gives a rat to ass.
@@stevewhite3424 Why comment then?
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his rider that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him."
That quote sets the movie up beautifully.
Kurt Russel quotes that in "Tombstone" (what a cast that film had!)
"You tell him I'm Coming ... and Hell's coming with me!"
You forgot Michael Moriarty, who I think is the most intriguing character in the movie. He is not the badass Clint is, but he is the most decent man in the whole film. He takes care of Meghan and her mom and has a positive outlook to make the small mining community work. He even saves Clint's life at the end of the movie. He does not get enough credit for the great actor he is. I loved him on Law and Order. I also loved the cinematography and winter like atmosphere that added a bleakness to the film.
I also loved him in the Larry Cohen films (Q: The Winged Serpent, The Stuff). Fun and weird movies.
If you hadn’t mentioned “High Plains Drifter”, I was going to In The comments. What a fantastically underrated movie it is, and how it’s subtly supernatural and just so satisfying to watch. Clint Eastwood is a living treasure whom we should all appreciate before he’s gone.
It's a good move, but it's as subtle as a brick to the head.
It also contains one of the most memorable lines ever in cinema; "You're gonna look awfully silly with that knife stuck up your ass!" LOL, that one goes right up there with Eli Wallach's immortal delivery in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; "You're the son of a thousand fathers, all bastards like you!"
Great observation I see so many Parallels in the characters of these two movies also. Clint Eastwoods character (High plains) is told that he should be careful because he is a man who makes other men afraid, at which he responds “ It’s what men know about themselves inside that makes them afraid.” Could the Western be dying out because the modern day man is turned off by it , could that be because it makes him uncomfortable to see men who are not controlled by fear?
@@lonniewalthall1971 "Modern day man". Do you mean the latest generations, who don't know what they are and are told how to think by keyboard warriors with bigger insecurities than they have.
No I mean men that don’t believe in the bill of rights, and would give up what their fore fathers bleed and died for, to a government or anyone to be taken care of rather than taking care of themselves. Men that would give up their rights for the supposed good of all, never realizing that that also means giving up responsibility, and I believe that those men are portrayed even in the movie, so no I’d say that they have always existed, and maybe there isn’t anything that modern about them.
Such an awesome film! It's a simple and tried setup, a mysterious stranger arrives to help clean up a town under the heel of a cruel businessman, but Clint brings a fresh raw feeling to it. One of my low-key favorite westerns.
Try Robert Altman's "McCabe & Mrs. Miller". A similar basic storyline and setting, but told realistically. How an anti-hero helps build a mining village into a real community, in spite of himself. It really is a story of a town getting the hero it deserves, not the hero it needs.
After hearing that plot summary, this sounds exactly like what The Book of Boba Fett was trying to be
It was what I was hoping for….until we got what we did
Really?
💯💯
What... you mean good?
You watched The Book if Boba Fett!! Hahahahha!!!
This is one of my dad’s all time favorites. To this day, he and I still love watching Westerns together whenever I come back home and now that love for the genre has led to me writing two short Western stories and the beginnings of a screenplay
I would trade anything to watch Top Gun: Maverick with my father.
Word of advice, never skip a phone call or cancel time with your dad or mom.
Go for it, ThatFilmBuff!
When Drinker said "we're never gonna see actors like this again, are we?" that cut deep.
Actors like this exist, stories like this exist... but not many movies putting the two together.
@@Kevin-hb7yq yea plenty of actors can still portray real men, but real men are not written into screenplays of today's movies.
@@creed22solar123 Mainly 'Wa-men' feature these days but it will change for the better at some point.
There are so few actors today and the ones we do have are aging and retiring. TV / movies / the visual medium is dead as art. Now we have RUclips activists, who are actors, but not artists, because activism requires acting, but precludes art. Acting without art is just an expression of "lying."
When movies are set in the past, I love when the cast that looks relatable to that time period and the lifestyle of the period. It's not for everyone, but it elevates the movies that do it well to me.
"Unforgiven" might be the King of Clint Eastwood westerns but "The outlaw Josey Wales" is the Emperor.
One of the best movies for me.
"Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms"
Hell is coming for breakfast.👍🥃
"Dying ain't much of a living"
"The Good The Bad and The Ugly" has to be included to make a mafia-style triumvirate.
Absolutely fantastic movie.
A lot of Eastwood fans (myself included) share the communal head canon that the Preacher IS the same Spirit of Vengeance from "High Plains Drifter".
Hear hear!!!!!
Seemed to have some very different attitudes between the two movies. Of course, he WAS pretty p**sed off at the whole town in HPD, while the folks in PR had never done him any harm.
I second that !!!
Totally agree, High Plains Drifter is certainly the spiritual father of Pale Rider, with a nod to Shane as well. And I'm perfectly fine with that.
Clint Eastwood, has said in interviews that his character in Pale Rider is in fact a ghost. The spirit of a man killed by the hired "sheriff" Stockburn.
The pattern of bullet wounds you see on Preachers body exactly mirrors that of the bullet pattern he shoots into Stockburn, at the end.
I just watched this movie on HBOMax.
What a breath of fresh air this was! Wow!
Its amazing that a near 40 year old film is one I can consider to be a breath of fresh air, but here we are.
More like very fine aged whiskey in good oak barrel.
This is a remake of Shane (if you haven't seen Shane seek it out) but Pale Rider takes it to another level. An absolute classic.
Pale Rider is still one of my favorite westerns.
I remember my 7 year old self sitting down to watch this with my dad. I actually enjoyed watching grown up movies and as far as westerns go this is one of my favorites. I remember getting an eerie feeling every time Preacher would do something uncanny. Now that the drinker has brought up these memories it’s time to find this movie and give it another watch since it’s been a while.
It was on RUclips a few months ago......🍻👍
Seen this masterpiece many times, still chortle out loud when Clint whops the mallet up into the big guys nuts then gently helps him back on his horse having gained his instant respect. So funny!
"Sheriff first man ever whip Mongo."
@@asshat6482 Mongo only pawn in game of life
'Are we ever going to see actors like this again?' We can only live in hope. Excellent review Drinker. Lang may yir lumb reek
Chris Pratt, The Terminal List.
@@booshmcfadden7638 Entertaining, but nowhere near the same calibre.
@@booshmcfadden7638 great actor but Clint is a different league
Nope, the golden age of Hollywood stars is well and truly gone. We're just waiting for the last of them to completely age out and die unfortunately.
Brad Pitt is the best. J Depp used to be. Sean Penn was first class.
Love all the old Eastwood western. No drinker we will not see a actor of this caliber again. As S.Leone said about Lee Van Cleef : He's eyes can burn hole in the screen. same goes for C.Eastwood. I would LOVE to see Mr. Eastwood in just one more western...just one more.
This movie is just so well done all around. I never tire of it.
The good the bad and the ugly is still my absolute fave
Michael Moriarty gives an awesome monologue when he tells his compatriots what he is fighting for.
Law and Order was a great show. But the only seasons I needed to own were with Moriarty, from the first episode to the brilliant last episode.
@@darkpatches Hear,Hear
Saw this movie after Razorfist talked about it. Solid western right here.
I would love to see those two collaborate on movies. The Drinker and The Rageaholic.
True.
except for one scene halfway through when the far too young supporting actress tells the aging star and director that she wants him to 'teach' her some 'stuff'
Edit: other than that it's really good
@@plainsimpletailor402 As the Preacher noted she's a kid and has no idea what love is, plus her mom told her that getting married and starting a family at 15 was something she did (and failed at). I had no problem with the kid be stupid, the mom on the other hand shafting the good dude the entire movie, admitting she loves him towards the end and then cheating on him by making out with the Preacher was something I hated.
This film was the perfect gestalt of American Western tales like High Plains Drifter, Shane and High Noon. Thank you, Drinker, for reminding me of a great film from when I was a young man.
Pale Rider is indeed a great movie. We're never going to see another one like it. Great assessment on this classic.
I’ve startes watching westerns again in my older age of 35. Saw “The Outlaw Josey Wales” this weekend, now gonna see this
The Outlaw Josey Wales is probably my favorite western of all time, followed closely by Jeremiah Johnson. Check that one out too.
Try Joe Kidd. Another passed over Eastwood western that's more than worth it.
@@arobb4481 I’ll watch Jeremiah Johnson for sure
@@vogsphere2719 I never heard of Joe Kidd, I’m curious now
@@chucksenhowzen9740 Well worth the watch. It has John Saxon, Dick Van Patten, James Wainwright, Robert Duvall and of course Clint.
One of the many versions of "Shane". A dangerous stranger is taken in by a family/town and has to go back to his old ways to protect his new family. Kurt Russell's "Soldier" is another. Love all three!
Shane is fantastic. One of the greatest movie kills of all time at the hands of jack palance.
Jack Palance played the hired gunslinger Wilson with great elan
Ah, when men were portrayed like men in films; not just overgrown hyperactive children.
Well now it is sexist to portray men as men. Only women can be masculine in modern media.
There is nothing wrong with having men shown as hyperactive.
That is basically what Napoleon and Alexander were.
Hyperactive and very, very ambitious.
But yeah men and women being portrayed like overgrown children while kids tend to be portrayed like anything but kids is something Hollywood does not see anything wrong with.
I can list examples of that too. But I'd rather forget about them
@@MrDwarfpitcher he didn't just say hyperactive. He said "hyperactive overgrown children". And it's not just one movie... It's the trend.
Also BYE real men like CLINT EASTWWOD
Incompetent bumbling fools who have to have their women come in and save the day.
Is that _really_ all they can come up with anymore? 🙄
Really love Clint and his many roles and as a director. He will be sorely missed and impossible to replace for what he brought as POSITIVES in movies worldwide
I moved away from my home more than a half decade ago, this was one of the last movies I watched with my pops before leaving. It was gritty, dark and desolate, the very pinnacle of the West. Only Unforgiven tops it. How fitting it is that the last of the great Westerns went out with the greatest to do it.
Absolutely recommend, Unforgiven, Pale Rider and Unforgiven are three must see movies.
And no Drinker, unfortunately we probably will never see actors like this again.
Man its been more then 20 years since I've watch this. A few years before my grandfather passed. Growing up most Sundays we would go to my grandparents house for dinner and I would watch movies with him. We would get the TV guide and plan what western or WW2 movies we would watch that day.
I went to see this in the theater in Ann Arbor, one late afternoon/early evening on a Sat. As I was locking my car, I noticed a couple of guys who were leaving the previous show, getting into their car 2 spaces away. I glanced up, & noticed that one of the guys was the actor Hal Holbrook. Then I remembered he was in town to do a performance of 'Mark Ttwain Tonight" that evening.. That's it, just a little surreal to have a random celebrity sighting in the rust belt. :p
So did Clint show up and blow his car up? A mans got to know his limitations.
@@rogersmith7396 Nice “Magnum Force” reference. :)
@@comedyoferrors77 And a Hal Holbrook reference. If only Clint had blown up Mark Twain.
I re-watched this last year for the first time in years, and I couldn't believe how good it was. Watched it two more times since
I have/had this in DVD somewhere. Have to watch again when able.
I was 12 when this movie came out and my parents loved Clint Eastwood so much they let me watch it with them (a 12 yo watching an R movie was a No No in the 80s). We had a subscription to HBO (yup, there was HBO in the 80s) and I immediately fell in love with both Westerns and supernatural movies. This is a classic
Got to meet Clint once when I used to Valet park cars. The man treated me with respect and acknowledged that I was another human being on this planet. Plus, he let me reenact a Tuco scene. Brilliant
I’ve owned this one for years and haven’t seen it in many. Time for a rewatch. Thanks for the reminder, Drinker!
My dad took my mom to see Pale Rider on their first date. I never knew that until very recently - yet over 30 years later I discovered it while on a Clint Eastwood binge and loved it. Definitely one of my favorites of his - although half of his filmography could fit into my favorites category.
This and 'High Plains Drifter' remain my favorite Eastwood works, and they both play with the notion of supernatural elements without outright confirming them as Drinker mentions of 'Pale Rider.' Subdued, Weird West at its finest.
You must love Cowboys and Aliens.
I inherited my love for Westerns from my parents. Dad loved Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales and mine was Pale Rider (until Unforgiven). That ass-whipping' with that oak (hickory?) stick alone was worth the ticket of admission. Michael Moriarty was so good in this roll; I followed him during his run of Law & Order. Best part of those early days was seeing Westerns at our local Drive-Ins on the weekend.
Never liked John Wayne but Clint Eastwood is the man when it came to westerns plus spaghetti westerns. Lost count how many times I've seen Pale Rider. Brilliant film.
I've always loved this film. It's got loads of iconic imagery and is a wonderful counterpoint to High Plains Drifter.
Good choice. That final confrontation is chilling. Man thought to be dead a long time ago but actually survived ... or something much more supernatural than that.
Judging from those six bullet scars on his back, I doubt he would have survived without supernatural intervention. (Notice those are entry wounds, meaning Stockburn shot him in the back.)
@@stevenscott2136 It's POSSIBLE that if he were shot with (e.g.)one of the early .36 calibre cap and ball revolvers, through a heavy coat and the muscles of the back or into the shoulder blades, that he might have survived naturally. But one does wonder.
@@stevenscott2136 There have been people shot multiple times and survived but yes, it is quite an uncommon event. Has happened enough times that there's a chance at least but also depending on the number of times and calibre of the weapon, rare enough that you could consider the presence of the supernatural in the context of this film as well.
Love all the Clint westerns from the oldies like Two Mules for Sister Sara to the newer The Unforgiven plus everything before & in between 🤠
One of the greatest hero one-liners ever delivered. TWO FREAKING WORDS, "You through?" That's it! That's all he says and in just two words he communicates to the henchmen and the audience just what type of malevolence is about to happen. TWO. FREAKING. WORDS!. Love it.
Spot on- I wasn't ready for this masterpiece when I saw it in high school. I WAS ready for Unforgiven in my early 20s. Now looking back, Pale Rider is more spartan in every way, but just as good. They are an excellent pairing.
Clint never gave up on the Western. The Outlaw Josey Wales is also one of my favourites.
I remember going to see this film with my student flat mates in the mid-80s in Heaton Chapel cinema (north of Stockport) and we all bloody loved it. Nice review.
I personally love Westerns as a genre. You see alot of influences in other movies and TV series, the good ones anyway, where elements of Eastwood style themes are embedded in the stories.
You are right though, we're likely to never see anything this good in the West for a long time, if ever. We've "progressed" into uncreativity, ugliness, nihilism, godlessness, perversion, ungratefulness, and unreality. Men like the one in Pale Rider can't exist in stories these days, and certainly not in society like our's where they are actively shunned and unpersoned; but perhaps that's when they are most important and effective.
All of the Dirty Harrys.
What did you think of Hostiles?
I still dig Westerns. Hollywood often times just doesn't know how to write a decent Western this century. I remember one that came out like 20 years ago that looked like a cheap Young Guns ripoff with no name actors. That was never going to work. Young Guns did it right, and actually captures some young actors at their prime. I like Open Range too even if he got a little over zealous with how many bullets are being fired from 6 shooters and rifles. It's still a pretty cool shootout at the end. and I even dug the Hateful 8, it's the Western I prefer from Tarantino over the other one.
I've watched Pale Rider a dozen times or more. It's fantastic cinema.
A little known gem of a movie that demonstrates yet again the story telling brilliance of Clint Eastwood.
For me this movie is more like Gran Torino than Unforgiven in story structure, but elements of both later films can definitely be found in Pale Rider.
If you like Gran Torino, you may enjoy Michael Caine in Harry Brown. It is rather harsher, but quite good
I liked Unforgiven also, but yes Pale Rider and Gran Torino are his best.
When the young girl was introduced in the film, I thought “aw shit ... here we go again”. But she turned out to be a well written and acted character.
Here we go again?
@@joejones4172 the annoying kid in Shane
High Plains Drifter for the longest time was my favorite movie, watched every time it came on TV, this was before home computers & VCRs, so at most I'd see it once a year. Back when Summers latest forever, today yet another one ended in the US.
"Pale Rider" is an almost direct remake of 1953's 'Shane" with elements of Eastwood's own 1973's "High Plains Drifter" mixed in. (Eastwood is clearly a huge fan of "Shane" because he also used (stole) scenes from it for "The Outlaw Josey Wales." Speaking of Josey Wales, the actor who plays "Stockburn" (John Russell) played "Bloody Bill Anderson" in that movie.)
Clint loves to give his buddies some work here and there...Ive watched both Star Trek, and Outlaw Josie Wales a zillion times...and I only JUST clued in last week during a rerun that the Andorian spy in "Journey to Babel" is the Ferry-man in Josie!!!..AND the barber in High Plains Drifter.
Oh I wish I wuz in the land of cotton......
And that actor is stick kickin!
John Russell played a great western villain. Stockburn and Nathan Burdette in Rio Bravo are two prime examples.
Clint has a coterie of actors he likes to work with . I imagine that he values their talent and professionalism and they in turn give their best for him.
@@projektkobra2247 He was also one of the Black Widows in "Every Which Way but Loose".
Pale Rider is a remake of Shane. I can't believe nobody is mentioning that here
Damn right. DAMN RIGHT! Easily my favorite Eastwood western, and far too often overlooked by most.
Once one newspaper released affordable series of movies with Eastwoods on dvds (20 years ago). So maybe I saw 75% of movies by him or with him as part of the cast. He is 100% epic and spot on in all of them. English is not my first languabe and term "subdued" makes me very happy as it is perfect description of Eastwood's acting method. He is reserved and brutally honest/sarcastic in each role. Such a national treasure this fine man is.
this is probably my favorite western, its a really unique film.
Truly movie as an artform but darn entertaining.
"High Plains Drifter" is one of my other forgotten western favourites from Clint.
I later learned that its apparently a very well hidden western ghost story? Not sure. The ending sure makes it seem that way.
Watched it at least half a dozen times. And even everybody says Unforgiven was his best, my all time favorite is still The Outlaw Josey Wales.
"So you boys gonna draw them guns or you're going to whistle dixie?" 😁😁😁
"I never surrendered, they took my horse and made him surrender."
"How's it on stains?"
@@From-North-Jersey 😁😁😁 Yes! It had humor as well.
Even the small bit parts were great in that movie, like Granny Hawkins.
@@From-North-Jersey "They've probably got him up in Kansas pulling a wagon."
No one gets as much out of a scene with a long look, a slight nod of the head, or a one word speech, as Eastwood can. Very clever, deft acting by the underrated Clint..
Clint could never be underrated....
@@TVeres-3dRm Clint is indeed the best there is. Many thanks for your thoughtful note. All best wishes..
This was one of the best Westerns I ever saw as a teenager. My father took me to the theater to see it when it came out and it made me an Eastwood fan for life.
plus one for going with your Dad. I think the last movie I saw with my Dad was The Empire Strikes Back
I love Pale Rider. It may be my second favorite western after The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (if not my favorite). The story is a great remake of Shane, with an even more authentic, elegiac and lived in feel. Everything from the locations, the sets, and the wardrobe feel real in a way that most films today don't. Same with the acting. There are scenes of people just sitting around talking that are done today all the time, but they have weight and purpose here whereas today it's mostly just filler. Comic fans who read Preacher will recognize elements from this film in it, and it's got one of the best movie posters of all time.
Glad you did this video, Drinker!
Great idea highlighting older films, as the current crop of films are mired in shite, great video.
Yup, there are mountains of great entertainment in the past. Personally I would e.g. show my kids older kids shows than any modern stuff.
Watched this again the other night it's absolutely pitch perfect, the typical strong low-key Eastwood performance, interesting and very well acted supporting characters, beautiful scenery, a dirty & gritty final shootout scene and a unique sense of mythical ambiguity around the main character.....I absolutely loved it and I think it might be my favorite non Spaghetti western of Eastwood's.
Clint's hat in this movie is so sweet! GREAT movie! The cinematography is outstanding!
I remember watching this in the 80s with my dad. Great memory.
I love this channel. I haven't heard this guy in a while, but this guy explains movies and other media well and makes me laugh. And I'm drinking a beer here in the USA this morning because I have the day off. How appropriate. I may spend the day going back on some videos I've missed.
Theres even more content on his main channel The Critical Drinker
@@shanew5957 This guy is awesome. The first time I found his channel, I watched his videos for hours, laughing throughout. I love getting info through laughter.
@@shanew5957 Oh yeah, this guy is hilarious. "I've never heard of a ship getting so emasculated in all my life". hahaha I just wish I had more time in the day. I was watching his stuff about the new LOTR. Man, I was laughing so hard.
"And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, 'Come and see.'
"And I looked, and behold, a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
"And they cried with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?' "
For those who don't know, including you Drinker, there's a Japanese remake from 2013 of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven starring Ken Watanabe in the lead role and told from the perspective of a former samurai in the early days of the Meiji Restoration in the late 1800s in Japan....it's the exact same story just from a different cultural perspective, and it's freaking awesome, of course Eastwood's original is better, but it was pretty refreshing to see the same story being told from a different perspective
What's the name of it, and is it on Prime or Netflix?
The thing I like about well done westerns is that they show the dirt, grime and grit caked in every persons face, arms and hands. It looks real. Unforgiven, Pale Rider and especially the HBO series Deadwood get that down to an art. It's hard to pick out a favorite western by Clint Eastwood, they all have such good traits. Okay, I'll go away now.
Pale Rider is definitely one of my favorite Clint Eastwood films. Maybe one of my favorites in general. I’m not a big action guy, but when it’s mature, deliberate, and has soul, these are the best movies
At the end of the movie could hear at the back of the mind when Megan was calling out, “SHANE…SHANE!!”
I have a theory that this amazing film is the middle movie of a trilogy about one man at three drasticly different points of his life. I think The outlaw Josey Wales was the first movie. Josie the Cavalry based Guerilla fighter tried to repent and changed his name after the civil war and became a preacher in Pale RIder but violence pulled him back in. The third movie is "Unforgiven" An older man widower with two young children, a failing farm, and a violent past. I think this is the same man as Josey Wales and The Preacher. He keeps trying to get out, and violence keeps pulling him back in(sorry mr pachio I had to.)
They are definitely "sequel-LIKE" to be sure...I mentioned above that I wished they had more an obvious connection...but they dont really need to...theres a saying, "The Artist only really ever makes ONE work of Art"...
I like your theory, & how it really can't be dispelled.
How do we keep forgetting "Silverado"? That was the film that rejuvenated the western in the 80s
Not even close. Open Range was much better.
@@TheLastRelevantSage2 I was just going to comment about Open Range, superb movie.
@@slowmarchingband1 Yeah, Costner and Duvall, great team, great screen presence.
@@DavidWHorst Yeah, time just keeps drifting away. To me both are in the same time period I guess. Stopped watching movies and TV all through the late 80's and the entire 90's.
Silverado was shite thats why it doesnt get mentioned
I can’t imagine my world growing up without Clint Eastwood, from Rawhide upwards, it’s been a fantastic journey, thank you sir.
Rowdy Yates, I think was his Rawhide character. I was maybe 12 years old or so when that ran. Me and the old man watched it all the time.
Drinker, as always, your spot on with this one. I rarely watch westerns but this is one that I’ll stop and watch if channel surfing. It’s western finesse! Subdue messages, quiet and patient build up scenes, excellent casting and cinematography. A pinnacle of western movies!