Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Nothing like a good piece of hickory!", July 12, 2005
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 on him was Death" (Rev. 6:8), she sees a man riding a pale horse approaching. The rider comes to be known only as "The Preacher" (Clint Eastwood) and after helping Hull out of a skirmish with some of LaHood's men, Hull invites the Preacher to stay with him, Sarah and Megan. It isn't before long that the Preacher begins to give the miners at Hull's encampment courage to stand up to LaHood and to work together. LaHood, of course, is furious that a preacher is helping them because he wants their land so that he can use his very destructive hydraulic mining technology to strip the land of whatever gold may be there. When LaHood can't buy the Preacher out of the encampment, he resorts to hiring a "marshal" of sorts named Stockburn (John Russell, 1921-1991) and his "deputies" to get rid of the Preacher. LaHood, however, doesn't know what the Preacher is capable of doing.
With excellent cinematography, interesting characters, an engaging story and good acting, "Pale Rider" is an excellent film. Other memorable characters include LaHood's son Josh (Chris Penn), Club (Richard Kiel, who is better known for his portrayal of the character "Jaws" from the James Bond films "The Spy Who Loved Me" & "Moonraker" in 1977 & 1979 respectively), McGill (Charles Hallahan), Ma Blankenship (Fran Ryan, 1916-2000) and Jed Blankenship (Richard Hamilton, 1920-2004). Memorable scenes include the Preacher's arrival, the boulder, visiting LaHood's hydraulic mine, the arrival of Stockburn and the final scenes. Overall, I rate "Pale Rider" with 5 stars.
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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Riding high, April 12, 2004
This is a great 3-pack. I always thought that Pale Rider was his best personal effort, but he got the Oscar for The Unforgiven. Now you can compare the two, and you have The Outlaw Josey Wales to boot. Eastwood built a Western filmography almost as great as the legend himself, John Wayne. Eastwood always looked good in the saddle and his preternatural scowl fit the High Plains well, whether in early Italian/Spanish productions with Sergio Leone, or his later personal westerns. He covers much of the same material, but his delivery gets ever better. The Unforgiven has a deconstructionist feel to it with memorable performances by Gene Hackman and Richard Harris. It was probably the most daring of his western movies, but Pale Rider has the greatest visual appeal, set in the rugged backdrop of Montana, it exudes the romance of the Old West, like A.B. Guthrie's Big Sky novels. The Outlaw Josey Wales makes a good bridge between his early "spaghetti" westerns to his later big screen performances.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Films, Disappointing Box, May 5, 2006
If you're interested in this boxed set, then you probably are already familiar with the movies. Apart from Clint Eastwood's 'spaghetti westerns', the films in this package are amongst his best westerns. Made in three different decades, each film represents Clint Eastwood as the star and director in three different eras.
'The Outlaw Josey Wales' (1976) was Eastwood's last 70's western. In the film, Josey Wales makes his way west after the Civil War, determined to live a useful and helpful life. He joins up with a group of settlers who need the protection that a man as tough and experienced as he is can provide. Unfortunately, Josey is a wanted man and his past catches up with him.
'Pale Rider' (1985) was filmed after a 9 year western-hiatus and was his only 80's western. Here, a gold mining camp in the California foothills is besieged by a neighboring landowner intent on stealing their claims. A preacher (Eastwood) rides into camp and uses all of his powers of persuasion to convince the landowner to give up his attacks on the miners.
'Unforgiven' won critical acclaim in 1992 with four Oscars including best picture and his first best-directing gong. Eastwood stars as a retired, once-ruthless killer-turned-gentle-widower and hog farmer. He accepts one last bounty-hunter mission--to find the men who brutalized a prostitute--to help support his two motherless children. Joined by his former partner (Morgan Freeman) and a greenhorn (Jaimz Woolvett), he takes on a corrupt sheriff (Oscar winner Gene Hackman) in a showdown that makes the viewer feel the full impact of violence and its corruption of the soul.
The only drawback to this product is the package itself. Although the DVD's come in a box, they are not contained in the typical plastic DVD case with the original stand-alone DVD sleave. Instead, the original stand-alone sleave is printed on a cheaper cardboard DVD case which clips into a plastic backing. I was disappointed to receive this, so I'm just letting you know.
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