Movie #46- "Pale Rider" (1985)

People weren't exactly clamoring for westerns in the 1980s.  They were still being made, they just weren't raking it in at the box office.  "Pale Rider" is one of the top grossing westerns of the decade, and it barely made the Top 20 in the year it was released (it was number 18 in 1985 at $41 million).
The visuals give you the sense of the open plains, yet the action is rather sparse.  Eastwood directs this film, which begins with the thunder of an approaching mob set against the quiet of a miner's camp.  After the initial clash occurs, Eastwood puts the film on simmer and lets the tension slowly build until the concluding shoot-out.  Plenty of biblical references pepper the script and very little is said about the Preacher's past (Eastwood), begging the question, "Was he real, or a ghost?"  The one sour note happens when a 14-year old girl throws herself at the Preacher, which gave me a creepy vibe.  Eastwood made his name with the western and does nothing to tarnish that reputation here.  A picturesque western with memorable characters.

Rating: 7/10
Movies I've previously seen: 4
First time viewings: 42