Pale Rider Blu-ray offers decent video and mediocre audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
After corporate mining boss Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart) begins a campaign of terror to drive independent pan miners out of the area, a nameless stranger called Preacher (Clint Eastwood) rides into the underdogs' camp. He becomes their avenger. The tycoon then hires a badge-wearing killer and his duster-shrouded deputies, men loyal to whomever pays the most. LaHood pays gold. But in a climactic shootout to remember, Preacher pays in lead.
For more about Pale Rider and the Pale Rider Blu-ray release, see the Pale Rider Blu-ray Review published by Greg Maltz on September 23, 2008 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.0 out of 5.
Before Clint Eastwood played Dirty Harry Callahan, he helped define the western genre.
His
influence in the genre continued right up through Pale Rider, the last traditional western of his career.
Eastwood's specialty was the strong silent type. In Pale Rider, he attempts to take the
role
to mythological heights as the Preacher, who rides into town summoned by the prayers of a
young
lady, Megan Wheeler (Sydney Penny). Megan, her mother Sarah (Carrie Snodgress), landowner
Hull
Barret (Michael Moriarty) and a small community of miners are being terrorized by men working
for
greedy prospector Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart).
The preacher stands up to LaHood's
scofflaws,
protecting Hull and Megan and rallying the miners to stick together. LaHood then hires gunslinger
Stockburn (John Russell) and his six tough deputies to kill the preacher and run the miners off
Hull's
land. But Stockburn and the preacher have a history that hints at the folklore of Jose Wales
and the film High Plains Drifter. The plot moves toward a final showdown between
Stockburn and the preacher, who has put away his collar and armed himself with a pistol. But will
the preacher be any match for Stockburn and his posse of professional gunslingers? The action
ratchets up at a steady pace, leading to a riveting showdown. But less-than-stellar quality and
some directorial missteps by the now-Oscar winning director make this BD for serious Eastwood
and western fans only.
The preacher (Clint Eastwood) shows himself to be handy with a firearm.
I was impressed by Pale Rider when I saw it in the 1980s. At that time, Eastwood had
perfected his acting skills, but his directing chops were still a bit thin. He would go on to win
Oscars for directing Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven, placing him in the
pantheon of the finest directors ever. Compared to later films, Eastwood's choices for Pale
Rider were sometimes poor, particularly in terms of actors, camera angles and action
sequences. For example, the initial sequence in the film, showing LaHood's men raiding the
miners' community, does not frame the action properly. We see poorly captured motion--horses
filmed too close, riders striking at unidentifiable victims, a dog rushing clumsily through the
chaos. It appears like an amateur exercise--completely uncharacteristic of Eastwood's later directorial style. The lighting is often too dark or too bright and rarely achieves the perfection Eastwood later
attained. Faces are sometimes hidden in shadow and characters are positioned oddly in relation to
each other and to the light.
Note the first real fight scene, in which the preacher and LaHood's men go at each
other with two-by-fours. Instead of a cohesive, believable action sequence, Eastwood opts for
breaking up the fight by showing each two-by-four flying end over end into the air as the
preacher disarms the bad guys, one after another. Granted, the heroes in westerns traditionally
take on a larger than life, tall tale stature that the flying sticks were supposed to show. But it was
a clumsy cinematographic device that hurt the scene. Eastwood also failed to get a convincing
performance out of Sydney Penny and never properly defined Carrie Snodgress' character, although she turns in an admirable performance, along with Moriarty, Christopher Penn as LaHood's son, Dysart, Russel and Eastwood himself.
For all its faults Pale Rider remains a high water mark of the 1980s. Eastwood's attempt almost works
to adapt Jose Wales folklore into a more abstract western with a superhuman or metaphysical
hero that pays homage to classics like Shane and High Noon. The scars appearing on the preacher's back clearly show fatal rear-entry
gunshot wounds. The way the preacher appears suggests he rides into the lives of the miners and faces off against Stockburn in some divine purpose. But in hindsight, Eastwood's directorial chops were not quite up to the challenge. While essential viewing for western fanatics and serious worshipers of
Clint Eastwood, Warner's Pale Rider Blu-ray disc does not even touch the grandeur of the
actor/director's later work. Nor do the audio and video achieve the quality we are coming to
expect from 1080p and high definition audio. Sure it looks and sounds better than NTSC versions, but compared to the
growing list of reference quality BDs, Pale Rider pales.
While the VC-1 picture's definition is good, contrast level appears to be artificially
pumped up. Maybe
this is in keeping with the original film source, but it does not make for the most natural skin
tones,
foliage and other imagery. Objects also appear a bit "etched", as if sharpness was applied to the
picture. This effect is not obtrusive, the landscape shots and interiors are vibrant and far from
what
anyone would call "too digital". As Blu-ray fare goes, it's a bit above average, and fully enjoyable.
Colors are rich (maybe too rich) and black level is inky, with natural gradients that show no signs
of
artifacts or pixelation. Depth suffers a bit from the slight oversaturation. While the countryside in
the film is beautiful, it lacks the extraordinary resolution and realism associated with reference
quality BDs that make some 1080p appear as though you can step inside the picture.
The BD provides a good window into problems with the source material. Watch the initial scene
when LaHood's men raid the miner's camp on horseback. The contrast appears to strobe lightly in
a way that is unique to aging filmstock. Occasionally, other warts appear, including splotchy color
and film noise like dust and lines. Only discerning eyes will pick up on these problems. Overall, the
picture is clean. My main complaints, again, are the contrast, slight oversaturation of color and hint of extra sharpening. But some viewers may actually enjoy these attributes.
The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track proves less-than-stellar. Dialog is crisp but lacks a fully analog presence. Gunshots had an etched, hollow quality and the high-pressure water cannons used by LaHood for erosion mining had a slightly digital sheen, as did explosions. Listen to the scene when the preacher uses explosives to destroy LaHood's mining operations. The blasts lack a convincing attack, and do not trail off in an accurate decay either, lacking any echo as the sounds peel off the mountains and across the plains. The explosions deliver little significant LFE rumble, either. The rumble of galloping horses, in the opening scene for example, has comparable problems. The film's score sounds shelved and muffled. Surround channels are only used for ambient sounds.
To be fair, the mediocre audio is the fault not of the Blu-ray production, but of the original film. Warner probably did an admirable job of dusting off the source material and producing the 5.1 track as cleanly as possible. But, as the expression goes, a polished turd is still a turd. If you only want to collect BDs with an immersive, engaging surround track, I'd have to recommend against getting Pale Rider. However, given the age and production characteristics of the original film, I can grant an average score for audio quality.
Unfortunately, there are no extras--just a standard definition trailer of Pale Rider and Unforgiven. It would have been nice to at least have audio commentary or an interview to get Eastwood's comments on the identity of the preacher or his approach to the role. But uncharacteristically of Warner, no supplementary content is provided. Lowest marks for bonus material.
Maybe it was lack of a decent budget, adequate production time or just an unfinished conception of exactly what each character should deliver in the film--but whatever the reason, Pale Rider doesn't rise to the level of most Eastwood films. His preacher character is intriguing, but leaves audiences hungry for more information about the folklore surrounding the role. As a simple tale in the tradition of classic westerns, Pale Rider definitely carries its weight right down to the showdown. But after enjoying Clint Eastwood's more inspired performances and directorial efforts, this comes off like an unfinished piece or a simple character sketch. The pacing and acting is awkward, especially at the beginning. But it eventually picks up steam. With the average audio and video quality, the Pale Rider Blu-ray is recommended only for serious western and Clint Eastwood fans who don't mind a less-than-stellar outing from a time before he had perfected his craft as a director.
In yet another classic western announcement, Warner today detailed their release plans for the Clint Eastwood film 'Pale Rider' on Blu-ray. The film is included in Warner's 85th anniversary Western event that will deliver several classics of the genre to Blu-ray ...
