With the exception of John Wayne, there’s no bigger name in Westerns than Clint Eastwood. The star of legendary “Man With No Name” trilogy made a career starring in dozens of acclaimed Westerns, and by the 1970s was already an established director. The 80s saw Eastwood ease off of his most iconic genre, but he got back in the saddle for 1985’s Pale Rider.
Pale Rider follows Eastwood as a mysterious preacher who stumbles upon a small prospector town being exploited by greedy mining companies who are encroaching on the town’s land. As the bankers send hired goons to persuade the miners to leave, “Preacher” must protect the innocents against potential corruption and violence. The film contains many spiritual and Biblical references, particularly the “pale horse” that Preacher rides on, a reference to Death of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The Highly Acclaimed Western Is Coming to Tubi in November
Tubi announced that Pale Rider will be joining the free streaming service’s library on November 1, alongside other lauded Westerns like Wyatt Earp and No Country For Old Men. Pale Rider was a hit commercially and critically: its $41 million payday at the box office made it one of the highest-grossing Westerns of the decade, and it has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The New York Times wrote that Eastwood handles both his roles as star and director “with such intelligence and facility”, and that Pale Rider was “the first decent Western in a very long time”. Iconic film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie a perfect four out of four star rating. It was a much-needed revitalization of the genre: Eastwood had not directed a Western for 10 years, and the first Hollywood Western since the extreme flop of 1980’s Heaven’s Gate. Considering the prestige of the Western and visionary in front and behind the camera, Tubi has acquired a real treasure to bring to the masses completely free.
Next: Kurt Russell’s 2015 Film, Named One of the Best Westerns This Century, Free to Stream Next Month
