Overview: With 1985’s Pale Rider, Clint Eastwood returned to the western genre with a vengeance as the movie became the highest grossing western of that decade.

Eastwood, who also directed the hit film, plays a nameless stranger who rides into a small California gold rush town (and becomes known as the Preacher) where he finds himself in the middle of a feud between a mining syndicate and a group of independent prospectors.

The film is produced and directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack. The film stars Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Christopher Penn, Richard Dysart, Sydney Penny, Richard Kiel, Doug McGrath, and John Russell.

Three films from legendary filmmaker Clint Eastwood – Dirty Harry, The Outlaw Josie Wales and Pale Rider (40th anniversary), will be released for the first time on 4K Ultra HD and Digital on April 29th, 2025.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the much beloved Pale Rider (4K Ultra HD + Digital) in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this April 29th, 2025.

For my money, this Pale Rider (4K Ultra HD + Digital) sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is Pale Rider presented to us as a one-disc with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265 (67.85 Mbps), Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: HDR10 and Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

One of those moments is one I will call The Face Of Death scene. My goodness, 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.

Director John Russell turns the gunfight in the film into something very special, as he has a thrilling presence that contrasts Eastwood’s calm, subtle style.

As for the audio, well we get the plentiful choice of: English: Dolby Atmos English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, French: Dolby Digital 2.0 (320 kbps) and Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 (320 kbps).

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the film itself, well, as noted, Clint Eastwood plays the mysterious preacher who protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.

With the film’s religious themes, let me recite the famous quote: And I looked, and behold a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. The reading of the biblical passage explains how Eastwood’s character is death, how his sudden appearance was as a result of a prayer from Megan, in which she quoted Psalm 23.

Thus making Eastwood’s character a savior for the prospector village which is almost too good and kind-hearted, but giving us the perspective of the so-called bad guys, it fleshes out the movie and makes it more interesting.

I don’t remember much about this film when my father showed it to me back when I was young, so I’m going in older and more appreciation of Clint Eastwood’s work, especially now this wondrous 4K UHD has arrived for review.

Pale Rider is a great western and after a time when westerns were neither critically acclaimed or made box office, Clint Eastwood returned to the genre with a western that has some incredible direction and also some good themes. Unlike his earlier movies, Eastwood first selected this movie’s theme and then commissioned a screenplay to be written.

Personally, I think the themes in Pale Rider are excellent. Eastwood also produced it whilst Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack wrote the screenplay and story, and thus while I don’t think the script is the best part of the movie, the flaws that exist are tolerable thanks to the visual storytelling and direction done by Eastwood.

The dialogue can be average at times and some of the writing is quite average, but mostly good which means that Pale Rider is a terrific western and a true classic. Visually it’s stunning to look at with some fantastic cinematography with locations ranging from gold aspens to snow-capped mountains.

However, it may sound colorful, but it’s not, as it’s dark and gritty and slow in its pacing. It’s slow in a good way allowing the tension to grow, which just goes to show how great and intelligent the filmmaker truly is.

In closing, I am very grateful Eastwood made this movie, as it most likely saved the western genre. It’s more character driven than action driven, with lots of dialogue heavy scene and drama to be seen. Pale Rider is a western made for adults by an actor who decided to make the western he wanted to make. And thus Pale Rider is also a fine addition to Clint Eastwood’s filmography.

Pale Rider 4K Ultra HD contains the following new and previously released special features:
• The Diary of Sydney Penny: Lessons from the Set - NEW
• Painting the Preacher: Bruce Surtees and Pale Rider - NEW
• Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy – Reinventing Westerns
• Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story
• The Eastwood Factor