Easily one of the greatest Westerns ever made! It's been my go-to for many years now. Mr. Eastwood is a living legend.

The opening scene gives off a ghost story vibe. Is he an avenging angel or the spirit of the murdered sheriff? The dude hadn't been in town 30 minutes and he's killed 3 guys and raped a woman. There's just a haunting mystery about this movie. Pale Rider is an homage to the old westerns like Shane, another awesome movie. Nice reaction guys.

The town (Lago) can still be visited if you know where it is located. It is on the shores of Mono Lake, eastern sierras of California. I have a piece of the safety glass and a burned, red painted board from the remains of “HELL”.

YES! My favorite of all the Eastwood westerns!

Great choice of film! No one makes westerns like Clint Eastwood. Keep up the great work guys.

There is one detail, that anyone tend to ignore: When Clint is In bathtub and woman comes to shoot him. He shots him dead. Like bathtub water wouldn't save him. Yet he comes up without wounds. To me that was give away that he is supernatural being.

A whole film dedicated to bystander syndrome. The victim taking revenge on the folks who stood by. Excellent.

I unknowingly called it at 2:53 ("Like they're seeing a ghost or something."). Didn't notice this until now but I love his reaction to the horsewhip (2:57). I thought it was a little off when I first watched it, the reaction seemed so extreme, but it's brilliant foreshadowing, even as a ghost he has PTSD.

This is a good movie on so many levels. It's almost Biblical. The way I look at it, here's a town that is as guilty as sin, just like the ones in the Old Testament. So, judgment was brought down on them. The Drifter is the judgment in this case. He isn't even human. He has no love for the town and he cares for no one in it. He takes from them anything he can and is willing to kill without hesitation or remorse. This movie has Twilight Zone written all over it.

I don't know if Clint ever nailed down whether he was playing the dead guy's ghost or the dead guy's brother or what. I kinda like that he left it ambiguous. Legend has it that around this time there was a western script going around that featured two leading parts, one for an older man and one for a younger man. (One version of this story that I've heard said the script eventually ended up becoming "Lonesome Dove" but I don't know if that's true.) Anyway, Clint was approached to be the younger lead and someone had the idea to approach John Wayne to play the older character - Clint was all, "FUCK yeah, let's ask anyway!" Story goes that Wayne wrote a long letter to Clint critiquing "High Plains Drifter", which had just come out, and saying that Wayne objected to what this movie seemed to say about the pioneer spirit that built this country - lots of stuff about subversion of traditional values, and so on. (Some versions say Wayne's letter was drunken and rambling and others say it was respectful and showed honest conviction in what was being said - I have no idea which is true, or if any of this even happened, just to be clear.) Clint allegedly read it and responded that "High Plains Drifter" wasn't about the people who built the west, but about the second wave of people who followed and ate the ones who did the building - which I think is a damn' fine response. No idea if Wayne responded to that, but I wish they'd had a chance to work together - I think Wayne would have appreciated Eastwood's economical way of working.

Confession, I watched this just to see if you picked up on the reveal at the end. I'm so glad you did. For decades, I've argued with people who think that Clint Eastwood is playing everyone from Jesus to the Devil to Jim Duncan's brother, and personally I don't see that there's much dispute, for the reasons you laid out. Every other explanation is nonsensical, given the events and details of the movie. Anyway, you did this movie justice, and I appreciate it. My favorite Western!

2 popular theories about this movie. 1) Clint Eastwood is the Devil come to claim the souls of 3 killers. But being the Devil, death and destruction follows in his wake without any consideration or concern for the people around him. 2) He is the "spirit" of Jim Duncan come to seek revenge on not only his killers, but the town people who remained silent and did nothing to stop the attack that killed him. Personally, I LOVE the concept that he is the Devil come to claim souls as a narrative. It explains so much in regard to how little he cares about the people, how he treats them like dirt and easily takes advantage (Physically , emotionally and morally) of them all.

The dark, existential Westerns of recent years owe a lot to this great movie, and yet it is so little known. A great choice. (I would also love to see a reaction to Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, another neglected masterpiece).

When this was played on TV back in the 70s, the ABC promo for it ALWAYS included the scream "Who are you?!?" at 21:03. Always.

I love this movie. Can't wait to watch this reaction.

The Wraith with Charlie Sheen took some inspiration to its story from this beautiful masterpiece of a western.

You gotta give the stranger credit,he wants everyone out of the hotel because he's gonna blow it up.

Eastwood has said in interviews that his character is the brother of the murdered sheriff, to me the script is filled with clues that he is the avenging ghost of the sheriff himself. The fact that he literally appears - and disappears - from nowhere, the fact that the gunshots fired into the bathtub didn't touch him (because he wasn't there!), and the reference to the dead not resting without a proper resting place. He wouldn't be the first director to misunderstand a script - Ridley Scott thought Deckard was a replicant.

Clint talked about the book this was based on. In that book, the Marshal's brother was the stranger that came back. Clint wanted to leave it a bit more ambiguous......

Great review guys. Especially from the film making perspective.

Never mess with a man's cigar.

The Stranger: I'd love to oblige you. But a man's got to get his rest sometime. Sarah Belding: Oblige me? The Stranger: But I tell you what, if you'd come back in about half hour, I'll see what I can do, all right? 🤣🤣

"In an episode of A&E's Biography, Clint Eastwood stated that his character of the stranger in this film was not the ghost of the Marshal who was killed before the film's opening, but was in fact the Marshal's brother. The first rape scene in a Clint Eastwood directed movie, and he's the one committing the act."

You said they’re looking at him like a ghost , well he is the ghost of the dead sheriff.

In my opinion this is the best western he was in I didn't know he directed it makes it more awesome.

Great reaction, guys. Without a doubt, my favourite western movie of all time. Unlike any other I've seen. I love JOSEY WALES, but it doesn't hold a candle to this one. And how great is the picture quality.

Dave Drake was played by Mitchell Ryan, whom you might recognize from Lethal Weapon. He passed a couple days ago.

For the gamer nerds, 3rd edition D&D had a class called a ghost rider who was absolutely based off of this, including being murdered and coming back

Eastwood says the character is the sheriff's brother, but that makes no sense to me. Everything in the film says he's the ghost of the sheriff. When he goes under the water in the bathtub and she shoots him - and misses - it's because HE ISN'T THERE! He literally appears out of nowhere and returns to nowhere at the end. Such a great movie. Stuntman Buddy Van Horn played the sheriff in the whipping scene.

My favorite Clint Eastwood Western. A great ghost legend of the Old West story. The Outlaw Josey Wales is probably better in its deeper meaning and Vietnam metaphor, but I like this one better. Don't get me wrong, Josey Wales is one of the greatest Westerns ever!

Love this movie! Was one of my Fathers favorite! love watching yalls take on movies! you got another subscriber

_Clintessential!_ 🙂

Awesome watch and analysis! I had a blast watching and hearing your thoughts.

If he's the ghost of Jim Duncan who was the sheriff of the town, then why didn't anyone in the town recognize him?

This movie tarnished my hero worship of Clint Eastwood quite a bit…

Most surreal western ever

If you want to see actors from this movie in a totally different movie as completely different characters watch " every which way but loose" and "any which way you can"

Brandon Lee in The Crow is another revenge from the dead movie.

One of the rare supernatural Westerns

There are no bad Eastwood westerns, but I can't rank this one above Josie.

He was the twin brother of the marshal that was killed.

You need to check out a Clint Eastwood movie called hang them high this was the first movie Clint Eastwood made after doing the three spaghetti Westerns for Sergio Leone

I still consider this as better than The Unforgiven. His best western.

In "Unforgiven" you will see the man who gets whipped from behind and dragged into the street by Clint, I forget his name but he has been in dozens of Westerns for decades, as the owner of the local bar/cat house in the growing town of Big Whiskey, Wyoming. Enjoy.

The bath tub scene is the main clue. BRILLIANT MOVIE which gets better with age! I like but don't love PALE RIDER which I call "High Plains LITE"!

A more modern version of this movie is The Wraith (1986) starring Charlie Sheen.

Angel of Death … Jim Duncan

Yes it is Jim Duncan . They effed up not marking his grave .

🤙

Mmm, that font. If you'll go into Yul Brynner movies, hope for Magnificent Seven/ Westworld(1973) combo.

it`s a ghost story ! he`s come back for revenge !

Check out Dirty Harry series and my favorite Coogan’s Buff!😊

Best movie Eastwood has directed imo.

You should do Tombstone.

Reincarnated Sheriff Jim Duncan. Why do you think they painted the town Red.

Who was he? And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.

Or he's Duncan's brother.

Duncan's brother

You almost included the rape scene. You can't do a reaction without including the rape scene. That's one of the things that makes the whole thing dark.

Great movie, but Josey Wales is superior.

Can't go wrong with Clint Eastwood movies the only one that's bad is Heartbreak Ridge

This would have to be the weakest Clint Eastwood western of all time , easy read movie its a story thats been done a so many many times before etc bandits hang a guy that still lives than he goes after them for revenge you know the story from the very start and i like Clint Eastwood . Nothing like S leone movies,its a movie you could not view more the than once .

Small suggestion for the guy in the white shirt. Please stop laughing constantly. It's forced and annoying. You ruin certain scene with it. Laugh when it calls for it. Be like your friend and just watch!!

Dude on the right is Annoyingly Over Reacting and Stupidly laughing for No reasons SMDH...

Do NOT watch this--it RUINS The Sixth Sense!

It's barely more than a made-for-tv "movie of the week". Totally pedestrian.

I am glad you got it by the end. As the movie ended I did not know if you understood that he was the sheriffs ghost come back for revenge on the 3 outlaws for the whipping and the town for doing nothing. The people he treated the best, the short guy and the wife, were the only ones that wanted to save the sheriff as seen in the flash backs. Just an awesome movie about revenge, the supernatural, western lore, and classic western shootouts. One of the best out there.