The classic film has a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Our TV movie pick for tonight (Thursday, 30 October) is Pale Rider, the legendary Western directed by and starring Clint Eastwood (A Fistful of Dollars, Dirty Harry).
Released in 1985, the film sees Eastwood play an enigmatic man named Preacher. He arrives in a town where a property owner named Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart) has started using a band of hooligans to terrorise a group of small-town gold miners into giving up their territory.
“Preacher fends off the attacks and then goes directly to LaHood to negotiate,” the plot synopsis adds.
“When the miners, led by Hull Barret (Michael Moriarty), refuse the terms, LaHood sends in Marshall Stockburn (John Russell) to take down Preacher and the others.”
Also featuring in its cast the likes of Billy Drago (The Untouchables) and Chris Penn (Reservoir Dogs), Pale Rider holds an impressive 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In particular, critics singled out Eastwood’s stylish direction and his mysterious, almost mythic lead character for praise.
The movie was also a box office smash and went on to become the highest-grossing Western of the 1980s.
Pale Rider is airing on TV tonight on ITV4 at 9pm. The film is also available to rent on Apple TV and Amazon.