Double Feature

The Outlaw Josey Wales

In one of the great revisionist westerns of the 1970s, Clint Eastwood is The Outlaw Josey Wales, a simple Missouri farmer unable to reconcile the grief of losing his wife and son to coldblooded murder – by pro-Union militants. After refusing to surrender with his Captain (JohnVernon) after the Civil War has ended, Wales sees his men massacred after laying down their arms, and exacts revenge on the “Redlegs” with a Gatling gun, igniting a manhunt for Josey Wales by the U.S. Cavalry and bounty hunters alike. Directed by Eastwood (after taking over for Philip Kaufman), “the man with no name” persona gives way to a man in need of human interaction, as Wales joins up with traveling companions Laura Lee (Sondra Locke), her gritty Grandmother (Paula Trueman), and Chief Dan George as the deadpanned line delivering Cherokee Lone Watie. But as the group attempts to settle down and live in peace, Josey Wales is tracked down by Red Leg soldier Terrill (Bill McKinney) and his men, with bad intentions for the elusive outlaw.

“A truly great Western from Clint that is bleakly atmospheric and charming in turns.” – Ian Nathan, Empire

“Eastwood is such a taciturn and action-oriented performer that it’s easy to overlook the fact that he directs many of his movies – and many of the best, most intelligent ones. Here, with the moody, gloomily beautiful, photography of Bruce Surtees, he creates a magnificent Western feeling.” – Roger Ebert

Pale Rider

At a time when the western genre was experiencing a dry gulch of box office success, Clint Eastwood saddled up to star in and direct Pale Rider, nearly a decade after the critical and commercial success of The Outlaw Josey Wales, to make the highest grossing western of the 1980s. When a small group of gold miners and their families camp is overrun by the thugs employed by corporate mining baddie Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart), a stranger dressed as a preacher rides into town with the visage of a gunman, and an almost mystical demeanor that suggests a supernatural entity. The “Preacher” unites the demoralized miners, inspiring Hull Barret (Michael Moriarty) who implores his mining brothers and sisters to stand tall against the greedy LaHood who wants to run them off their land. In a nod to Shane,the mysterious man of the cloth will face LaHood’s hired gunmen in a final showdown in town, to settle scores both old and new. “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.”

“This film is graced not only by an excellent visual look and confident storytelling, but by a few fine performances, led by Eastwood’s own.” – Variety

“No actor is more aware of his own instruments, and Eastwood demonstrates that in Pale Rider, a film he dominates so completely that only later do we realize how little we really saw of him.” – Roger Ebert

“This veteran movie icon handles both jobs with such intelligence and facility I’m just now beginning to realize that, though Mr. Eastwood may have been improving over the years, it’s also taken all these years for most of us to recognize his very consistent grace and wit as a film maker.” – Vincent Canby, The New York Times