Pale Rider

Fun movie to watch, but I can see why Pale Rider was not considered as a great movie and Clint Eastwood was not recognized as one of the greatest actors and movie directors until relatively recently. Although the portrayal of gender roles in the movie seems pretty accurate historically speaking, it may not be the most popular portrayal in 80s (when the movie was made) and afterwards. Preacher (played by Clint Eastwood) has a very strong character and presence, and he creates the world of "man". There are two important female characters, Sarah Wheeler (played by Carrie Snodgress) and Megan Wheeler (played by Sydney Penny), but they are both there to strengthen the presence of Preacher. Preacher is actually a very violent man, and he can kill people in cold blood; he has no hesitation when he pulls his trigger. While he has a certain formality and manners as he treats women, he basically sees women as those who support men. There are actually many characters like Preacher in movies produced in 80s and afterwards; however, whenever the type of the character is in the movie, the movie portrays the character from the perspective that he is a faulty character and has something that needs to change. Pale Rider has no such perspective, that is not to say that Clint Eastwood is insensible or sees women only in supporting roles in real life. Pale Rider consciously portrays Preacher as the survivor who sees women only in supporting roles. That conscious choice makes Pale Rider a great movie, but those who insist that the movie's perspective of man is fundamentally wrong and outdated will probably never like the movie.