Pale Rider

Evoking the Pale Rider whose name is Death in the Book of Revelation, an enigmatic preacher rides into town, sides with the poor but decent gold-mining folks against the evil baron, kills the marshal, then rides off into the horizon, leaving the West for good. The self-directed master of minimalism continues to refine the identity of his Western hero by stripping away vanity and virtually every superfluous gesture, while rediscovering the charm of the mythical character within: is he a saviour to fulfil divine retribution, or a ghost returned from the dead to seek revenge? The highestgrossing Western of the 1980s, it breathed new life and supernatural mysticism into a declining genre.

Cannes Film Festival: In Competition