Directed and starring Clint Eastwood and written by Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack, Pale Rider is the story of a mysterious gunslinger who arrives in a mining town to help the innocent deal with the corrupt people running the mines. The film is a western that involves a man who is quite religious as he tries to help those in need of saving in a world that is quite corrupt. Also starring Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Chris Penn, Richard Dysart, Sydney Penny, Richard Kiel, Doug McGrath, and John Russell. Pale Rider is a rich yet eerie film from Clint Eastwood.
The film revolves around a small community living nearby a creek in Northern California where they’re being harassed and attacked by thugs working for a businessman as the community get unexpected help from a mysterious drifter who is also a preacher. It’s a film that play into this struggle of a group of people trying to find gold in their own land nearby a small town that is largely owned by this mining businessman. Though this community have a legal claim to the land, the businessman hires thugs to try and get rid of them until they meet trouble in this mysterious drifter known only as the Preacher (Clint Eastwood). The film’s screenplay by Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack is straightforward in its narrative while not doing much to reveal the identity of the Preacher other than he arrived as if he answered the prayer of this 14-year old girl named Megan (Sydney Penny) whose dog was killed by thugs during an attack.
When a man named Hull Barrett (Michael Moriarty) goes to town for supplies and to pay off some money he owes to its merchant, he is attacked by those same thugs until the Preacher comes in. It would set the story in motion as the Preacher would be a source of inspiration where he doesn’t kill anyone at first while remaining very little about who he was. Even Megan’s mother Sarah Wheeler (Carrie Snodgress) has her suspicions but eventually warms up to him once he shows his worth and willingness to stand up to the thugs who work for the businessman Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart). Adding to this growing conflict between LaHood and the small community of settlers is the fact that LaHood is trying to take control as well as embark on a new venture that does more harm to the land than good through strip mining.
Clint Eastwood’s direction is mesmerizing for not just its setting but also for the haunting tone of the film as it relates to the Preacher’s mysterious presence. Shot on various locations in Idaho such as the Boulder Mountains and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area as well a few scenes shot at Tuolumne County in California. Eastwood sets the film at a time in the mid to late 19th Century during the final days of the California Gold Rush as Eastwood would shoot on locations around creeks and canyons to play into the life of settlers as well as what they do when they go to this small town with some caution due to the fact that LaHood’s men are lurking wanting to cause trouble and get the settlers out for good. Eastwood’s usage of the wide shots play into the vast look of the locations including the land that LaHood’s worker led by his son Josh (Chris Penn) is watching over as it showcases this piece of land being stripped by these hydraulic water pipes that play into this idea of modernism as there’s a scene of the Preacher looking at this with immense disgust. Eastwood would also use medium shots and close-ups to help characters interact with one another including a tense scene where the Preacher meets LaHood for the first time in LaHood’s office as the former is given an offer by the latter.
The direction also have these elements of mysticism as it relates to the Preacher where is seen in a shot at a certain position in the frame and then when it goes in the same shot on that location, he’s not there. It also play into Megan’s need for salvation although she is unsure if the Preacher would really do good as there’s still a lot of anger towards LaHood and his thugs. The film’s third act relates to the arrival of a corrupt marshal in Stockburn (John Russell) who is hired to take care of business as he is aware of the Preacher but isn’t sure if he remembers him. The film’s climax with Eastwood’s careful approach compositions and suspense help play into the excitement of the film as well as this sense of justice where it is about one man versus an order of greed and corruption. Overall, Eastwood creates an evocative yet exhilarating film about a drifter helping out settlers fight off a gang of thugs.
Cinematographer Bruce Surtees does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on natural lighting for some of the exteriors in the daytime and some of its sunny look to the usage of grey skies for the scenes during the winter as well as low-key lighting for scenes set at night and in the interior settings. Editor Joel Cox does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythm cuts for some of the action scenes. Production designer Edward C. Carfagno and set decorator Ernie Bishop do amazing work with the look of the sets from the design of the town to the strip mining camp that Josh LaHood runs.
Costume designer Deborah Hopper does nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward to play into the look of the times with the exception of LaHood who is often wearing a suit. Sound mixer C. Darin Knight does superb work with the sound as it is straightforward with some textures into the way some of the locations sound such as the strip mining camp and in the film’s climax. The film’s music by Lennie Niehaus is wonderful for its orchestral score that play into the air of bombast and eerie string arrangements as well as some cadence drum sounds for the film’s climax.
The casting by Phyllis Huffman is terrific as it feature some notable small roles from Billy Drago as one of Stockburn’s deputies, Doug McGrath as a settler named Spider Conway, Jeffrey Weisman and Chuck Lafont as Conway’s teenage sons, Charles Hallahan and Marvin J. McIntyre as a couple of LaHood’s goons, Fran Ryan and Richard Hamilton as local merchants who help the settlers as they don’t like LaHood but are afraid of him, and Richard Kiel as a gigantic hood of LaHood in Club who doesn’t say much yet his presence alone is intimidating. Chris Penn is fantastic as LaHood’s son Josh as a young cowboy who help take charge of the thugs and the mining where he tries to intimidate the Preacher only to get his comeuppance. Sydney Penny is excellent as Megan Wheeler as a 14-year old girl who prays for help and is fascinated by the Preacher to the point of infatuation. John Russell is superb as Marshal Stockburn as a notoriously corrupt marshal that is known for taking care of business as well as being extremely skilled in killing people where he is bewildered by the mention of the Preacher.
Richard Dysart is terrific as Coy LaHood as a mining businessman that wants to have control of all lands nearby just to make money by any means necessary as he also wants to intimidate the settlers any way he can. Michael Moriarty is brilliant as Hull Barrett as a settler who is trying to mine for gold to have a decent life as he also pines for Sarah Wheeler and befriends the Preacher whom he sees as a source of inspiration. Carrie Snodgress is amazing as Sarah Wheeler as a woman who is suspicious about the Preacher and his motives as she is also wondering if he is really a man or something else. Finally, there’s Clint Eastwood in an incredible performance as the Preacher as a mysterious man who wears a preacher’s cloth as he helps out Barrett and Wheeler with their troubles while also not being intimidated by everyone by playing it cool and knowing when to strike as it is Eastwood at his best.
Pale Rider is a phenomenal film from Clint Eastwood. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, an eerie music soundtrack, and a compelling story. It’s a film that play into the many tropes expected in a western while showcasing a darker side into the world of corruption, greed, and the fallacy of modernism. In the end, Pale Rider is a sensational film from Clint Eastwood.
Clint Eastwood Films: (Play Misty for Me) – High Plains Drifter - (Breezy) - (The Eiger Sanction) - (The Outlaw Josey Wales) - (The Gauntlet) - (Bronco Billy) - (Firefox) - (Honkytonk Man) – Sudden Impact - (Heartbreak Ridge) - (Bird) - (White Hunter Black Heart) - (The Rookie) – Unforgiven - (A Perfect World) - (The Bridges of Madison County) - (Absolute Power) - (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) - (True Crime) - (Space Cowboys) - (Blood Work) - (Mystic River) – Million Dollar Baby - Flags of Our Fathers - Letters from Iwo Jima - Changeling - Gran Torino) – (Invictus) – (Hereafter) – (J. Edgar) – (Jersey Boys) – American Sniper - (Sully) – (The 15:17 to Paris) – (The Mule (2019 film))
© thevoid99 2018
Based on the memoir by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, The Untouchables is the story of a group of police officers and detectives who try to take down Al Capone during the Prohibition era. Directed by Brian de Palma and screenplay by David Mamet, the film is a look into the formation of this group led by Ness as it is set in 1930 Chicago with Kevin Costner playing the role of Ness. Also starring Robert de Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Patricia Clarkson, Billy Drago, and Sean Connery. The Untouchables is a thrilling and mesmerizing film from Brian de Palma.
Set in 1930 Chicago during the era of Prohibition where Al Capone (Robert de Niro) ruled the city and created havoc, the film revolves around Eliot Ness and his team of incorruptible men who are willing to take down Capone by any means while bringing him to justice. It’s a film that is a dramatized take on the events where Ness arrives into the city as an outsider for the treasury department as his early attempts to shut down Capone is met with embarrassment. Upon meeting an Irish beat cop in Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery), Ness learns that he can’t trust the police as he teams up with Malone as well as an academy trainee in George Stone (Andy Garcia) and a bureau accountant in Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) to stop Capone and get evidence over the unpaid taxes that were never recorded.
The film’s screenplay by David Mamet doesn’t just explore the conflict between Capone and the Untouchables but also what is at stake. Notably as one of the early scenes in the film involves a bombing at a neighborhood where a young girl dies which forces Ness to really do something where he later meets that girl’s mother. Being a family man himself, Ness realizes he must do what he can to protect his wife and children from being killed as he is eventually targeted following a series of successful raids. It’s among the elements that Mamet does which gives some gravitas to the story as well as creating characters that are very engaging where Malone is a man that had seen it all and believes that Ness is the man that is willing to bring order back to the world. Stone is an Italian-American who is a great marksman and is street-smart as he is someone that wants to change the perception of what people think of Italians despite the fact that he changed his name.
Wallace is just a simple accountant who is crucial to the team as he would make some discoveries into Capone’s finances as well as see what businesses he is linked to. Then there’s Capone as he is this loose cannon that barks orders as well as be someone that thrives being in power. Through monologues written by Mamet, it adds a sense of iconography into Capone as a man who has this idea that he owns Chicago and believes he will take over the world. It definitely adds a lot into the conflict where Mamet’s script manages to play up this sort of rise-and-fall scenario on Capone in the hands of Ness and the Untouchables but the third act also reveals exactly what happens when Capone gets pushed into the edge and will do anything to keep his empire afloat.
Brian de Palma’s direction is definitely entrancing in terms of not just the visuals he creates but also in the fact that he goes for a lot of style to play up the world of 1930s Chicago as he would shoot the film on location in the city. From the usage of overhead shots to open the film where Capone is getting a shave, a manicure, and a shoe shine to the intricate usage of crane shots and close-ups. The direction of de Palma is always filled with some sense of technical wizardry in how he would put his actors into a frame such as a church conversation where Ness is in the foreground and Malone is in the background in one shot and then cut to a medium shot of the two with the camera in front of them. The sense of intimacy in de Palma’s usage of close-ups and medium shots add to the camaraderie between Ness, Malone, Stone, and Wallace in their pursuit to bring order.
The direction also has some very unique touches that does pay ode to elements of cinema such a key sequence at the Chicago train station which pays homage to the Odessa steps sequence from Battleship Potemkin. It adds to the sense of drama and what is at stake where it is clear that Ness isn’t just trying to do good for Chicago but also to make sure that the little girl who was killed by a bomb would find peace. Even as it leads to Capone being put on trial where there is still an element of suspense in its climax about the idea on if justice will be served or will Capone buy his way out of the jail sentence. It all plays part into the dangerous world that is 1930s Chicago and the era of Prohibition that has caused so much violence all because people wanted to drink alcohol with Ness needing to uphold the law the best way he can to keep people safe. Overall, de Palma crafts a very lavish yet gripping film about a lawman’s war against Al Capone.
Cinematographer Stephen H. Burum does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the lavish usage of lights to play up the high-class lifestyle that Capone lives in to the usage of more naturalistic yet low-key lights for the more simple lifestyle of Ness and the Untouchables live in. Editors Gerald B. Greenberg and Bill Pankow do amazing work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts and slow-motion cuts that play into the drama and action that occurs in the film along with some very offbeat rhythms for the suspenseful moments. Art director William A. Elliot, with set decorators Patrizia von Brandenstein and Hal Gausman, does fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of the Livingston hotel and the suites that Capone lives in to some of the factories where some of the bootlegging occurs. Costume designer Marilyn Vance does brilliant work with the costumes from street clothes and uniforms some of the cops wear as well as the suits that Capone wears which are designed by Giorgio Armani.
Makeup artist Michael Hancock and hair stylist Bette Iverson do nice work with some of the minimal makeup for the look of Al Capone as well as the hairstyle that women sported during those times. Sound editor Dan Sable does superb work with the sound to create some sound effects for some of the darker moments in the film as well as the elements of suspense. The film’s music by Ennio Morricone is incredible for its mixture of bombastic orchestral textures and offbeat themes to play into some of the humor and drama as it is really among one of the finest scores ever while music supervisor Emile Charlap brings in the music of Duke Ellington and other jazz pieces of the times to play into that period.
The casting by Lyn Stalmaster and Mali Finn is remarkable as it features some notable small roles from Clifton James as a district attorney, Richard Bradford as the police chief Mike Dorsett who reluctantly helps Ness early on as he‘s an old friend of Malone, Jack Kehoe as Capone’s bookkeeper Walter Payne, Brad Sullivan as one of Capone’s associates named George who gets captured by the Untouchables and the Mounties in Canada, Billy Drago as Capone’s key cleaner Frank Nitti, and Patricia Clarkson in a small but wonderful performance as Ness’ wife. Charles Martin Smith is excellent as Oscar Wallace as an accountant for the bureau who helps Ness in uncovering many of Capone’s finance as he becomes part of the Untouchables as someone that isn’t afraid to carry a shotgun. Andy Garcia is fantastic as George Stone as an Italian-American who uses a fake name in order to hide his real name out of fear of prejudice yet proves to be a skilled marksman and be loyal to what Ness wants to do.
Robert de Niro is brilliant as Al Capone where de Niro brings a lot of charm and smarminess to the role as well as being very violent and full of bravado as he definitely makes Capone larger than life. Sean Connery is amazing as Jimmy Malone as this Irish beat cop who had seen a lot as he helps Ness in bringing down Capone while realizing many of the bad things that is happening where he goes to some great extremes to get answers as it’s Connery in one of his best roles ever. Finally, there’s Kevin Costner in a marvelous performance as Eliot Ness as a treasury department agent who is tasked to bring Capone down as well as do what he needs to protect his family and make sure that the people of Chicago will feel safe.
The Untouchables is a phenomenal film from Brian de Palma. Featuring a great cast led by Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert de Niro as well as compelling script by David Mamet, lavish visuals, and Ennio Morricone’s thrilling score. The film isn’t just one of the finest films of the gangster film genre but also a mesmerizing film that plays into the world of law and order vs. crime. In the end, The Untouchables is a sensational film from Brian de Palma.
Brian De Palma Films: (Murder a la Mod) - (Greetings) - (The Wedding Party) - (Dionysus in ‘69) - (Hi, Mom!) - (Get to Know Your Rabbit) - Sisters - Phantom of the Paradise - Obsession - Carrie - The Fury - (Home Movies) - Dressed to Kill - Blow Out - Scarface - Body Double - (Wise Guys) - Casualties of War - The Bonfire of the Vanities - Raising Cain - Carlito’s Way - Mission: Impossible - Snake Eyes - Mission to Mars - Femme Fatale - The Black Dahlia - (Redacted) - Passion (2012 film) - (Domino (2018 film))
© thevoid99 2016
