Pale Rider 4K Ultra HD

In "Pale Rider," a nameless stranger (Clint Eastwood) rides into a small California gold rush town and becomes known as the "Preacher". There he finds himself in the middle of a feud between a mining syndicate and a group of independent prospectors. (Gary Reber)

Special features include five featurettes: "The Diary of Sydney Penny: Lessons From The Set" –– NEW (HD 07:26), "Painting The Preacher: Bruce Surtees And Pale Rider –– NEW (HD 08:36), Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy –– Reinventing Westerns" (HD 17:36), "Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story" HD 61:41) and "The Eastwood Factor" (HD 88:27) and a Movies Anywhere digital copy.

The 2.35:1 2160p HEVC/H.265 Ultra HD HDR10 picture, reviewed on a VIZIO Quantum X P85QX-JI UHD/HDR display, was photographed on 35 mm film in anamorphic Panavision® using the Panavision Panaflex camera system and sourced from a 4K master Digital Intermediate format. Film gran is barely visible but smooth and unobjectionable.The picture in numerous segments looks great with similar settings and cinematography as in "The Outlaw Josey Wales." But as with cinematographer Bruce Surtees' style, shadows are silhouettes covered in blackness. But then a few segments do reveal shadow detail Color fidelity is generally good. Most scenes appear natural and realistic. Hues are mostly earthy in tone. Flesh tones are generally naturally hued, even when exaggerated in fire light. HDR contrast is good. Blacks are deep and solid. Shadows are wanting in detail. While levels appear naturally illuminated. At times the picture appears soft. But generally, resolution is revealing of fine detail in facial features including beards and hair, Clothing is Western authentic in fabric appearance. Environmental settings and object all appear natural and realistic with good detail. This is a fine looking filmic Western with realistic settings and good color fidelity. (Gary Reber)

The repurposed Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is full of realistic atmospherics with Western fighting sound effects, including gunfire and explosions, bolstered with weighty bass extension and .1 LFE. Atmospherics are a prominent element. Panning of sound effects is excellent, Foley sound effects are in perfect sync with picture. Lennie Niehaus' orchestral score is at times more of a background element and at other times loud and forward, and occupies a wide soundstage with extension to the surrounds. Eastwood first met Niehaus during their service in the military, following such Niehaus went on to write and play for Stan Kenton as well as compose for Eastwood. Dialogue is for the most part intelligible but at times muddled.

The Immersive Sound element is comprised of an extension of the orchestral score, atmospherics throughout, and a few sound effects, such as a locomotive engine, explosions and select gunfire. These height layer enhancements deliver an effective spherical surround experience.

This is the realistic sounding Western holosonic® soundtrack that this Eatwood classic deserves and will please fans. Warner Bros. has also included the original stereo mix presented in DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio. (Gary Reber)