Preacher = Ghost ? - Pale Rider (1985) Discussion

[–] goodlookingui 17 years ago

I think it is clear that the Preacher is not of this earth (Clint exaggerates his skill as a gunfighter to an absolutely ridiculous level for a mortal, he seems to appear and disappear at will, he "ascends to the heavans" at the end, etc.).

I'm guessing by "ghost" you mean someone who was killed and came back to live to avenge his death, which is one possible explaination. The other is that he is the Angel of Death, on a mission to kill Stockburn and his deputies for their evil ways (taking the human form of one of their many victims while doing so), but he figures out a way to answer the girl's prayers and help the mining colony while he's at it. I lean to the latter view, based on a number of hints dropped in the movie, such as the fact that he rides a speckled horse (the horse ridden by the Angel of Death in Revalations).

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[–] kearsleymak_secondary 17 years ago

The Angel of Death merely collects the souls of those who have died in order to transport them for judgement, he isn't about causing Death, he's just doing a job - like a Transcendental Train Driver.

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] turinturambar30 15 years ago

"The Preacher wasn't a cold blooded killer, and he cared about the miners. The Stranger was purely malevolent, and actively sought to destroy the townspeople he was supposed to be helping."

I think the differences are caused by motivation. Preacher's obligation to the story is to serve as the delivering miracle that was needed by the miners, and other than that he was an outsider. In HPD, I always thought he was giving Lago a painful but healthy Old Testament style purge. Those townsfolk let him (or his brother--whatever) get whipped to death to cover up the gold mine, and they had to answer for their sins. The two redeemable people come out alright in the end of the script, but just about everyone that has to pay the price does. PR has much more comforting story about solidarity in the face of adversity, etc.

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[–] Matt-Palombo 15 years ago

he has to be a ghost... did u not notice how he was always moving around so fast.. especially when he killed off the 6 deputies... somehow he was hiding behind walls, and then moving into horse watering feeds... and 3 minutes later he was completely dry... you think none of those guys would have heard him running around or splashin in water... come on, hes definitely a ghost , or this is a prequel to "the flash"

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[–] oagrintel 15 years ago

I think you're right, he mayb be a ghost... but in the shootout with the deputies, he more or less stayed on one side of the street, and bounced from one building, to his spot under the stairs (behind the boxes) then walked down and hid on the other side of the trough (not in it) then walked into the barn.

so he went from the bathhouse where he killed the first guy, out to the stair spot, back to the trough, and then into the barn. Pretty doable for a mortal.

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[–] ContinentalOp 16 years ago

He is a ghostly embodiment of Death (one of the four horsemen). It is true that Death collects souls generally but at the end of the world he brings death (it is a wrath of God):

"I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth." - (Rev. 6:8)

Notice that they (the four horsemen) have the power to kill a fourth of the Earth's population.

Regards,
The Count

The Apple Scruffs Corps, 07

"Imagine"

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[–] Towerroad-1 16 years ago

Clint said so?

I always assumed that the Preacher has just survived the wounds inflicted by Stockburn and was,actually,a living human being...Maybe Clint,when he said "in an out ghost",he meant that the Preacher is a lonely hero that wanders from town to town,a man who became a sort of "ghost",a nobody if you will,to escape a tragic past.

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[–] jamasian_man 16 years ago

No, he's a ghost. When Megan reads the bible she said that Death rode a pale horse, and Clint is riding a pale horse.

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[–] kenny-164 16 years ago

There are a number of other factors than those mentioned.

Just before Eastwood's character appears, Megan is praying for a miracle. How much more of a connection does the viewer need than that in the very next shot the camera looks up to the mountains. There is the sound of thunder, coming from the clouds, then Eastwood is riding down the side of the mountain on his pale horse, as in the reference to Death.

Later when he intervenes on Hull's behalf in town, it is referred to as a miracle, and Megan clearly understands that the Preacher has been sent by God to perform a miracle. When Sarah and Hull argue about who the Preacher is, Megan is silent, but knowing.

Others have referred to the near absurd level of ability in the Preacher's gun play, but for once the explanation "makes sense" since the character is "actually" superhuman.

He is not a mere angel of death, though. He is the person Stockburn thought was dead. He knew all along that Stockburn was going to come, and that the events would lead up to a confrontation with him. There are references to Stockburn's evil actions. Stockburn's time on Earth was near its end. This part is supported by the scars of the bullet holes in Eastwood's back. No one would survive such a number and array of gunshots in that part of the body. The Preacher also knew where the guns were kept in the bank in Sacramento, and even had a key for the lock box.

Finally the Preacher rides back into the mountains at the end. This is reminiscent, of course, of the entrance and exit of the Stranger in High Plains Drifter, there again a reference to a superhuman character whose presence is one of an avenging angel of Death.

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[–] fcabanski 14 years ago

The Preacher disappeared at the end. He's a ghost.

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[–] Chuck_Zombie 15 years ago

That doesn't mean anything!!!! That could be just symbolism.

A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have.

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[–] twq1976 15 years ago

he is a ghost,definitely

the definite clue besides many is the bullet wounds the old guy caused(the old guy who with his gang shot the guy who found the rock of gold)that tore up his chest and abdomen,that same old guy said earlier in the movie that about the preacher"the guy i remember is dead"...he himself killed the preacher causing those wounds in the preacher afterlife body...plus biggest clue also is in the end where he shoots the old man the same way he was shot,indicating he was shot in the same manner,clear revenge by his ghost

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[–] Duncan_Idaho02 8 years ago

I always assumed that the Preacher has just survived the wounds inflicted by Stockburn and was,actually,a living human being...

The size of caliber of bullet, type of guns used, and placement of the bullet holes in his chest are not something any human being would survive, even with today's medical technology. He was a ghost or wolverine from x-men. In the context of the film, ghost seems more likely.

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[–] mgcross 15 years ago

I don't think Preacher is a ghost. Nor do I think he's the Easter Bunny or the Loch Ness monster. I think he is a mortal man who was lucky enough to survive being shot six times through the chest. I also believe Stockburn shot him, and left him for dead (as you would). That's why Stockburn is incredulous to see him alive. That's also why the Preacher shoots Stockburn through the brain after shooting him six times through the chest. He's not taking any chances. That's just my take on the film, and it's influenced by the fact that I don't believe in ghosts and want to believe in the film. The tinpans might think he's a ghost. They're ignorant superstitious peasants, and peasants go for that kind of hocus pocus. When the Preacher hears Stockburn calling to him "over the mountains" he decides to accept Sarah's offer of a romp in the hay. That's because he is confronting his own probable death, and humans fight death with sex. Ghosts don't have to confront their own possible demise, coz they're already dead, right?
;)

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[–] orbit56 15 years ago

I agree with mgcross. I wouldn'e read too much in the coincidence of Megan reading a line from the Book of Revelations just as the Preacher appears. That's actually too obvious, and not the sort of thing I think Eastwood would do as a film maker. Megan, if you recall, has some doubts about the Almighty. As she recited whatever Psalm is offered at funerals after burying her dog, note that she inserts lines that underscore her doubts ... and her desperation for a miracle. Now, perhaps the Almighty did set things up for the Preacher to arrive on cue, but I'm not sure too many ghosts keep their weapons of choice locked up in a safety deposit box. Also, all the really scary ghosts have bleeding gunshot wounds, not scar tissue.

This isn't a recycling of High Plains Drifter.

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[–] Slaphammer1 15 years ago

I also don't think Preacher is a ghost, but my wife is convinced that he is. I think he's just a guy who survived terrible wounds and is out for revenge. The preacher thing is just a disguise to hide from his past (Stockburn would kill him if he found him).

Most of the stuff people use as evidence of ghostliness, like he's riding a pale horse and whatnot, I think are just stylistic elements.

It's been said that Clint has confirmed that Preacher is a ghost, and maybe that's true, but if so, I choose to ignore it. -grin- The movie holds up much better without any mystical element.

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[–] Texas-Jack 15 years ago

Yes the Preacher is a ghost. The way he appears and disappears and happens to be in the right place at the right time like when Megan went to lahoods mine he was there to save her. The voice in the mountains calling Preeeacher Preeeacher was not Stockburn he said it was a voice from the past. A voice from the past that sounds ghostly what does that tell you? It is confirmed that he is a ghost when Lahood is describing the Preacher to Stockburn. Stockburn says that it can't be the man he knew because he is dead and by his reaction he knows for sure that that man is dead and when he confronts the Preacher in the end he confirms that the Preacher is the man he killed. There are numerous hints in the film that prove that he is a ghost. Clint Eastwood confirmed the Preacher’s character was a ghost and still people don't believe it.

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[–] TheChiffonRetreat 10 years ago

Ghost works for me. But I wonder why a ghost would use guns to deliver vengeance, if indeed that was what was going on. Maybe there's an element of "live by the sword, die by the sword" when it came to dispatching Stockton?

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[–] Duncan_Idaho02 8 years ago

If you believe he was lucky enough to survive being shot 6 times in the middle of his chest, his heart, with .45 caliber bullets, then you would have no problem believing in the easter bunny or the loch ness monster. Suffice it to say it is impossible to survive such a wound. Even today, with our medical technology, it would not be survivable. So to believe he survived those wounds is absurd at best. There was a point in Eastwood showing us those wounds. And there was a point in eastwood stating he was a ghost.

I don't believe in god. I don't believe in lots of things. But I still enjoy films that have things in them that I don't believe in. If you only enjoy films that have only things you believe in, then you will never enjoy many films as almost every film has something in it that would never happen in real life.

Seriously, humans fight death with sex?

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] petethepikey 15 years ago

revenant might be a better term, a bit like the crow. we dont see the preachers past, and stockburn only glides over it. ""vengance is mine" says the lord" is often quoted, but no-one knows just how he implements it.....

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[–] bobgold03 15 years ago

ok .. heres what i think and maybe its way out there but yes he's a ghost and he's the ghost of sarah's dead husband and megans father .. although unrecognisable to them as such .. .. he's certainly a vengeful entity but unlike in HPD he seems to have a morality or a protective side too .. protecting sarah, megan and hull .. though not necessarily the other panners (one of several reasons why i think some kind of special link between the ladies and the preacher) .. it may explain the easy familiarity between them all and there is the odd conversation between megan and her mother about sarahs marriage "it was <i>who<> i married" .. "do preachers get married?" .. so I reckon he was the husband, killed by Stockburn and never came back

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Chuck_Zombie 15 years ago

What if he was a ninja? Seriously, that's just as plausible as him being a ghost.

A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] danmcn61-1 13 years ago

You mean Chris Farley wasn't a real ninja?

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[–] IseCreme 14 years ago

It was not made clear in High Plains Drifter anyway. He is just as likely to be the Brother of the Marshall as a ghost. In fact Eastwood says it was supposed to be the brother but he liked the suspense of not knowing which better.

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[–] guitarslinger47 13 years ago

"It was not made clear in High Plains Drifter anyway. He is just as likely to be the Brother of the Marshall as a ghost. In fact Eastwood says it was supposed to be the brother but he liked the suspense of not knowing which better."
According to what I've read, the Euro release of High Plains, keep that whole brother story line. The US release didn't. Although him disappearing in the end makes one think ghost. (as well as other things in the movie)

As to Pale Rider I think he survived the gunshots and had been waiting for the time to pay Stockburn back. I'm pretty sure the slug pattern in Stockburn is the same as in Preacher with one exception...Preacher put one through the head to make sure Stockburn was dead.

In High Plains the supernatural is hinted at. Not at all in Pale Rider at least in my opinion. :-)

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[–] SeisCinemaSeis 14 years ago

According to Clint Eastwood, yep he was a Ghost. Now, 'Pale Rider' is that kind of film that could be interpreted the way you want.
If you like to think he was a "spirit", good. If not, then that's fine too. The movie works either way since very little is said or even seen about the "Pale Rider".
I choose to believe he was a real man who had this strange "supernatural aura". Always arriving at the right moment, never missing a shot, etc. An obscure, shy character who was at the same time bigger-than-life.

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[–] lillerotta 13 years ago

he is god. it is obvious. why? because he is Clint Eastwood, that`s why!

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