parody. Pale Rider is the first decent western in a very long time." The reviewer in The Washington Post dissented, finding that "pretty soon we recollect why westerns lost their appeal. . .[the] movie is real pretty, full of little gold aspens and snow-capped mountains, but it is slow, dark and badly timed." On the other hand, the Chicago Tribune commented that, though Westerns were out of fashion, "fresh and challenging westerns with Clint Eastwood always will be in vogue." Roger Ebert also praised the film, giving it four out of four stars. Further, he stated, "Pale Rider is, overall, a considerable achievement, a classic Western of style and excitement." Richard Corliss found the film overly derivative, saying "When Eastwood, who also directed the picture (from a Michael Butler-Dennis Shryack script), faces off against Russell's Maleficent Seven, viewers may get an old-fashioned western tingle. But Pale Rider does nothing to disprove the wisdom that this genre is best left to the revival houses. A double feature of Shane and Eastwood's High Plains Drifter will do just fine, thanks." The film was entered into the 1985 Cannes Film Festival and included in the Western nominations for the American Film Institute's 10 Top 10 lists. Trailer music The music used in the film's trailer was a stock piece by British composer Alan Hawkshaw known to British viewers for its use as the title theme for Channel 4 News. Unusually, Channel 4 News did not secure permanent exclusivity rights to Hawkshaw's theme, titled "Best Endeavours", resulting in it also being used for the trailer for Pale Rider. References Further reading External links 1985 films 1985 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) fantasy films Films about mining Films directed by Clint Eastwood Films produced by Clint Eastwood Malpaso Productions films Warner Bros. films Films shot in Idaho Films set in California Films set in the 1880s Films scored by Lennie Niehaus Revisionist Western (genre) films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films