97-696: Pale Rider is a 1985 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood , who also stars in the lead role. The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , as the pale horse's ghost rider (Eastwood) represents Death . The film, which took in over $ 41 million at the box office, became the highest-grossing Western of the 1980s. In the Old West , outside LaHood, California in Carbon Canyon, mining baron Coy LaHood
194-409: A Boot Hill , where burials were made without markers. In 1854, Columbia's first major fire destroyed a majority of the city. The wealthier merchants began rebuilding their business using brick with iron construction materials, the remainder of town was rebuilt of wood and canvas. In 1857, another fire burned down nearly everything else, except three brick buildings. The Columbia one-room school house
291-561: A "mythic vision of the plains and deserts of the American West". Specific settings include ranches, small frontier towns, saloons, railways, wilderness, and isolated military forts of the Wild West. Many Westerns use a stock plot of depicting a crime, then showing the pursuit of the wrongdoer, ending in revenge and retribution, which is often dispensed through a shootout or quick draw duel. The Western genre sometimes portrays
388-440: A $ 6,900,000 budget. It was the first mainstream Hollywood Western to be produced after the massive financial failure of Heaven's Gate (1980). On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 93% based on reviews from 29 critics. The site's consensus states: "Nearly a decade after The Outlaw Josey Wales , Clint Eastwood returns as a director to the genre that made his name with this elegant, spiritual Western that riffs on
485-406: A considerable achievement, a classic Western of style and excitement." Richard Corliss finds 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
582-702: A gigantic workman named Club. Preacher, however, disables Club with a sledgehammer blow to the groin. Coy returns from Sacramento , learns of the Preacher's arrival, and unsuccessfully attempts to bribe and then threaten him. At Preacher's suggestion, LaHood then offers the miners $ 1,000 per claim provided they evacuate within 24 hours. LaHood says he plans to hire the services of a corrupt marshal named Stockburn to clear them out if they refuse. The miners ultimately reject LaHood's offer, despite Preacher warning them about Stockburn. Megan expresses her love for Preacher, but he gently rebuffs her. Megan angrily assumes Preacher
679-569: A lucrative ministry in his town, the Preacher replies, "You can't serve God and Mammon both, Mammon being money." According to Robert Jewett, the film's dialogue parallels Paul the Apostle 's teaching on divine retribution (Romans 12:19–21). Pale Rider was released in the United States in June 1985 and became one of the highest-grossing Westerns of the 1980s, grossing $ 41,410,568 against
776-591: A more established Gold Rush town (in which Eastwood's character picks up his pistols at a Wells Fargo office) were filmed in the real Gold Rush town of Columbia , also in Tuolumne County. In an audio interview, Clint Eastwood said that his character Preacher "is an out-and-out ghost." However, whereas Eastwood's 1973 western, High Plains Drifter , resolves its storyline by means of a series of unfolding flashback narratives (although ambiguity still remains), Pale Rider does not include any such obvious clues to
873-481: A number of occasions, famous examples being Support Your Local Sheriff! , Cat Ballou , Mel Brooks 's Blazing Saddles , and Rustler's Rhapsody . George Lucas 's Star Wars films use many elements of a Western, and Lucas has said he intended for Star Wars to revitalize cinematic mythology, a part the Western once held. The Jedi , who take their name from Jidaigeki , are modeled after samurai, showing
970-452: A popular art form. Western films commonly feature protagonists such as cowboys, gunslingers, and bounty hunters, who are often depicted as seminomadic wanderers who wear Stetson hats, bandannas , spurs, and buckskins , use revolvers or rifles as everyday tools of survival and as a means to settle disputes using frontier justice. Protagonists ride between dusty towns and cattle ranches on their trusty steeds. The first films that belong to
1067-411: A respected settler, informs the sheriff that he had killed a man in self-defense, Hardwicke is forced to stand trial. Because of jury tampering by a corrupt district attorney, Hardwicke was found guilty. His lawyer, Ed Barrett and his fiancée develop a bizarre scheme to free his client from the hangman's noose; Barrett steals from a safe in the local bank a petition with 11,000 signatures of persons who at
SECTION 10
#17327830519521164-570: A setting, where it tasked players to lead a party of settlers moving westward in a covered wagon from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon. The game only grew popular in the 1980s and 1990s as an educational game. The first video game Westerns to engage the mass public arrived in arcade games focused on the gunfighter in Westerns based on depictions in television shows, films and Electro-mechanical games such as Dale Six Shooter (1950), and Sega 's Gun Fight (1970). The first of these games
1261-688: A sheriff in fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming . Originally aired on the A&;E network from 2012 to 2014, it was picked up by Netflix in 2015 until the show's conclusion in 2017. AMC and Vince Gilligan's critically acclaimed Breaking Bad is a much more modern take on the Western genre. Set in New Mexico from 2008 through 2013, it follows Walter White ( Bryan Cranston ), a chemistry teacher diagnosed with Stage III Lung Cancer who cooks and sells crystal meth to provide money for his family after he dies, while slowly growing further and further into
1358-510: A sweet background sound to Main Street. A horse-drawn wagon ride for a fee is the main attraction. There are numerous events throughout the year; some of the notable occasions are the Fourth of July parade and Pioneer Days. Occasionally local crafters set up booths along Main Street. Costumed State Park employees and shopkeepers lend to the era-theme of the park. Picnic tables are situated throughout
1455-531: A two-year, community college; and the Columbia Airport (FAA designator: O22), which has one 4,670-foot (1,420 m) runway and is busy with firefighting aircraft during summer. The annual Columbia Fire Muster here is often the earliest of California's summer musters. The 2010 United States Census reported that Columbia had a population of 2,297. The population density was 384.1 inhabitants per square mile (148.3/km ). The racial makeup of Columbia
1552-699: Is a National Historic Landmark District and is on the National Register of Historic Places . Columbia is located along State Route 49 just north of Sonora , at an altitude of 2,139 feet (652 m). According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 6.0 square miles (16 km ). Only 0.31% of the total area is covered by water. This region experiences hot and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 90.1 °F (32.3 °C). According to
1649-785: Is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Tuolumne County , California , United States. It was founded as a boomtown in 1850 when gold was found during the California Gold Rush , and was known as the "Gem of the Southern Mines ." The town's historic central district is within the Columbia State Historic Park , which preserves the 19th century mining town legacy. The U.S. historic district
1746-589: Is a genre of literature set in the American Old West, most commonly between 1860 and 1900. The first critically recognized Western was The Virginian (1902) by Owen Wister . Other well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey , from the early 1900s, Ernest Haycox , Luke Short , and Louis L'Amour , from the mid 20th century. Many writers better known in other genres, such as Leigh Brackett , Elmore Leonard , and Larry McMurtry , have also written Western novels. The genre's popularity peaked in
1843-512: Is a series of seven books that meshes themes of Westerns, high fantasy , science fiction, and horror. The protagonist Roland Deschain is a gunslinger whose image and personality are largely inspired by the Man with No Name from Sergio Leone's films. In addition, the superhero fantasy genre has been described as having been derived from the cowboy hero, only powered up to omnipotence in a primarily urban setting. The Western genre has been parodied on
1940-443: Is a war film, but its action and characters are Western-like. The character played by Humphrey Bogart in noir films such as Casablanca and To Have and Have Not —an individual bound only by his own private code of honor—has a lot in common with the classic Western hero. In turn, the Western has also explored noir elements, as with films such as Colorado Territory and Pursued . In many of Robert A. Heinlein 's books,
2037-413: Is maintained predominantly through relatively impersonal institutions such as courtrooms . The popular perception of the Western is a story that centers on the life of a seminomadic wanderer, usually a cowboy or a gunfighter. A showdown or duel at high noon featuring two or more gunfighters is a stereotypical scene in the popular conception of Westerns. In some ways, such protagonists may be considered
SECTION 20
#17327830519522134-472: Is real pretty, full of little gold aspens and snow-capped mountains, but it is slow, dark and badly timed." On the other hand, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune comments that, though Westerns were out of fashion, "fresh and challenging westerns with Clint Eastwood always will be in vogue." Roger Ebert also praises the film, giving it four out of four stars. , He adds: " Pale Rider is, overall,
2231-459: Is really in love with Sarah. Preacher leaves Carbon Canyon for another town where he stops at a Wells Fargo bank. At the bank, he retrieves two pistols from a security box and removes his clerical collar. LaHood's men dam the creek, which forces the miners to prospect a dry bed. Megan rides into LaHood's camp, where Joshua shows her the blasting operation before he attempts to rape her. Preacher arrives on horseback, disarms Joshua and shoots him through
2328-757: Is the place to go for music (raucous piano playing), women (often prostitutes ), gambling (draw poker or five-card stud), drinking ( beer , whiskey , or tequila if set in Mexico), brawling, and shooting. In some Westerns, where civilization has arrived, the town has a church, a general store, a bank, and a school; in others, where frontier rules still hold sway, it is, as Sergio Leone said, "where life has no value". Author and screenwriter Frank Gruber identified seven basic plots for Westerns: Gruber said that good writers used dialogue and plot development to develop these basic plots into believable stories. The American Film Institute defines Western films as those "set in
2425-412: Is usually punctuated with a Western music score , including American folk music and Spanish / Mexican folk music such as country , Native American music , New Mexico music , and rancheras . Westerns often stress the harshness of the wilderness and frequently set the action in an arid , desolate landscape of deserts and mountains . Often, the vast landscape plays an important role, presenting
2522-462: Is waging a war of intimidation against independent prospectors and their families – including Hull Barret, who is courting Sarah Wheeler. Sarah's teenage daughter, Megan – desperate for deliverance from LaHood after a gang of his men attack the mining camp and kill her dog – prays for a miracle. Shortly afterward, a man atop a pale horse rides into Carbon Canyon. When Hull heads to town to pick up supplies, four of Lahood's men harass and assault him before
2619-1342: The Atari 2600 and Gun Fight (1978) for the Bally Astrocade were derivative of Midway's Gun Fight . These early video games featured limited graphical capabilities , which had developers create Westerns to the most easily recognizable and popular tropes of the gunfighter shootouts. Western radio dramas were very popular from the 1930s to the 1960s. There were five types of Western radio dramas during this period: anthology programs, such as Empire Builders and Frontier Fighters ; juvenile adventure programs such as Red Ryder and Hopalong Cassidy ; legend and lore like Red Goose Indian Tales and Cowboy Tom's Round-Up ; adult Westerns like Fort Laramie and Frontier Gentleman ; and soap operas such as Cactus Kate . Some popular shows include The Lone Ranger (first broadcast in 1933), The Cisco Kid (first broadcast in 1942), Dr. Sixgun (first broadcast in 1954), Have Gun–Will Travel (first broadcast in 1958), and Gunsmoke (first broadcast in 1952). Many shows were done live, while others were transcribed. Westerns have been showcased in short-episodic web series. Examples include League of STEAM , Red Bird , and Arkansas Traveler . Within
2716-616: The California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States , particularly the Southwestern United States , as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada . The frontier is depicted in Western media as a sparsely populated hostile region patrolled by cowboys , outlaws , sheriffs , and numerous other stock gunslinger characters. Western narratives often concern
2813-674: The California State Legislature , Columbia is in the 8th Senate District , represented by Democrat Angelique Ashby , and in the 5th Assembly District , represented by Republican Joe Patterson . In the United States House of Representatives , Columbia is in California's 4th congressional district , represented by Democrat Mike Thompson . The Columbia Airport , a general aviation airfield located approximately one mile from
2910-537: The Grand Canyon , Yosemite , and the giant redwoods , due in part to exhibitors' inability to switch over to widescreen during the Great Depression . After renewed commercial successes in the late 1930s, the popularity of Westerns continued to rise until its peak in the 1950s, when the number of Western films produced outnumbered all other genres combined. The period from 1940 to 1960 has been called
3007-623: The Köppen Climate Classification system, Columbia has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate , abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. The original indigenous people in the Columbia region were the Miwok . Rev. John Steele wrote about his time in the gold rush era and about the "Mi-wuk" of Columbia in his memoirs In Camp and Cabin . Within weeks of finding gold in the vicinity of Columbia, thousands of people arrived and
Pale Rider - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-520: The census of 2000, there were 2,405 people, 1,063 households, and 659 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 389.7 inhabitants per square mile (150.5/km ). There were 1,162 housing units at an average density of 188.3 per square mile (72.7/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.10% White , 0.87% African American , 1.41% Native American , 1.29% Asian , 0.12% Pacific Islander , 1.29% from other races , and 4.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.90% of
3201-457: The space opera series Firefly used an explicitly Western theme for its portrayal of frontier worlds. Anime shows such as Cowboy Bebop , Trigun and Outlaw Star have been similar mixes of science-fiction and Western elements. The science fiction Western can be seen as a subgenre of either Westerns or science fiction. Elements of Western films can be found also in some films belonging essentially to other genres. For example, Kelly's Heroes
3298-419: The "Golden Age of the Western". It is epitomized by the work of several prominent directors including Robert Aldrich , Budd Boetticher , Delmer Daves , John Ford , and others. Some of the popular films during this era include Apache (1954), Broken Arrow (1950), and My Darling Clementine (1946). The changing popularity of the Western genre has influenced worldwide pop culture over time. During
3395-432: The 1960s and 1970s, Spaghetti Westerns from Italy became popular worldwide; this was due to the success of Sergio Leone 's storytelling method. After having been previously pronounced dead, a resurgence of Westerns occurred during the 1990s with films such as Dances with Wolves (1990), Unforgiven (1992), and Geronimo (1993), as Westerns once again increased in popularity. When television became popular in
3492-416: The 1960s, due in part to the shuttering of many pulp magazines, the popularity of televised Westerns , and the rise of the spy novel. Readership began to drop off in the mid- to late 1970s and reached a new low in the 2000s. Most bookstores, outside of a few Western states, now only carry a small number of Western novels and short-story collections. Literary forms that share similar themes include stories of
3589-458: The 1970s. These games and drew on the imagery of a mythic West portrayed in stories, films, television shows, and other assorted Western-themed toys. When game developers went to the imaginary West to create new experiences, they often drew consciously or unconsciously from Western stories and films. The 1971 text-based, Mainframe computer game The Oregon Trail was first game to use the West as
3686-582: The American West that [embody] the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier ". Originally, these films were called "Wild West dramas", a reference to Wild West shows like Buffalo Bill Cody's . The term "Western", used to describe a narrative film genre, appears to have originated with a July 1912 article in Motion Picture World magazine. Most of the characteristics of Western films were part of 19th-century popular Western fiction , and were firmly in place before film became
3783-570: The American frontier, the gaucho literature of Argentina , and tales of the settlement of the Australian Outback. A number of visual artists focused their work on representations of the American Old West. American West-oriented art is sometimes referred to as "Western Art" by Americans. This relatively new category of art includes paintings, sculptures, and sometimes Native American crafts. Initially, subjects included exploration of
3880-588: The Columbia State Historic Park, is closed to automobile traffic, but horses, carriages, bicycles and pedestrians are welcomed. Known for the huge rock gardens left over from the hydro mining efforts in the 1800s, the area is very popular with families for picnicking and leisurely walks. The antique buildings are leased to era-themed businesses such as gold-panning, candle-dipping, iron-mongering, and crafts. There are several eating establishments. A chicken coop with beautiful Dominique hens lends
3977-672: The Eastern Bloc, or action films involving the Russian Revolution , the Russian Civil War , and the Basmachi rebellion. Many elements of space-travel series and films borrow extensively from the conventions of the Western genre. This is particularly the case in the space Western subgenre of science fiction. Peter Hyams 's Outland transferred the plot of High Noon to Io, moon of Jupiter. More recently,
Pale Rider - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-524: The Prairie , McCloud , The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams , and the short-lived but highly acclaimed How the West Was Won that originated from a miniseries with the same name. In the 1990s and 2000s, hour-long Westerns and slickly packaged made-for-TV movie Westerns were introduced, such as Lonesome Dove (1989) and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman . Also, new elements were once again added to
4171-461: The SERA (State Emergency Relief Administration) hired 65 research workers at U.C. Berkeley's Bancroft Library and 56 additional workers in the field to gather the necessary information to provide for the restoration of the old town. In 1945, California created Columbia State Historic Park from the remains of the historical buildings of the city. Columbia's main street in the historic district , part of
4268-419: The Western formula, such as the space Western , Firefly , created by Joss Whedon in 2002. Deadwood was a critically acclaimed Western series that aired on HBO from 2004 through 2006. Hell on Wheels , a fictionalized story of the construction of the first transcontinental railroad , aired on AMC for five seasons between 2011 and 2016. Longmire is a Western series that centered on Walt Longmire ,
4365-881: The Western genre are a series of short single reel silents made in 1894 by Edison Studios at their Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey . These featured veterans of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show exhibiting skills acquired by living in the Old West – they included Annie Oakley (shooting) and members of the Sioux (dancing). The earliest known Western narrative film is the British short Kidnapping by Indians , made by Mitchell and Kenyon in Blackburn , England, in 1899. The Great Train Robbery (1903, based on
4462-705: The Western states and cowboy themes. Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell are two artists who captured the "Wild West" in paintings and sculpture. After the death of Remington Richard Lorenz became the preeminent artist painting in the Western genre. Some art museums, such as the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Wyoming and the Autry National Center in Los Angeles, feature American Western Art. With anime and manga ,
4559-478: The Wild West and modern technology like cars and cellphones, while also focusing primarily on being a Crime drama makes the show a unique spin on both genres. Walter's reliance on the desert environment makes the Western-feel a pivotal role in the show, and would continue to be used in the spinoff series Better Call Saul . The neo-Western drama Yellowstone was streamed from 2018-2024. Western fiction
4656-426: The age of 18 living in them, 432 (43.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 125 (12.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 51 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 53 (5.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 4 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 330 households (32.9%) were made up of individuals, and 142 (14.2%) had someone living alone who
4753-404: The average family size was 2.65. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 18.8% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP
4850-418: The biggest hits of the year. Released through United Artists, Stagecoach made John Wayne a mainstream screen star in the wake of a decade of headlining B Westerns. Wayne had been introduced to the screen 10 years earlier as the leading man in director Raoul Walsh 's spectacular widescreen The Big Trail , which failed at the box office in spite of being shot on location across the American West, including
4947-497: The classic Shane." On Metacritic the film has a score of 61% based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In his review in The New York Times , Vincent Canby praises Clint Eastwood's performance: "This veteran movie icon handles both jobs [lead actor and director] with such intelligence and facility I'm just now beginning to realize that, though Mr. Eastwood may have been improving over
SECTION 50
#17327830519525044-618: The classic comics of the late 1940s and early 1950s (namely Kid Colt, Outlaw , Rawhide Kid , and Red Ryder ) or more modern ones as Blueberry ), cartoons, and parodies (such as Cocco Bill and Lucky Luke ). In the 1990s and 2000s, Western comics leaned towards the fantasy , horror and science fiction genres, usually involving supernatural monsters, or Christian iconography as in Preacher . More traditional Western comics are found throughout this period, though (e.g., Jonah Hex and Loveless ). Video game Westerns emerged in
5141-752: The conquest of the wilderness and the subordination of nature in the name of civilization or the confiscation of the territorial rights of the original, Native American, inhabitants of the frontier. The Western depicts a society organized around codes of honor and personal, direct or private justice–"frontier justice"–dispensed by gunfights. These honor codes are often played out through depictions of feuds or individuals seeking personal revenge or retribution against someone who has wronged them (e.g., True Grit has revenge and retribution as its main themes). This Western depiction of personal justice contrasts sharply with justice systems organized around rationalistic, abstract law that exist in cities, in which social order
5238-428: The culture, such as spaghetti Westerns (Italy), meat pie Westerns (Australia), ramen Westerns (Asia), and masala Westerns (India). Being period drama pieces, both the Western and samurai genre influenced each other in style and themes throughout the years. The Magnificent Seven was a remake of Akira Kurosawa 's film Seven Samurai , and A Fistful of Dollars was a remake of Kurosawa's Yojimbo , which itself
5335-462: The downtown. There is a short hiking trail from the School House, which is located a couple of blocks from the town. The school is open with static exhibits. Two campgrounds nearby accommodate tenting and motorhomes, as well as a small general store for supplies. Two well-stocked thrift stores are within walking distance. Other points of interest in the area include Columbia Community College ,
5432-407: The earlier British film A Daring Daylight Burglary ), Edwin S. Porter 's film starring Broncho Billy Anderson , is often erroneously cited as the first Western, though George N. Fenin and William K. Everson point out (as mentioned above) that the "Edison company had played with Western material for several years prior to The Great Train Robbery ". Nonetheless, they concur that Porter's film "set
5529-463: The early 1960s, and their replacement by hour-long television shows, increasingly in color. Traditional Westerns died out in the late 1960s as a result of network changes in demographic targeting along with pressure from parental television groups. Future entries in the genre would incorporate elements from other genera, such as crime drama and mystery whodunit elements. Western shows from the 1970s included Hec Ramsey , Kung Fu , Little House on
5626-403: The final shootout, Stockburn recognizes Preacher in disbelief before he is shot in the chest six times, leaving six exit wounds in his back similar to the wounds on Preacher's back. Finally, Preacher kills him with a shot to the head. LaHood, watching from his office, aims a rifle at the Preacher but is shot dead by Hull, who walked all the way into town. Preacher nods at Hull and rides off toward
5723-426: The genre tends towards the science-fiction Western – e.g., Cowboy Bebop (1998 anime), Trigun (1995–2007 manga), and Outlaw Star (1996–1999 manga). Although contemporary Westerns also appear, such as Koya no Shonen Isamu , a 1971 shonen manga about a boy with a Japanese father and a Native American mother, or El Cazador de la Bruja , a 2007 anime television series set in modern-day Mexico. Part 7 of
5820-576: The gradual attempts to tame the crime-ridden American West using wider themes of justice , freedom, rugged individualism, manifest destiny , and the national history and identity of the United States . Native American populations were often portrayed as averse foes or savages . Originating in vaquero heritage and Western fiction , the genre popularized the Western lifestyle , country - Western music , and Western wear globally. Throughout
5917-521: The hand. Stockburn and his deputies arrive in LaHood. Coy gives him a rough description of the Preacher, which startles Stockburn, because the man Coy is describing is dead. Spider Conway, one of the miners and Coy's former partner, discovers a large gold nugget in the dry creek bed and rides into town with his teenage sons, where he yells drunken abuse at LaHood from the street. Stockburn and his deputies gun him down, with Stockburn himself shooting Spider in
SECTION 60
#17327830519526014-464: The harshness and isolation of the wilderness, and frequently set the action in an arid, desolate landscape. Western films generally have specific settings, such as isolated ranches, Native American villages, or small frontier towns with a saloon. Oftentimes, these settings appear deserted and without much structure. Apart from the wilderness, the saloon usually emphasizes that this is the Wild West ; it
6111-546: The head. Stockburn sends a message that he wants Preacher to meet him in town the next morning. Sarah begs Preacher not to go, and tells him she will marry Hull, despite her feelings for Preacher. The following day, Preacher and Hull blow up LaHood's mining site with dynamite. To stop Hull from following him, Preacher scares off Hull's horse and rides into town alone. In the gunfight that follows, he kills all of LaHood's men when they attack him, except for two who run away. Then, one by one, he kills all six of Stockburn's deputies. In
6208-466: The heroes of Westerns frequently rescue damsels in distress . Similarly, the wandering protagonists of Westerns share many characteristics with the ronin in modern Japanese culture. The Western typically takes these elements and uses them to tell simple morality tales, although some notable examples (e.g. the later Westerns of John Ford or Clint Eastwood 's Unforgiven , about an old contract killer ) are more morally ambiguous. Westerns often stress
6305-676: The history of the genre, it has seen popular revivals and been incorporated into various subgenres. The classic Western is a morality drama , presenting the conflict between wilderness and civilization . Stories commonly center on the life of a male drifter , cowboy , or gunslinger who rides a horse and is armed with a revolver or rifle . The male characters typically wear broad-brimmed and high-crowned Stetson hats, neckerchief bandannas , vests , and cowboy boots with spurs . While many wear conventional shirts and trousers, alternatives include buckskins and dusters . Women are generally cast in secondary roles as love interests for
6402-401: The illicit drug market, eventually turning into a ruthless drug dealer and killer. While the show has scenes in a populated suburban neighborhood and nearby Albuquerque , much of the show takes place in the desert, where Walter often takes his RV car out into the open desert to cook his meth, and most action sequences occur in the desert, similar to old-fashioned Western movies. The clash between
6499-683: The influence of Kurosawa. The character Han Solo dressed like an archetypal gunslinger, and the Mos Eisley cantina is much like an Old West saloon. Meanwhile, films such as The Big Lebowski , which plucked actor Sam Elliott out of the Old West and into a Los Angeles bowling alley, and Midnight Cowboy , about a Southern-boy-turned-gigolo in New York (who disappoints a client when he does not measure up to Gary Cooper), transplanted Western themes into modern settings for both purposes of parody and homage. Columbia, California Columbia
6596-417: The instigation of the same district attorney want Columbia to be the capital, rewrites the first page to call for a pardon for Hardwicke and appeals to the governor, who is impressed that so many signed. The governor orders Hardwicke's release, but Sacramento became the capital. However, the series' episodes tended to be "based on fact" rather than historically accurate. By 1860, the gold mined in Columbia
6693-406: The larger scope of the Western genre, there are several recognized subgenres. Some subgenres, such as spaghetti Westerns , maintain standard Western settings and plots, while others take the Western theme and archetypes into different supergenres, such as neo-Westerns or space Westerns . For a time, Westerns made in countries other than the United States were often labeled by foods associated with
6790-788: The late 1940s and 1950s, Television Westerns quickly became an audience favorite. Beginning with rebroadcasts of existing films, a number of movie cowboys had their own TV shows. As demand for the Western increased, new stories and stars were introduced. A number of long-running TV Westerns became classics in their own right, such as: The Lone Ranger (1949–1957), Death Valley Days (1952–1970), The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955–1961), Cheyenne (1955–1962), Gunsmoke (1955–1975), Maverick (1957–1962), Have Gun – Will Travel (1957–1963), Wagon Train (1957–1965), The Rifleman (1958–1963), Rawhide (1959–1966), Bonanza (1959–1973), The Virginian (1962–1971), and The Big Valley (1965–1969). The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
6887-485: The literary descendants of the knights-errant , who stood at the center of earlier extensive genres such as the Arthurian romances . Like the cowboy or gunfighter of the Western, the knight-errant of the earlier European tales and poetry was wandering from place to place on his horse, fighting villains of various kinds, and bound to no fixed social structures, but only to his own innate code of honor. Like knights-errant,
6984-461: The major Hollywood studios rapidly abandoned Westerns, leaving the genre to smaller studios and producers. These smaller organizations churned out countless low-budget features and serials in the 1930s. An exception was The Big Trail, a 1930 American pre-Code Western early widescreen film shot on location across the American West starring 23-year-old John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh. The epic film noted for its authenticity
7081-563: The male lead; or in supporting roles as saloon girls, prostitutes or as the wives of pioneers and settlers . The wife character often provides a measure of comic relief . Other recurring characters include Native Americans of various tribes described as Indians or Red Indians, African Americans , Chinese Americans , Spaniards , Mexicans , law enforcement officers , bounty hunters , outlaws , bartenders , merchants , gamblers , soldiers (especially mounted cavalry ), and settlers ( farmers , ranchers , and townsfolk). The ambience
7178-683: The manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is based in the American Western setting. The story follows racers in a transcontinental horse race, the "Steel Ball Run". Golden Kamuy (2014–2022) shifts its setting to the fallout of the Russo-Japanese War , specifically focusing on Hokkaido and Sakhalin , and featuring the Ainu people and other local tribes instead of Native Americans, as well other recognizable Western tropes. Western comics have included serious entries, (such as
7275-459: The nature and past of Preacher other than six bullet wound scars on his back and his relationship with Stockburn, who claims he once knew a man like the Preacher. Viewers are left to draw their own conclusions regarding the overall story line and its meaning. The movie's title is taken from the Book of Revelation , chapter 6, verse 8: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him
7372-441: The news that they spontaneously fired off rifle shots and fireworks , sang patriotic songs and made impromptu speeches." Columbia, in its heyday, was California's fifth-largest city, boasting a population of about 25,000 people although only about 2,000 people now live in this region. Unlike many gold rush boomtowns, Columbia never became a ghost town . In 1934 under a state sponsored New Deal program of archaeological research,
7469-432: The pattern—of crime, pursuit, and retribution—for the Western film as a genre". The film's popularity opened the door for Anderson to become the screen's first Western star; he made several hundred Western film shorts. So popular was the genre that he soon faced competition from Tom Mix and William S. Hart . Western films were enormously popular in the silent film era (1894–1927). With the advent of sound in 1927–1928,
7566-467: The population climbed to 5,000. By 1852, there were 8 hotels, 4 banks, 17 general stores , 2 bookstores, 1 newspaper, 3 churches, and over 40 drinking/gambling establishments. Between 1850 and the early 1900s, $ 87 million (~$ 2.47 billion in 2023) in gold was removed from the surrounding hills. In 1851, the local community brass band , a popular institution, greeted the arrival of the first "white woman" in town. Columbia had five cemeteries, including
7663-410: The population. There were 1,063 households, out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and
7760-482: 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. 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
7857-637: The settlement of other planets is depicted in ways explicitly modeled on American settlement of the West. For example, in his Tunnel in the Sky , settlers set out to the planet New Canaan, via an interstellar teleporter portal across the galaxy, in Conestoga wagons , their captain sporting mustaches and a little goatee and riding a Palomino horse—with Heinlein explaining that the colonists would need to survive on their own for some years, so horses are more practical than machines. Stephen King 's The Dark Tower
7954-616: The snow-capped mountains. Megan arrives and, seeing Preacher riding away, shouts her love and thanks to him. Pale Rider was primarily filmed in the Boulder Mountains and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in central Idaho , just north of Sun Valley in late 1984. The opening credits scene featured the jagged Sawtooth Mountains south of Stanley . Train-station scenes were filmed in Tuolumne County, California , near Jamestown . Scenes of
8051-408: The stranger intervenes and effortlessly fights them off with an axe handle. Hull thankfully invites his rescuer to dinner and, while the stranger is washing, notices what appears to be six bullet wounds in his back. When the stranger arrives at the dining table, he is wearing a clerical collar and is thereafter referred to as "Preacher". Coy LaHood's son, Joshua, attempts to scare off the Preacher with
8148-458: 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 . Western (genre) The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between
8245-514: The years, it's also taken all these years for most of us to recognize his very consistent grace and wit as a film maker," concluding that "it's so evocative of a fabled time and place that it never allows the movie to self-destruct in parody. Pale Rider is the first decent western in a very long time." Rita Kempley dissented in The Washington Post , finding that "pretty soon we recollect why westerns lost their appeal. . .[the] movie
8342-439: Was Midway 's Gun Fight , an adaptation of Taito 's Western Gun (1975) which featured two players against each other in a duel set on a sparse desert landscape with a few cacti and a moving covered wagon to hide behind. Atari 's Outlaw (1976) followed which explicitly framed the shootouts between "good guys" and "outlaws" also borrowing from gunfighter themes and imagery. Early console games such as Outlaw (1978) for
8439-413: Was $ 29,173, and the median income for a family was $ 35,000. Males had a median income of $ 40,729 versus $ 23,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $ 18,731. About 20.2% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line , including 37.7% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over. A few of the more than 100 movies and TV series filmed in Columbia include: In
8536-517: Was 2,064 (89.9%) White , 27 (1.2%) African American , 26 (1.1%) Native American , 29 (1.3%) Asian , 1 (0.0%) Pacific Islander , 27 (1.2%) from other races , and 123 (5.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 171 persons (7.4%). The Census reported that 2,226 people (96.9% of the population) lived in households, 71 (3.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 1,002 households, out of which 243 (24.3%) had children under
8633-511: Was 47.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. There were 1,117 housing units at an average density of 186.8 per square mile (72.1/km ), of which 661 (66.0%) were owner-occupied, and 341 (34.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%. 1,389 people (60.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 837 people (36.4%) lived in rental housing units. As of
8730-407: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22. There were 608 families (60.7% of all households); the average family size was 2.80. The population was spread out, with 470 people (20.5%) under the age of 18, 201 people (8.8%) aged 18 to 24, 406 people (17.7%) aged 25 to 44, 735 people (32.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 485 people (21.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
8827-466: Was Death, and Hell followed with him." The reading of the biblical passage describing this character is neatly choreographed to correspond with the sudden appearance of the Preacher, who arrived as a result of a prayer from Megan, in which she quoted Psalm 23 . Preacher's comment after beating one of the villains is, "Well, the Lord certainly does work in mysterious ways." After Coy offers to let him establish
8924-635: Was a financial failure due to Depression era theatres not willing to invest in widescreen technology. By the late 1930s, the Western film was widely regarded as a pulp genre in Hollywood, but its popularity was dramatically revived in 1939 by major studio productions such as Dodge City starring Errol Flynn , Jesse James with Tyrone Power , Union Pacific with Joel McCrea , Destry Rides Again featuring James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich , and especially John Ford's landmark Western adventure Stagecoach starring John Wayne , which became one of
9021-401: Was built in 1860, renovated in 1872, and finally closed in 1937. It was purchased by the state of California for $ 1 in 1947, and incorporated into the historic district park. According to the 1954 episode "11,000 Miners Can't Be Wrong" of the western anthology series Death Valley Days , Columbia lost out in an 1854 bid to become the permanent California state capitol: When Jim Hardwicke,
9118-598: Was diminishing rapidly. The only land left to mine was in the city itself. Miners dug under buildings and tore down houses to get at the gold beneath the city. Copper deposits were found in the area, with the nearby town of Copperopolis experiencing a boom. The bricks from the destroyed buildings in Columbia were sold for new construction in Copperopolis. In 1862, just days after the Battle of Puebla in Mexico, Columbia
9215-470: Was inspired by Red Harvest , an American detective novel by Dashiell Hammett . Kurosawa was influenced by American Westerns and was a fan of the genre, most especially John Ford . Despite the Cold War , the Western was a strong influence on Eastern Bloc cinema, which had its own take on the genre, the so-called Red Western or Ostern. Generally, these took two forms: either straight Westerns shot in
9312-515: Was the first Western television series written for adults, premiering four days before Gunsmoke on September 6, 1955. The peak year for television Westerns was 1959, with 26 such shows airing during primetime. At least six of them were connected in some extent to Wyatt Earp : The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp , Bat Masterson , Tombstone Territory , Broken Arrow , Johnny Ringo , and Gunsmoke . Increasing costs of American television production weeded out most action half-hour series in
9409-561: Was the site of the first official Cinco de Mayo celebrations. According to a paper published by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture about the origin of the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the United States, the modern American focus on that day first started in Columbia in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico. "Far up in the gold country town of Columbia, California, Mexican miners were so overjoyed at
#951048