A legendary Western movie is airing on TV tonight

Stephen Porzio

It has a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Our TV movie pick for New Year’s Eve is Pale Rider, the legendary Western from 1985 directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.

He plays in the film an enigmatic man named Preacher who arrives in a town where a property owner named Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart) has started using a band of hooligans to terrorise a group of small-town gold miners into giving up their territory.

“Preacher fends off the attacks and then goes directly to LaHood to negotiate. When the miners, led by Hull Barret (Michael Moriarty), refuse the terms, LaHood sends in Marshall Stockburn (John Russell) to take down Preacher and the others,” the plot synopsis reads.

Pale Rider holds an impressive 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics singling out Eastwood’s stylish direction and his mysterious, almost mythic lead character for praise.

It was also a smash hit at the box office and went on to become the highest-grossing Western from the decade in which it was released.

Pale Rider is airing on TV tonight/tomorrow morning on RTÉ One at 2.15am.

If that is too late for you and/or you can’t record the Western, it should also be available to stream on the RTÉ Player after it airs.

Here are 12 other movies airing on TV tonight at an earlier time:

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – Channel 4 – 6.40pm

Archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) embarks on a mission to find both his father (Sean Connery) and the Holy Grail in this beloved sequel.

Black Panther – BBC One NI – 8pm

The first superhero film to receive a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.

Saving Private Ryan – More4 – 9pm

This Steven Spielberg-directed WWII drama was recently named the best war movie ever.

Inglourious Basterds – Film4 – 9pm

Quentin Tarantino writes and directs this other great WWII movie.

The Negotiator – Legend – 9pm

An expert hostage negotiator (Samuel L. Jackson) winds up taking hostages, leading to a stand-off, in this fun ’90s action thriller.

The Courier – RTÉ2 – 9pm

A well-reviewed 2020 historical spy film starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Wedding Crashers – Virgin Media Two – 9pm

This hit comedy follows two divorce mediators (Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn) who crash weddings in an attempt to meet and seduce women.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story – Comedy Central – 10.40pm

Vince Vaughn stars again in this very funny comedy about the owner of a financially struggling gym who decides to compete in a dodgeball tournament for a big cash prize.

The Suicide Squad – RTÉ2 – 11pm

James Gunn’s pretty fun reboot of the DC superhero team.

The Godfather Part II – Channel 4 – 11.05pm

Maybe the best sequel ever.

The Guard – RTÉ One – 12.25am

We’ve previously argued that this Brendan Gleeson is “the funniest Irish movie of all time”.

Dog Day Afternoon – RTÉ2 – 1.20am

The legendary ’70s drama about the hostage situation that develops after an inexperienced criminal (a phenomenal Al Pacino) leads a bank robbery in Brooklyn.

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