Western Collection

Released: 19th September 2011. Collection of five classic western epics. In 'Pale Rider' (1985) a community of gold mining prospectors comes under attack from a gang of marauders, who are after the prospectors' land. Young Megan Wheeler (Sydney Penny) prays for help, which consequently arrives in the form of the Preacher (Clint Eastwood), a grim, silent stranger. The Preacher takes up the community's cause, and sets out to repel the invaders. 'The Searchers' (1965) tells the story of Ethan Edwards (John Wayne), an ex-confederate soldier who swears revenge after his brother's family is butchered by Comanches and his niece (Natalie Wood) is kidnapped. Accompanied by Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), a young foundling raised by the family, Ethan sets out on a epic seven-year search for the missing girl. But as their quest draws to a close, Martin begins to realise the extent to which Ethan has been dehumanised by his own thirst for revenge. 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' (1976) follows Josey Wales (Eastwood), a peaceful farmer at the time of the American Civil War, who becomes a Confederate outlaw in order to avenge his family's death at the hands of Union guerillas. His obsession with revenge slowly lifts, however, as he picks up various outcasts in the wilderness. Wales tries to protect his new 'family' by leading them to a safe haven where they can rebuild their lives. In 'The Wild Bunch' (1969), set in 1913, a gang of outlaws ride into a Texan border town where the railroad office is their target. The robbery turns into a blood-bath so the gang flee to a desert hideout where they discover that their loot is worthless. With the railroad company's hired guns snapping at their heels, they decide to escape to the apparent safety of the Mexican revolutionaries. In 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid' (1973) the old days of the West are passing, and outlaw-turned-sheriff Pat Garrett (James Coburn) is determined to move with the times. But with his former partner Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson) still at large in the territory, and the wish of the cattle barons that the rule of law be imposed with greater and greater force, Pat soon realises that his initial compromise will eventually lead him to betray everything he believes in.