Behold A Pale Horse (film) - Reception and Release History

Reception and Release History

Despite promotional tours by Peck (in the U.S.) and Zinnemann (London and Paris), the film did not have a large reception (the box-office receipts not being enough even to recoup the costs of production). According to Zinnemann, this was because the Spanish Civil War had slipped from the memories of its audience. The New York Times gave it a mixed review, being disappointed with the execution of the film, though impressed with its sets and actors, while Variety was generally impressed, calling it "among the better" of Peck's career.

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The reaction to that was a disappointment, but it was justified. The point simply did not get over. I took too much for granted. I thought the Spanish Civil War was still with us, but apparently it is dead, in spite of all those refugees. There were other troubles too - with the Franco government. I was to blame for playing the Spanish Civil Guard as 'heavies.' They are sacred cows. Columbia suffered heavily through the Franco ban on their films because of 'Pale Horse' but they were wonderfully good about it.

Fred Zinnemann ~ New York Times

Incensed by scenes showing Viñolas with a mistress, and taking bribes, the government of Francisco Franco denied filming as well as distribution in Spain, causing problems for its distributor, Columbia Pictures, who had all of their films refused distribution in Spain, and were compelled to sell their distribution arm in Spain. Columbia Pictures remained closed in Spain for several years, until agreeing to release several Spanish films outside of Spain. Months prior to the release of the film, Columbia Vice President M. J. Frankovich estimated that the studio had lost "millions" in the year since they had decided to go ahead with production against the wishes of the Franco government.

According to Allmovie, the film was scheduled to be shown on national television in the United States, but was canceled at the request of the Spanish government.

Often compared to the previous year's Lawrence of Arabia, as it has two of the same lead actors, Zinnemann countered the comparison with “I don’t feel any obligation to be successful, success can be dangerous--you feel you know it all. I’ve learned a great deal from my failures.”

One of the film's stars, Omar Sharif, referred to it as a "bad film" by a "good director".

TIME said about the film in its review: "Pale Horse is a white elephant."

Behold a Pale Horse was first released on video in VHS form by Columbia Pictures as part of their "Columbia Classics" series on August 6, 1996. It was then released on DVD on February 22, 2005. The DVD release features subtitles in English, Korean, and Spanish, and widescreen (enhanced) viewing option at 1:85, or the anamorphic 16:9 option. The DVD has since been released in France as "Et vint le jour de vengeance", Spain as "Y llegó el dia de la venganza", Italy as "...E venne il giorno della vendetta", Germany as "Deine Zeit ist um", and Greece as "Η μερα της εκδικησης".