Unforgiven (1992)

Border Wars come to Wyoming

"Unforgiven" is a deconstruction of the classical Western. There are no 'good guys', only different degrees of wrong. The killings aren't idealized. They are the filthy business that murder always is. Eastwood's character, Muny, is a man with a troubled past. He was a border raider in Kansas and Missouri during the Civil War although we never learn which side he was on. All we know is that he was brutalized and committed atrocities. His wife, however, tried to set him straight and he makes his life as a poor and simple farmer.

Temptation comes to him in the form of bounty money offerred for the killing of men who cut and scarred a prostitue in Little Whiskey, Wyoming. The prostitutes couldn't get the law to arrest the culprits so they have raised money and, in so doing, they have taken the law into their own hands. Muny, at the urging of a very young, very inexperienced wannabe gunfighter, complies. The result is a series of brutal killings with one culprit shot to death while sitting in an outhouse.

The local sheriff, Little Bill, is, himself, a sadistic man and exacts retribution on Muny's little gang. Muny, all veneer of civilization now completely stripped away, exacts bloody vengeance. It's all so very satisfying which, I'm afraid, speaks volumes about our basic human nature.

This is, in my opinion, an excellent film. Clintwood, as director, shows that his attitudes about who we are may very well parallel those of Sam Peckinpah, as in 'Pat Garret and Billy the Kid' and 'The Wild Bunch.'

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico September 30, 2008

OVERrated, but still good

It's all these guys in their later years so kind of goofy to see them as trying to be studs. Hackman is the best thing in the movie. BR continues to miss on the extras. August 21, 2008

There is nothing to forgive; everything is pitch-perfect...

It's really no wonder it's taken me this long to finally see `Unforgiven'. I've stated before that westerns were never really my thing, and it's not like Eastwood has a huge draw on me either. He's serviceable at best in my opinion, only on rare occasions having his overly gruff mannerisms pay off with brilliance. After the amazing year westerns in general had last year (`3:10 to Yuma', `No Country for Old Men' and `...Jesse James...' all making my top ten of the year) I figured that maybe I should research this Oscar winning classic to see if the films iconic status was justified.

Watching `Unforgiven' has really made me realize that you should never judge a film before you see it, because you never truly know what's in store for you.

`Unforgiven' opens with a sharp pain of brutality as two men victimize a woman. When the sheriff doesn't do anything more than slap the men's wrists the women of the community put out a reward for the men's head. William Munny, a former murderer turned caring father and widower, hears of the reward and, hesitantly, decides to pursue it in order to better take care of his two children. Along with his former sidekick Ned Logan and an overly confident young gunslinger going by the name of The Schofield Kid, Munny makes his way into town with his horse and his gun and the smell of blood.

Eastwood really went all out with this production. The overall feel of the film is very gritty and dark and adds weight to the moral that is brought to the full as the curtains close so-to-speak. The film is violent, but in a repressed sort of way, allowing the majority of the film to ride on the anticipation of bloodshed and only truly rearing its head in short explosions of brutality. This allows `Unforgiven' to become more than just an action film or a bloodbath but creates a film that is as deep and poignant as it is entertaining.

The acting is also golden here. Morgan Freeman seems to just coast through his scenes, but his companionship with Eastwood is unmatchable. He just has such a natural talent that even when he isn't doing anything exceptional he is still amazing. Clint has never really sold it for me. I was impressed with him in `Million Dollar Baby' because I felt as though he made his harshness work to his advantage. He does that here as well. Next to `Million Dollar Baby' this has got to be his finest performance. Gene Hackman steals the whole show though as Bill Daggett, the ruthless sheriff. His savagery is embellished by his sick sense of justification and that makes Hackman's character development nothing short of extraordinary.

In the end I'm pleased to say that `Unforgiven' stands up as worthy of the praise and attention it has received. I can't say if it was the best film of the year (92 was such a fantastic year for film) but it most definitely ranks in my top ten and surely will stand the tests of time as one of the most effective westerns of all time, defining everything that makes the genre what it is. I may not be an avid supporter of the genre as a whole, but when a western is done right it can be nothing short of amazing. `Unforgiven' is done very, very right. August 15, 2008

Unforgiven

The movie is probably great. I'll never know through any use of the DVD I received. The "details" in the order indicated this was an "All Region" DVD. It was not & therefore, will not play in my DVD player, Blu Ray player or even my PC. It might make a nice coaster except for the hole in the middle. I also ordered "the Wild Bunch" in the same format. It will not play in any of my machines either.
What's even more frustrating is that the cases are marked "Not Authorized for Sale or Rental outside the USA and Canada". Somewhere outside of these two countries is the only place these might function. July 16, 2008

Bleak, unsparing, jarring, and brilliant...

When I first saw this film, I have to admit I thought it was good, but not great. Further viewings (including a recent one) have made me changed my mind and hang my head in shame. This is one of the greatest Westerns ever made, and one of Eastwood's crowning achievements as a filmmaker and as an actor.

The film is uncommonly dark, even for an Eastwood film. It starts off with a brutal rape scene, and ends with a shootout. The cinematography is masterful, arguably the best in any Eastwood film. Eastwood's character, Billy, is really trying to go straight after spending a lifetime of killing, whoring, and maiming. His wife is dead, his farm is failing, and he's worried about his children. He gets a chance to get some money, but he has to find and kill the people who raped and beat up(and got away with it) a prostitute at the beginning of the film. Over the course of the film, Eastwood's quest becomes more brutal and darker, concluding in what has to be the best, most brooding scene in all of Eastwood's work. The final scene takes place in the bar/brothel where the rape/assault took place. The scene starts in a wide shot, then you see Eastwood's rifle make an entrance, but it's only his rifle. It's a brilliant entrance, one of the greatest in Western movie history, and the concluding shootout is as menancing and as cruel as the West could be.

This film won Eastwood his first Oscar, and it's a film that deserved all its accolades. Most Best Picture Oscar winners are rather safe and tame films, but this is one of the exceptions where an uncommonly dark film swept the awards. It also rejuvinated Eastwood's career a bit. He had just directed and starred in The Rookie, a film that is considered his worst film by mostly everyone, including fans (for the record, it's not that bad of a film). The Rookie was a box office and critical bomb. So when this film appeared, it really brought Eastwood back, and he's been there ever since. Unforgiven is considered one of the greatest Westerns ever made, and deservedly so. July 15, 2008

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