Unforgiven

Unforgiven

91% Liked It
liked it

Unforgiven

Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, Jaimz Woolvett

Dedicated to his mentors Sergio Leone and Don Siegel, Clint Eastwood's 1992 Oscar-winner examines the mythic violence of the Western, taking on the ghosts of his own star past. Disgusted by Sheriff "L... read more read more...ittle Bill" Daggett's decree that several ponies make up for a cowhand's slashing a whore's face, Big Whiskey prostitutes, led by fierce Strawberry Alice (Frances Fisher), take justice into their own hands and put a $1000 bounty on the lives of the perpetrators. Notorious outlaw-turned-hog farmer William Munny (Eastwood) is sought out by neophyte gunslinger the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett) to go with him to Big Whiskey and collect the bounty. While Munny insists, "I ain't like that no more," he needs the bounty money for his children, and the two men convince Munny's clean-living comrade Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) to join them in righting a wrong done to a woman. Little Bill (Oscar-winner Gene Hackman), however, has no intention of letting any bounty hunters impinge on his iron-clad authority. When pompous gunman English Bob (Richard Harris) arrives in Big Whiskey with pulp biographer W.W. Beauchamp (Saul Rubinek) in tow, Little Bill beats Bob senseless and promises to tell Beauchamp the real story about violent frontier life and justice. But when Munny, the true unwritten legend, comes to town, everyone soon learns a harsh lesson about the price of vindictive bloodshed and the malleability of ideas like "justice." "I don't deserve this," pleads Little Bill. "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it," growls Munny, simultaneously summing up the insanity of western violence and the legacy of Eastwood's Man With No Name. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Id: 10901477

Do you want to see this movie?

My Friends Said...


Register or sign-in to see your friends' reviews !

Recent Reviews


  • fb1664868775
    March 29, 2012
    fb1664868775
    One of the best westerns of all time. Hands down.
  • December 29, 2011
    An ex-gunslinger comes out of retirement to collect the bounty on a pair of cowpokes who disfigured a young prostitute. Clint Eastwood directs and stars in a deconstruction of the myth of the old west that examines the kind of man who would exist in a society which provides mean ... read moredrunks and arrogant, prideful boys with lethal weapons. Saul Rubinek's author of the romanticized versions of the stories provides the eyes through which the myths are dispelled as Gene Hackman reveals the truth behind them. But even Little Bill, himself little more than a brutal thug with delusions of grandeur, revels in his own exploits and it is only Eastwood's reformed killer who shows any shame or wish for redemption for his past actions. In the hostile environment of the American west it is not the most noble or even brave who thrive, but the most cold-blooded and the abilities of a gunslinger could be measured by something as arbitrary as the standard of his eyesight. Also containing comments on the gleeful pleasure the media glean from the violence of others and the consequences of murder, the intelligent, insightful script combines with masterful performances by some of the best actors of their generation to form one of the best westerns ever made and one of the high points of Eastwood's long career.
  • September 18, 2011
    Not that great. There was some good scenes...but overall it wasn't so good. The final scene was pretty fun (I think I've seen it before). Not Clint at his best. Didn't deserve the best picture oscar.
  • August 13, 2011
    Eastwood's rousing and resounding humble human answer to every other Western ever made: there are real consequences to violence of every kind. It"s not cool, not glorious. It's ... inhumane, violence. Inhuman. The debunking of longheld myth, movie myth, and even Eastwood's ow... read moren mythology, is a work of poetry.
  • August 4, 2011
    A classic Western! I really haven't seen too many Westerns, but this is the best one that I have ever seen. Nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, Unforgiven is a true example of a film that proved the Western could be legit again.

    The writing a... read morend cinematography are excellent here, both recieving Oscar nominations, but the thing that really sets Unforgiven apart from other Westerns I have seen is the acting. The cast is excellent here. Star and Director Clint Eastwood, again, gives a phenomenal performance as Bill Munny. Alongside Eastwood is Morgan Freeman; their chemistry was really nice, and Freeman also gives a great performance. The supporting cast was good too...Richard Harris, Jaimz Woolvett, and Frances Fisher give extremely solid performances.

    The best performance of the entire film though is Gene Hackman as the Sheriff. I think the Sheriff is one of the best villains in cinema history, and Hackman completely owned the character perfectly. He won Best Supporting Actor for his performance and it was completely deserved!

    Another thing that I really liked was the pacing. A lot of westerns are boring, usually with an exciting shoot out or two, but this one was different. The story was full of excitement and executed to perfection!

    I completely recommend this classic!
  • June 17, 2011
    Classic Western
  • May 13, 2011
    I'm a little undecided on the specific rating, being torn betweeen a 4 and a 4 1/2, so let's just call it around a B+ to an A-.

    When this film can out, it was fairly obvious that it was intended to be the western to end all westerns, the one to bring the genre to a close. That ... read moreobviously didn't happen, it did do a fantastic job at demythologizing things, and showing the consequences of violence, guilt, closure.

    It's a great film, but not without flaws. It's a bit too long, and drags in places, some of the material is a bit unnecessary, and the stuff with English Bob could have been trimmed and reworked. Also, the prologue and epilogue, I think, could have been tweaked a little.

    All that aside, this is a wonderful character study. The cast are really good, and they give some tremendous performances. Pretty much everyone shines. I really liked Frances Fisher, though. Eastwood and Hackman have a great confrontation, and Freeman just finds the right notes with his character.

    The film is violent, but not in a ridiculous, WIld Bunch kind of way. The cinematic way the violence and showdowns are handled subvert expectations, and are handled in a startingly (yet artful) way. There's a chilling aspect to the matter of fact callousness of things which really lend strength and credibility to the film's themes and thesis.

    This is some really great stuff, but not perfect. It's a little overrated, and seems dated now, but it's nevertheless a fantastic and entertaining work of art.
  • April 29, 2011
    It's spooky how good Unforgiven is, how masterful and subtle a director Eastwood can be with the right tools and right script. There is so much history and geography shimmering beneath its surface, of both nostalgia, memory, loss, redemption, authenticity. A fragile, perfectly re... read morendered coda to the death of the Western as we knew it.
  • March 30, 2011
    You have to respect Eastwood's style, but this western doesn't change the formula too much. Great performance by Hackman (obviously (Oscar win)), and some good cinematography. A brilliant Western, but is it unique? In my opinion, no. That's okay. That doesn't always mean it's a b... read moread movie, especially in this case. A good watch.
  • March 1, 2011
    One of Clint Eastwood's best, if not his best, and that's saying a lot. Fans of the western genre must watch this, and if you like your stories with moral ambiguity, than look no further. One of the last great western films and easily worth your time.

Opening This Week

Top Box Office

Upcoming Movies

New on DVD