Unforgiven (1992): Directed by Clint Eastwood

Unforgiven has been described in some circles as an “anti-western,” but I’ve never found this to be accurate. It’s as much a western as Stagecoach or A Fist Full of Dollars; it just refuses to glorify the cowboy like those films do. Who ever stated a western can’t deal with philosophical issues?

This film dispels the myth of the glory of the cowboy. It forces the audience to contemplate the Wild West and just how wild and dangerous it really was to all. Will Munny is a man trying to live life correctly after committing some atrocious crimes, but by the film’s end finds his wickedness is ingrained and will never leave him.

Eastwood’s direction is perfect. The exteriors are full of beautiful bright landscapes, yet the interiors are practically shot to look like film noir. His use of sound—from the soft and gentle score to the sounds of thunder—provoke the proper emotion from the viewer at any given moment.

For example, the narrative infers that in his wild days Will killed not only a bunch of men, but women and children as well. Most directors would have chosen to include a flashback of such atrocities, but Eastwood makes the audience work for the visual and instead leaves it to our imaginations. He opts not to take the fail-safe and rely on visual exposition of what his character has done.

Yet his direction is matched pound for pound by his performance. He runs a gamut of emotions. As we meet him, he’s a pathetic old farmer who relies on his young children to do the bulk of the work. By the film’s end, he’s returned to the cold-blooded killer he was as a younger man.

I find Unforgiven to be a great western because besides containing all the traits of a western, it also makes the viewer think about how brutal it is for a man to take another person’s life. It’s as much a character study and social commentary as it is western, and it’s orchestrated masterfully from all three angles.

“It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.”

Past Movies of the Week:

#1: Gladiator
#2: The Passion of the Christ
#3: Cool Hand Luke
#4: Fight Club
#5: American Beauty
#6: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
#7: Goodfellas
#8: Boogie Nights
#9: American Psycho
#10: Dr. Strangelove
#11: Dog Day Afternoon

one of my favorite movies.

i doubt eastwood has ever been more bad ass than when he comes to town in the rain after hearing about morgan freeman's character's fate.

great story, great acting, great scenery.

excellent choice.

it's better than the wild bunch, that's f' sh'

"Yeah"

Actually, I'd have to say that this is certainly an anti-western, as is A Fistful of Dollars. Typical westerns are rousing action-y films full of shoot-outs and desert landscapes in which the good guys almost always win and violence tends to be glorified. Unforgiven is anything but. It's morally ambiguous, violence is anything but glorified, and there's even a shot or two of snowy weather. I don't love this film, but it's definitely a good one.

I remember having a very positive reaction to this when it first came out, but I had a chance to watch it again maybe a year or so ago and it hadn't held up as well as I remembered.

I hate to say this, but while I appreciate the film's tendency to not go crazy with the stereotypical gunfights and showdowns at high noon, I think it could've used one or two to pick up the pace a bit.

That would have completely contradicted the tone of the film, though.

It's alright, didn't really live up to the hype.

I'm not saying it needed a huge gun battle that featured guys falling off roofs and getting their heads dunked in water troughs, but most of the movie barely generates a pulse.

I'm not saying it's bad, by any means, and I think it was worthy of Best Picture. It's just that I'd have to be on my fifth cup of coffee and snorting pixie sticks to make sure I stay awake through it at the end of a long day.

That's kind of the point, though. It doesn't try to be exciting.

See, I don't think that makes it an "anti"-western. It's not your standard western, but a western it still is. High Noon isn't the type of western you described Jordan, but it's considered one of the genre's greatest films.

Well of course it's a western, anti-westerns are still westerns. But there's far too much existentialism and contemplation going on in this movie for it not to be an anti-western.

I'm not a fan of Westerns but this movie is great anyway. I think it's by far Eastwood's best performance since his Dirty Harry days and Gene Hackman is top notch as always. This is one of those movies that i have to leave on if i'm flipping around. The last 15 minutes is classic cinema. I'm amazed when i hear that people have never seen this film. It's timeless

Great, great, great movie! I just love it! It is among Once Upon a Time and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly as the best western ever made.

Great movie. It does tend to wallow, but that is partly what makes it a good film.

9/10

This in in my top 5 movies. I love the way Clint Eastwod's character, intense and introspective, is offset by Morgan Freeman's, a little lighter with a hint of comic relief.

The filmography, sound and overall feeling of emoton and power in this film makes it Oscar worthy in every sense.

Duck I says.

Eastwood in that final scene is amazing. I feel like instead of showcasing the flashy side of westerns, with the big gun fights, it shows the more brutal side of things. One of the more realistic westerns out there. Great performances all around.

Damn I havent seen this movie in years. It was so good.

Methodically paced, beautiful to look at, and an underlying moral ambiguity in which it makes it hard to fully despise or to fully praise a character.

A simplistic story that says profound things.

The whole movie is filled with one liners I love, but one for me is very simple and straight forward and it comes from Little Bill Dagget (Gene Hackman),

"...build my porch...have my coffee, smoke my pipe, and watch the sunset."

I want to build my porch someday. Jesus, I'm only 23.