Recent Reviews for Unforgiven
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MCT:July 22, 2008Since I started reviewing movies on March 16 with Citizen Kane I've only seen one movie newer than this - Schindler's List on March 28 and that's only a year newer.
As for this one, it's a western directed and produced by Clint Eastwood who is also the star. The only other western I've seen, A Fistful of Dollars also stars Eastwood and was directed by the legendary western director Sergio Leone. This movie tells the story of a prostitute who is assaulted by two men and she and her fellow prostitutes hire some assassins (Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Jaimz Woolvett) to kill the two men. The plot isn't all that complex but it's still pretty good once it gets going. There were a couple points that I didn't like early on namely Eastwood leaving his 2 kids at home by themselves who couldn't have been more than about 12 and 8 and the fact that Eastwood decided to go to begin with after having reformed himself and not killed anyone in 11 years. The first half drags at times, but the latter half is pretty dramatic and exciting.
In addition to the aforementioned actors, the film has Gene Hackman in a supporting role. He won best supporting actor and when he was on screen I guess he was good. The other actors aren't bad either although this film, like most westerns, isn't really dialogue-oriented and instead has a lot of action sequences and little profound dialogue so it's kind of hard to say much about the acting.
On a more significant level, the film deals with morality and the ugly aspects of the Old West. While it does glamorize killing people two an extent, some of the characters (I won't say whom) realize that killing people isn't as glorious as they once thought it was which leads to some interesting events. The film is also a eulogy in a sense to the western genre as there have been very few well-received westerns made since this film was released. While westerns were once perhaps the most popular genre of both film and television, that is no longer even close to being true.
While this wasn't great, it was rather enjoyable and serves as a fitting end to westerns. This won best picture although I didn't really get the sense that this was a best picture type of film but that's probably because I don't associate westerns with winning that particular award. The only other western I'm aware of that won best picture is Cimarron in 1931 and possibly Dances With Wolves if it counts as a western. This is worth seeing for fans of western films although I would venture that the earlier western films are better than this.
77/100
C+
UP NEXT: Enough with the new movies, time for a Gloria Swanson silent film, Sadie Thompson. -
MCT:July 19, 2008It's a great western movie.
Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman were great!! and it's very well directed by Clint Eastwood plus this movie contain heck of a good quotes! -
MCT:July 13, 2008Are all of Clint Eastwood's movies this lame?
I have really gotten into cowboy flicks lately. I thought I would give this one a try. What a stinker! Weak plot, weak dialogue, weak acting.
Bummer. -
MCT:July 7, 2008
Watched this ages and just forgot about it till now.
Awesome Clint Eastwood film!......the plot,actors,cast etc all blended well together.One of Clints best -
MCT:July 6, 2008An old cowboy, Clint Eastwood, must settle his last debt to a town in this gritty cowboy story. Great flick.
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MCT:July 3, 2008want to see this because it won best picture at the oscars, best picture with the NSFC, and best picture with the LAFC
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MCT:June 30, 2008
It's terrific to see the western genre back, especially with such style and class. Clint Eastwood hits the nail on the head with this cinematic masterpiece! The entire cast does a magnificent job. I congratulate Mr. Eastwood on making another terrific film.
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MCT:June 29, 2008One of Eastwood's best movies, and probably his best western. Good story, complex characters. There really are no heroes or villains in this movie. You could probably find a way to relate to the thinking of just about every character in this movie. What you have is Eastwood as the protagonist, and antagonist Gene Hackman as the hard-nosed sherriff, who is probably more morally right than Eastwood's "reformed" killer character. Eastwood and Hackman put in amazing performances, with great performances also by Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris.
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MCT:June 28, 2008Good film. Very well directed by Clint Eastwood. I havent seen many Clint Eastwood films but I think his best one is Million Dollar Baby. I like him as a director but not really as an actor (but he did an excellent performance in this film). Good action and great performances from Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. Gene Hackman deserved his oscar for this film. I am not sure whether this film deserved Best Picture of the year.
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MCT:June 27, 2008
This western film didn't really appeal to me simply because i rather not watch this genre but still the unraveling of the story was interesting to follow. Clint Eastwood to me doesn't fetch as a sympathetic lead character. Morgan freeman however is terrific as usual.
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MCT:June 27, 2008
Clint Eastwood does a good job here, he plays himself as the tough guy but now more worn down. It does put more realism in this film
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MCT:June 25, 2008
Brilliant western, the Oscars say it all really. Many of Clint's more storied and vaunted contemporaries still can't boast an Oscar.
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MCT:June 17, 2008
"Unforgiven" is your atypical western. To start, it is very bloody and deals with issues such as prostitution. From a film standpoint, it isn't predictable, nor is it cliched. On top of this, the plot is smart and the cinematography is brilliant. The cast also carries the film out in a manner that keeps each character distinct in their ways, while carrying the film on with out creating a snore. In other words, it is a well-balanced mix of drama and western. Of course, like all movies, it has its flaws, though they are not too noticable. It is close to perfect, but not quite there.
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MCT:June 11, 2008
Well ... being that Clint Eastwood is up in age now, I could not expect him to play his "Rowdy Yates" or "Hang Em' High" role, but I must give him credit for mixing a little "Harry Callahan" in with this role as an assassin who comes off of a soul searching period of eleven years of grieving a lost wife, sober living and gun use, too shoot up damn near the whole town's law enforcement to avenge his partner's (Morgan Freeman) wrongful killing at the hands of Lil' Bill (Gene Hackman). I enjoyed it and think Clint deserves an Oscar performance for the role he played in this vintage Western. Memorable quotes:
Little Bill Daggett: You just shot an unarmed man.
Bill Munny: He should have armed himself if he's gonna decorate his saloon with my friend. -
MCT:June 6, 2008
Contemplating brilliance, Eastwood is one of the finest ever, without ever seeming to be, quite an accomplishment.
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MCT:June 6, 2008I'm not a racist, but i'm not interested in a western with a black cowboy, a blind cowboy and a cowboy who lost his aim.
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MCT:May 30, 2008
I think the thing which best defines Eastwood's westerns is the fact that his heroes aren't the typical noble white hat wearing heroes, but rather they're self promoting rogues who the audience grows to sympathize with simply because his enemies are even more objectionable. This is a prime example. In Unforgiven, he plays a hired killer (normally a bad guy) who's out to fill one last contract by killing a rape gang and a tyrannical sheriff.
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MCT:May 27, 2008
A good western no doubt but i have seen better ones. Unforgiven lacks that spark that westerns have and its just too bland till the very climax when it explodes as one may have expected. Eastwood thought here shows why he is still the man when it comes to westerns and Hackman was tremendous too.
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MCT:May 17, 2008
There aren't words, really...just...fantastic.
It's noir-ish moral ambiguity and atmosphere make for an absolute masterpiece...2 thumbs, way, way up!!! -
MCT:May 13, 2008
A dark, hard-boiled, profoundly honest re-imagining of the western genre as well as a brilliant meditation on the brutality and everlasting quality of violence. Moving, disturbing, and deeply poetic.
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MCT:May 12, 2008
Clint Eastwood's last western to date and the best of the westerns he made.
This one involves a man called William Munny (Eastwood) coming out of retirement to go back to gunslinging one last time.
Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Richard Harris also star. -
MCT:May 12, 2008
A triumph. A great film. A masterful piece of work. It's brilliant, epic, teriffic, powerful, grippping, excellent and sometimes effective. Astonishing and breathtaking. I dont think I've seen a picture of this rare calibur before. Gene Hackman gives a raw, powerful and brutally charming performance. Clint Eastwood is extroadinary. Some of his finest work as a director and as an actor. Morgan Freeman is teriffic. One of the best westerns ever made. An unforgettable instant classic in the genre. It shows the beauty of the west and the darkness that roams in the hearts of men of which violence has corrupted their souls. Riveting, dramatic, compelling and memerising. It seperates from the original formula of the gun slinger western into a quest of redemption.
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MCT:May 5, 2008
Clint Eastwood's 'Unforgiven' is a Western about atmosphere, not action. Like Kevin Costner with 'Dances with Wolves', Eastwood revitalises the genre by subverting convention, and focusing on reality rather than idealistic escapism, making this film all the more powerful. William Munny is a long-retired gunslinger, but the offer of a $1000 reward for the death of two cowboys who brutally attacked and permanently scarred a young prostitute leads him and his old pal (Morgan Freeman) back on an old path. Eastwood seamlessly weaves the moments of quiet humanity, where conversation and friendship acknowledge the moral ambiguities of gunplay, with scenes drenched in ominous tension between the corrupt sherriff - played by a menacingly brilliant Gene Hackman - and those who dare to cross him. On top of all this a light layer of effective humour is overlaid, ensuring things never become too grim; the film steps the boundaries of moral darkness, and Eastwood has crafted an intelligent and unsettling picture. He creates a film about the end of the old West just as the cinematic one too, filters away, where over-long action sequences, chases through the desert and glorified killing was the idealised way. Freeman, Richard Harris and Frances Fisher all add fine support to the proceedings, and the film has a true authentic feel thanks to the high-quality production values. The cinematography too, captures the traditionalist look of the western with great precision, Eastwood still paying subtle homage through use of iconography. 'Unforgiven' has a hero with a past of crime and evil, one who can't mount his horse for clumsiness, one who fears what he is capable of, and truly loves his wife and new-found path of family. To see him revert back to his ways is therefore all the more startling, Eastwood proving he is as capable an actor as a director; the final scene has a slow, burning pain, and we witness the true effects of killing a fellow human; scars that are etched far into the depths of the mind and soul.
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MCT:May 1, 2008
I thought it was visually impressive but i think i falls short of being the masterpiece that its supposed to be
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MCT:April 29, 2008
"It's a hell of a thing, killin' a man. Take away all he's got, and all he's ever gonna have."
Unforgiven could be the greatest western film in the history of cinema. Clint Eastwood proves an able director for this stunning film, and shows that he has learnt much from starring in spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone.
Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman play William Munny and Ned Logan; two retired gunslingers who live tranquil lives. After a group of cowboys horribly disfigure a prostitute, a bounty is put on their head. Eastwood and Freeman answer the call, hoping to put an end to their gunslinging after picking up the sizable reward of $1,000.
As the two ride across colonial America with the help of a young wannabe cowboy (Woolvett), the sheriff of the town of Big Whiskey, Little Bill (Hackman), is doing everything he can to discourage bounty hunters as an act of social prejudice.
For its whole running time, the film is absolutely remarkable. Eastwood's sublime direction allows us to get to know each central character; as there are no good guys or bad guys here, this was a pivotal part of the movie.
Eastwood also acted tremendously well here, and displays major depth in his role as an old gunslinger. Morgan Freeman was never an actor one would expect to see in a western, but he pulls it off incredibly well. Gene Hackman, as the sadistic sheriff, was also just exceptional.
Of course the movie is primarily dialogue driven so people looking for action will find precious little, unfortunately. But Unforgiven is a character western that focuses on the drama. And when we do get to some action in the last 15 minutes or so, it's gritty and brutal. Not so much the violence displayed, but the brutality of the characters.
The film contains a very simple plot, granted, but it's not what is on the surface that actually matters here. On the surface it would seem like a dull journey into the old west, but underneath there's plenty of hidden layers and meanings told with the well-developed characters and gorgeous scenery.
Overall, Unforgiven marks the only time that Hollywood actually got a western right; in a money-orientated system, this movie shows us that something truly beautiful can come out of it. It's not concerned with the action or the blood, but rather with developing the characters and showing that there's more to a western than just the action. It's not a spaghetti western and it's not the work of Sergio Leone, but it's an utterly sublime movie. Highly recommended.
