Unforgiven could have been much better, but Clint Eastwood took some liberties that took away from what this film could have been.
First, he cast himself as the lead. His acting is so unemotional and dry when he's showing his emotional depth that it completely took me out of the movie. Honestly, I kept laughing every time he had an emotional scene. Everyone else was really great, but he was the lead, so it had a pretty big effect on the movie.
Second, his direction oozes cliches, not homages. His wide shots aren't beautiful, they are just wide. His choice is of lighting smacks you in the face with its evil vs evil theme. There's just no subtlety in any of his themes, which leads to my next point.
The pacing of the first two acts is way off. We all know the third act is going to happen exactly as we think it will. So when it does, it's cathartic, and fun to watch. However, the hints about the third act stretch on for way too long in the first 2 thirds of the movie.
The story is great, but Clint Eastwood's heavy-handed approach turns a great movie into a good one.
1 / 2 directing, technical aspect
2 / 2 story
1 / 1 acting
0 / 1 pacing
1 / 1 dialogue
1 / 1 living up to its genre
1 / 1 originality
0 / 1 lasting ability to make you think
-1 / 0 miscellaneous +/- point (for Clint's acting)
6 / 10
I saw this film when it came out in the theater but hadn't seen it since then. I gave it another look and it was just as good as I remember it, maybe better. I think it meant a little bit more now than it did then because I had become such a big fan of his work with Sergio Leone. In a sense he was putting that character to bed and he did so without glorifying him. I think those that criticized Eastwood's cold and emotionless portrayal of the main character missed the what Eastwood was going for.
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One of the greatest Westerns ever made? Certainly. Although the fact it's a western is really secondary. In truth it's a tale of the nature of evil and the nature of man. Eastwood uses the gap between the western myth and reality as an arena to play out his story and does so with consummate style.
Quite good, I think this looks great and the acting/characters are impressive and interesting. The story at the heart of it is maybe a bit basic for my liking, I would’ve preferred a more complex, layered conflict. Despite that, they managed to squeeze a good amount of subtext into it. It’s not the masterpiece it’s made out to be, but there are a lot of fantastic scenes here, and it’s certainly an effective mood piece.
7.5/10
It's good!
I have to say I'm a little surprised to see just how highly regarded this is, given I had - somehow, evidently - never even heard of it until scheduling this Clint Eastwood watchathon of mine - all of the latter's other well received I had/have heard of, but not this. I don't check reviews etc. until after I view films and my jaw kinda dropped when I saw the 4.1 average rating, I won't lie.
That makes it sound like I think 'Unforgiven' is bad, which I absolutely, most definitely do not. I honestly just found it to be a solid but unspectacular western flick from 1992. I really enjoy Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman as actors and they are all good value in this. There is also some neat cinematography, while the production is well paced.
Happy for all involved that this did do bits with awards et al., even if it is a tad unexpected for me - what do I know!
"It don't seem real... how he ain't gonna never breathe again, ever... how he's dead. And the other one too. All on account of pulling a trigger."
Unforgiven is the essential Clint Eastwood movie right? If you had to pick one it would be Unforgiven to describe his career. It is: A) a Western, B) he starred in it and C) he directed it.
I think Clint Eastwood is one of the best Actor/Directors of all time. One that is great in either role and nothing is better then Clint Eastwood in a Western. Here in Unforgiven he is accompanied by legends Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman. 3 Iconic actors in one movie. We even get Richard Harris as English Bob!
The movie is dark, never a bright moment in sight. The Whore-slashings are brutal. The way Little Bill (Hackman) runs his town alongside his crew is horrible.
Unforgiven flows along beautifully, looks amazing and the story is very strong. The action is solid and I love the final 15 minutes. Never a dull moment and the action is top notch. Unforgiven is a movie you can't miss out on and a must watch for everyone here over at Trakt!
Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman play two retired wild west bounty hunters, back in their saddles to chase one last payday after decades of silence. Agonizingly slow, its two leads take their sweet time collecting their belongings, mounting their horses and trotting at a leisurely pace across state lines, sharing less than a few sentences along the way. We gather that Eastwood was a shady character in his day, reformed by the love of a deceased wife, but he seems more like a caged animal than a redeemed spirit and we're never given much reason to pull for him despite the presumed change of heart. Though his beloved bride's spirit lives on in the couple's two young children, he barely acknowledges their presence before leaving them on their own for a month to randomly track down a new quarry.
Freeman tries to drag some character development out of him on the trail, but Eastwood holds onto it with an icy grip and piercing eyes, and there we sit for the rest of the picture. Gene Hackman is noteworthy for his portrayal of a smarmy, cocky town sheriff with a chip on his shoulder, but on every other count this is a western that misfires with each squeeze of the trigger.
Despite a few beautiful panoramas, the world feels stiflingly tight and compressed. Outside of Hackman, there's no fire and passion in the cast, even when Eastwood turns the page and transgresses to his wilder young persona. Finally, the atmosphere, crucial to all films of the genre, feels clean and polished where it should be gritty and dirty. Much as I would have loved to see Clint don that familiar parka and revisit the days of his Sergio Leon sunrise, it's just not happening here.
One of the best westerns. Beautifully shot. Clint Eastwood is just the perfect cowboy. Gene Hackman is fantastic too.
Despite the stellar cast this is not as good as Clint's other westerns.
Not a bad movie, but I really don’t like Westerns. It’s just something about them. I can’t help it. Sorry.
Twilight western and masterpiece of an entire film career.
boring movie with trite cliches. Eastwood at his worst.
I really wanted to be blown away by this one; it had been so many years since I'd first watched this one I had forgotten pretty much everything about it. So when I watched it again, I was really expecting - and hoping - to be completely floored. I mean, Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman....How can you go wrong? In spite of all the naysayers and haters, it wasn't Eastwood's direction or the so-called "cliches" (whatever that comment is supposed to mean? :rolling_eyes: ) that took the shine off for me; rather, it was the 2 hours of plodding story all crammed into one very-expected 10-minute conclusion. I remember gearing up for what I knew would be the "big scene" and literally thinking "What's going to happen after this? There's still a lot of movie left..." Sadly, I was mistaken: there WAS nothing left, and the "big scene" just happened, and then...roll credits. Huh? That's it? That's all there was?!! I had just sat through 2 hours of slow-moving old cowboys with a rambling dialogue and a tough-guy-wanna-be kid who, in spite of his blustering bravado, you knew had never pulled a trigger... And then poof! it all vanished in the final 10 minutes. The scenery was gorgeous, the storyline was good (but soooooooooo slow), and the acting was superb (to be expected), but dang if they didn't ruin it all by jamming EVERYTHING into the last couple minutes. I really wanted to love this Clint Eastwood classic western but I feel like it just fell flat with that abrupt ending. Sorry, Clint... I love you, pal, but this one just fell short.
“It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man.” From Clint Eastwood comes the gritty Academy Award winning western Unforgiven. After a group of prostitutes put out a bounty on a pair of cowboys who cut-up one of them, an eager young gunslinger seeks out a notorious outlaw named William Munny to team up with in order to kill the cowboys and collect on the reward. In addition to directing, Eastwood leads the cast and gives and excellent performance. And, co-stars Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman are incredibly good as well. The set designs and costumes are especially well-done, and give an authentic feel to the film. The violence also feels remarkably realistic, particularly the extraordinarily thrilling climatic shootout. A well-crafted and compelling revenge film, Unforgiven delivers a daring and provocative vision of the Old West.
Unforgiven
Gene played a convincing despicable antagonist.
Delilah was the only character that I could care about.
Questionable motivations, seemingly pointless characters, poor pacing and some cringy dialogue really mar the experience of this film.
6/10
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Wild hair late night re-watch. An old favorite.
One of Eastwood's best. Giddy up.
This will make you think twice of dreaming to be a cowboy in the old days...
Shout by Ninja PoonBlockedParent2017-11-09T08:40:24Z
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