Rating: 
Summary: Brother-sister romance? Yuck!
Review: "The Unforgiven" is a relatively forgotten western despite having a cast that included Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy, and Lillian Gish and being directed by John Huston. One would think with that cast and director a classic could have been made. However, "The Unforgiven" is nothing special and some elements of it are just awful. It has probably one of the cheesiest soundtracks ever done for a western. Also, whoever was responsible for that tacked on romantic subplot involving two of the main characters should be locked up as a degenerate.These two characters have spent their entire lives thinking of each other as brother and sister. Yet the day after they discover they're not really related they propose marriage and start giving each other passionate kisses. Am I the only one who thought that was little bit on the disgusting side? I know women were scarce back in the Old West, but the idea that someone can instantly turn what had been sibling love into romantic love is beyond weird. Some parts of this movie are quite well done, especially its actions scenes, but the annoying score and the gross-out romance really ruined the movie for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Audrey Hepburn's western!
Review: A pretty standard western despite its great cast and first rate director. It is worth noting for the unusual presence of Audrey Hepburn as its female lead. Hepburn plays an Indian girl raised by a white family which includes two brothers played by Burt Lancaster and, WWII hero, Audie Murphy in one of his better film roles. Out of fear that their white community would reject this Indian girl, her adoptive parents have kept the secret of her true orgin from the community, her brothers, and the girl herself. Of course, trouble occurs when Audrey's true identity is revealed. Murphy, playing the hot-headed, Indian hating brother, rejects her. Lancaster, playing the resolute older brother, stands by her as family. Also Hepburn's real Indian family discover her location, and threaten to take her back by force unless she is returned. By today's standards this film is not politically correct especially for the fact of the Dutch-Irish-English Hepburn playing an American Indian. Yet it does try to address the issues of racism and intolerance, although maybe with not as deft a touch as modern audiences are use to. A decent western; but not a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Big Truck!
Review: Alright, I've seen just about ever Audrey Hepbuen movie, Except the Montey Carlo Baby and stuff like that. I figured this would be one of those movies I would just see because Audrey Hepburn is ..... hot, and only like it Because shes in it when really the movie is kinda ....... (The Nun Story, I mean what is that?) So anyway, I did just see this movie becuase Audrey Hepburn was in it, but it was actully a pretty decent movie. interesting story, not to slow, you know. it could have been better with a fight club type soundtrak, but oh well. coal chamber really fits this movie, a must buy type flick. yes
Rating:
Summary: For all God-fearing white Christians
Review: Audrey Hepburn is a beautiful sleek-haired Injun girl raised by a white family. Only her mother knows her true origins, the rest believe her to be white. When the truth comes out, her Injun brethren seek to reclaim her, and the white community want to give her to them. Only her family stand by her.
The Injuns come, flying a peace flag. Audrey says she wants to go to them, 'my people'. So Burt Lancaster shoots one of them.As Audrey points out, there is now no option but war.
The Injuns attack. Their strategy is to ride round and round in a big circle waiting to get shot. Audrey, at first, refuses to shoot her own people, but ultimately she has no choice. She seems to be in some pain.
During an interlude in the battle, Burt, (her non-blood brother, kisses Audrey, long and hard on the lips. There were hints at a sexual attraction between Audrey and Burt Lancaster (her white brother) at the beginning of the film, but it seems that only after he knows the truth, does his desire rise into consciousness. Then, Audrey's blood brother enters the house, unarmed and walking towards her, so Audrey shoots him. The Injuns are defeated, all fifty of them, wiped out by two brothers, an old woman, and Audrey Hepburn, all because of Burt's lust for the dark-skinned beauty. On the other hand, the Injuns' tactics were somewhat foolish, so perhaps they are to blame for their own defeat.
A flock of birds fly across a clear sky as the family emerge from their house, at peace after their victory. I've always had a problem with westerns because of the genocidal aspect to the genre, butit was only after the credits that I realised this was supposed to be an anti-racist film. The three stars are because I enjoyed it. Great acting and dialogue, interesting camerawork. But Hollywood is a very strange place. As the Injuns used to say (before they were shot), 'White man speak with forked tongue'.
Rating: 
Summary: IT WAS GREAT
Review: Even though it is hard to believe that a girl from Europe can play a pioneer/Indian, Audrey Hepburn is fairly fabulous in this movie. The story is: a girl that has been adopted is now suspected of being of Indian blood. There are several surprises in this movie and beware of the Indian attack seen. The whole cast is very good and if you like Miss Hepburn, you will love this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Underrated Classic
Review: I've always wondered why this film is never spoken in the same breath with "Shane" or "The Searchers". "Great" Westerns are usually described as being epic in scale, but "The Unforgiven" has an authentic feel to it. From the dusty look everything has, to the sod hut the family lives in, to the realistic period dress, this movie has a look that is unlike any other I have seen. The DVD has the best print and sound I have seen and heard since the film was released in 1960, with sharper definition and bolder colors than before (obviously better than the VHS tape). Some viewers may find tiny faults here and there, but overall this film needs to be viewed by any lover of Western movies.
Rating:
Summary: NO, NOT 'UNFORGIVEN.'
Review: NO I DIDNT SAY 'UNFORGIVEN' THE WHINING ANTI-WESTERN, BUT 'THE UNFORGIVEN' THE REAL DEAL WITH BURT LANCASTER AND AUDREY HEPBURN. HEPBURN DOESNT REALLY SELL US ON HER 'INJUN' ROOTS. SHE SOUNDS TOO MUCH LIKE A CLASSICAL ACTRESS WITH 'TOO CORRECT' SPEECH PATTERNS, BUT OTHER THAN THAT THIS IS A GOOD CONIENTIOUS FILM. DIRECTED BY CRUSTY JOHN HUSTON DOWN MEXICO WAY 'THE UNFORGIVEN' HAS A GENUINE, EARTHY FEEL TO IT. THIS STORY OPENS A LOT OF CONTREVERSIAL DOORS AND WAS AHEAD OF ITS TIME FOR 1960. IT DELVES INTO BIGOTRY, FAMILY HATRED AND EVEN HINTS AT INCEST. LANCASTER WAS BIGGER THAN LIFE AND THE PIECE HAS AN EXCELLENT, MOODY SOUNDTRACK. WATCH AUDIE MURPHY CLOSE. EVERYONE HAD THE WAR HERO PEGGED AS A SECOND RATE 'B' ACTOR. BUT UNDER THE BOLD DIRECTION OF HUSTON MURPHY IS ACTUALLY THE STANDOUT IN THIS SHOW. HE SPORTS A MUSTASHE AND TURNS IN A HECK OF A PERFORMANCE AS THE BROODING, INDIAN HATING, LITTLE BROTHER 'CASH.' THIS FILM HAS BEEN UNDER WATCHED AND UNDER RATED. IT IS A 'CRACKER JACK' OF A WESTERN THAT ACTUALLY BREAKS OUT OF THE MOLD. AND IT IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE OTHER FILM WITH A SIMILLIAR NAME.
Rating:
Summary: Forbidden blood, forbidden love
Review: Tempers reach a fever pitch and a post-Civil War Texas community threatens to explode when people begin to suspect the adopted daughter of a respected family is a Kiowa Indian.
John Huston directed THE UNFORGIVEN in 1960, one of the last of the `message' westerns of that era which includes such notables as BROKEN ARROW (message = practice racial tolerance) and HIGH NOON (message = McCarthyism is bad.) I'm not a big fan of message westerns. Too often the sermon drowns out the story. As they used to say, if I want a message I'll call Western Union.
Still, Huston was one of the smartest directors around and the cast - Audrey Hepburn, Burt Lancaster, Lillian Gish, and Audie Murphy - are all first-rate.
Audrey Hepburn, the luminous Audrey Hepburn, plays the young woman was a foundling and now is the subject of an increasingly acrimonious dispute over her pedigree. Gish plays the foster mother and Lancaster and Murphy the Kiowa-hating half-brothers. Murphy a little top heavy with hate, Lancaster a little light in the keel when called on to remember the brother part. They aren't really kin, one coyly tells the other early on.
The first half of THE UNFORGIVEN is pretty interesting. There's a wild, one-eyed wraith, dressed in torn and faded Confederate gray, claiming to be the `sword of God' and warning any and all of Hepburn's true heritage. A young John Saxon plays a half-breed wrangler named Portugal who... well, rather mysteriously disappears rather early on. It has nothing to do with the plot per se, it's just that his character suddenly just isn't in the movie anymore. And that's the rub. Huston builds and maintains an intriguing story up until the last act, which is nothing more than a protracted shoot-`em-up that ends with survivors locking hands and singing Kumbaiyah. Huston usually tacks a brilliant ending onto his movies, and the one here is lame by anyone's standards. I think I know why this is so.
According to a reliable internet source THE UNFORGIVEN was attended by more than its share of misfortune leading to tragedy. Hepburn, pregnant during filming, was seriously injured in a horse riding accident between scenes. She was hospitalized, returned in a neck brace, and after the movie was completed ultimately miscarried the baby. Director John Huston blamed himself for the accident and reportedly hated this movie. Huston's disdain is, I think, apparent. How else to explain an interesting set-up followed by one of the weakest last acts he ever filmed? My guess is that somewhere along the line Huston simply lost interest in the movie, and he wrapped it up in a tried and true and uninspirited and insipid manner.
THE UNFORGIVEN is okay, not great and not always really very good. One of Huston's lesser efforts.
Rating:
Summary: Audrey Hepburn as an American Indian?
Review: This film doesn't rank as a classic or great Western in my opinion, but it's worth a look. The sets and cinematography are probably the most realistic I've ever seen in a Western: the dustiness, the sod-roofed cabin, the griminess of the actors, the plain (very plain) clothing, etc. However, I found it a bit hard to accept Audrey Hepburn portraying an American Indian (even though she is an exceptional actress, she isn't a convincing Indian). Her speech patterns differ greatly from everyone else's in the film, and when she says "ain't ya?" with her European-style speech, it made my skin crawl. She just appears anachronistic in this film; it's not Audrey's style or form. However, Charles Bickford, Lillian Gish, and Audie Murphy are all excellent in their respective roles. Burt Lancaster has seen better films, though. In addition, the chemistry was absent between he and Hepburn. She obviously had a schoolgirl-type crush on her adopted big brother, but I never felt that his supposedly romantic feelings for her were genuine. The lynching scene is effectively horrifying, as is the final scenes of mass slaughter. This is a disturbing movie, and although quite dated, it does address race relations between the pioneering whites and the American Indians (of course, all from the pioneers' point of view, which was typical of 1950s Westerns). Worth a look, but I wouldn't purchase it unless you are an intense Western fan or just want to see Audrey Hepburn in an incredibly unusual role.
Rating: 
Summary: The Unbelievable
Review: This had to be the worst film I had ever seen. I am living in Japan where Audrey Hepburn is God. It was Audrey Hepburn week on TV, all week, and I got to see "Funny Face" and "Sabrina" -- both sweet pieces of fluff which show Audrey at her fashionable, pixiesh best. In fact, when you see these films, it is hard not to fall in love with Audrey. And so, it is simply beyond my comprehension what made her decide to do this god-awful film where she, along with every other bozo in this hateful, racist, outdated, hideous piece of garbage, is encouraged to pick up a gun by her "brother" (Burt Lancaster -- and I won't spoil the "surprise") and start pickin' off "Injuns." It is simply incomprehensible the amount of bloodshed that takes place in this film and it clearly shows that when you have trailer trash material that even two Oscar winners (Lancaster and Hepburn) cannot save this piece of flotsam/jetsam. Audrey starts off talking in a sort of unschooled English, and yet, after years of trying so hard to get her English right, all she sounds like is a parrot repeating phrases from a hillbilly record. Also, there is a scene where Lillian Gish (who looks like she's trying out for "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" or "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte") is kinda/sorta braiding Audrey's fake hair. For one moment, she has this beautiful twist and you're looking at her and thinking -- gee, Audrey is so beautiful -- why in the name of God is she in this film? Please do not make the mistake of wasting two hours of your life watching a racist insult. If you are an Audrey Hepburn fan, you'll only come away from this film immediately wanting to put Sabrina back in the DVD player and wiping out any remote memory of it. All in all, a sad, pathetic ghastly excuse for a "film." Trust me, you'll be able to quote every lead-balloon leaden cliche line within moments of turning it off. Hideous.
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