Rating: 
Summary: This is an amazing film
Review: William Munny ( Clint Eastwood), is a former gunslinger who comes out of retirement for one last job. He is joined by his friend and former partner Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), and a wanna-be gunslinger named "The Schofield Kid" (Jaimz Woolvett). The three set out to Big Whiskey, Wyoming where a group of prostitutes are seeking revenge for one of their own that gets raped, and cut up extremely bad. "Little" Bill Dagget ( Gene Hackman)is the sadistic and corrupt sheriff of Big Whiskey, and is desperate to keep bounty hunters from collecting on the money that the prostitutes are offering. English Bob(Richard Harris), is a legendary gunfighter who rides into town, and is also looking to collect on the reward. English Bob just happens to be an old rival of "Little" Bill's, and Bill is looking to make an example out of him. But the real focus of the film is on Will Munny, and the conflict that he must face within himself. As the story unfolds, Munny tries to convince himself that his return to the life is just temporary. But the consequences of his actions, could last him a lifetime... "Unforgiven" is one of the finest Westerns ever made. Clint Eastwood succeeded on both sides of the camera with his role of William Munny, and his direction of the film. However, Eastwood is not the only reason for the film's success. The rest of the cast could not have done a better job. Morgan Freeman, Jaimz Woolvett, and Richard Harris all give amazing performances. However the standout performance of the film goes to Gene Hackman as the sadistic sheriff "Little Bill". It is one of the best performances of his career. The musical score is haunting as well as beautiful, and it really drives the film. The cinematography is amazing as well. Everything about the film is perfect. The film was winner of 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director - Clint Eastwood and Best Supporting Actor- Gene Hackman. I was overjoyed when the 10th Anniversary Edition DVD was released. The extras are worth the price alone. Disc 1 features a beautiful transfer of the film, as well as commentary from Eastwood and his biographer Richard Schickel. Disc 2 brings 4 outstanding documentaries which includes interviews with the entire cast, the making of the film, and a lot more. There is also an episode of the TV show "Maverick" co-starring Clint Eastwood. The movie was already a must have on its own. But now with the 10th Anniversary Special Edition, there is no way that you can afford to pass it up!
Rating:
Summary: "Unforgiven" is Unforgettable
Review: If I was forced to give one word reviews of everything else I everything else I read, see, hear or play from here on in, that is the one word I would use for Clint Eastwood's incredibly compelling western "Unforgiven." To date, it is the most story driven, theme driven and character driven film I have ever seen, western or otherwise. Beginning with an intense knife attack in a whorehouse and ending with a final, soul-wrenching showdown between Eastwood and Gene Hackman (who won an oscar for his trouble), the film never lets up on its sheer dramatic force or its provoking moral play on violence and its inevitable consequences. Clint Eastwood plays a hog farmer named William Munny, now leading a relatively normal life after decades of being a feared and remorseless bounty hunter, with his loyal partner, Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman). But Munny now is down on his luck, with the farm struggling. When a chance comes about for a $1000 bounty put up by angry prostitutes from Big Whiskey, Wyoming, Munny and Logan take up the offer, along with a green but eager fellow hunter (Jaimz Woolvett). Meanwhile, in Big Whiskey, the town sherriff, Little Bill Dagget (Hackman) has put a ruthless lid on the bounty, and beats up an old rival who comes looking for it, English Bob (Richard Harris) who by the way shoots chinese men working on the railroad for kicks and giggles. When I first learned "Unforgiven" was garnered with best picture and best director oscars, I thought it had something to do with Eastwood being the old vanguard that he is and not so much talent oriented. I could not have been more wrong. Eastwoods' direction is outstanding, building scenes of dynamic character development with the hand of a skilled craftsman. Every extra, every flat and otherwise unimportant chracter shows real, human emotion on their face, which is something I have never quite seen on screen before. Eastwoods' direction is aided by excellent, oscar-winning film editing. "Unforgiven" is a prime example of direction and editing working off each to mold scenes of true power, and give the viewer a real sense and feel for the surroundings. And the film is beautifully shot in the stunning scenery near Alberta, Canada. Filmmaking doesn't get much better than "Unforgiven," and Eastwood is far more than just Hollywoods' old vanguard.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Western Ever Made
Review: Hands down, This is Clint Eastwood's masterpiece. A movie about violence and its repercussions, and the way it has an effect on those around it. This is a real thought provoking film and it really deserves the awards it won. Clint Eastwood is astounding, and Gene Hackman is nothing short of amazing. In their roles in this film noir western, and Morgan Freeman is great as well. Not too many movies can call themselves true classics but this is one of them.
Rating:
Summary: An alluring vision of Evil.
Review: Oh, but how the dark nature of man can be. This is a movie of furious complexity and like all things complex, it is wonderfully simple. It makes one wonder; can we change? Or should we just accept what we are? There is a strong pull towards darkness here, one that is strong because it's so terrifying and so enticing. Unforgiven implies that violence will be the only path, if we don't just forgive and move on. This movie is an unabashed look at how difficult it is to be an enlightened human being, about how difficult the struggle to be good really is, about how one small and simple pull awry, can un-do years and years and years of walking along the straight and narrow path.
Rating:
Summary: As we forgive those
Review: If there's redemption in this movie, it is for the viewer! Each and every character in this film has his or her motive for doing the things that lead up to the brilliant finale. And those motives aren't forgiveness or redemption. They're self-indulgent. These motives are often explored simultaneously and work in conduction with one another. There's no virtue. Neither behind the badge nor the gun! The chain of events in this film lead to small revelations for the characters, but each of them knows that it's too late to act on them. Life and circumstance have tainted them and they can't forgive nor be forgiven! This is the straw extended to the viewer - forgiveness depends on how you forgive those... This is what makes this a great film!
Rating:
Summary: One hard movie
Review: That's how I would describe "Unforgiven" -- as hard as the title implies. It's a classic, no doubt, every bit as good as Eastwood's other great film, "The Outlaw Josey Wales," maybe a little better. It's taken me years to fully appreciate the power and accomplishment of this movie. Eastwood himself refused to make it until after he'd reached a certain age, and it takes a certain level of maturity to accept that this movie HAS NO HEROES, that it is about death and dying, that it is about a way of life that has long vanished ... a way that, in the hardboiled view of this movie, wasn't all that great to begin with. "Unforgiven" is one of the few successful films that has no sympathetic characters. Eastwood's William Munny is a criminal, a thug whose late-in-life recognition of his own dastardly deeds does not necessarily clear him of them (hence the title). His buddy, Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) is no saint either, simply too old and guilt-ridden to live the outlaw life any longer. Likewise, the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett, and whatever happened to him?) is the cowboy equivalent of a punk, a gangsta wannabe with more mouth than guts (he's the only character in the movie to experience a moral revelation). Which brings us to the "bad guy," Little Bill Daggett, played with clear-eyed hate by Gene Hackman. What a complex character. The guy just wants to build a house and watch the sunset over his coffee. He can't hammer two nails into a board. He wants law and order in his frontier town, and he'll get it if he has to beat a man to death. He's cowardly -- once he's disarmed a man and surrounded him with trigger-happy "deputies," then he lets fly with his fists -- but maybe he's just playing a dangerous game the smart way. And he is smart. Smarter than Will Munny, only not quite as lucky. Let us not forget the prostitutes who set the plot in motion. Strawberry Alice seems to desire bloody revenge far more than Delilah, the girl whose face is slashed by the cowboys. All of the women in the film are hard, brutal, deceptive, obsessed with avenging themselves of the very livelihood that pays the bounty. Not a likeable or sympathetic character in the bunch. Finally, there's English Bob (Richard Harris). Eastwood establishes that he's come to Big Whiskey for the bounty so subtly that, believe it or not, I missed it the first time I saw the movie. (Maybe it's a little too subtle -- no dialogue refers to his motivation.) English Bob gits the tar whupped out of him, but he's not a good guy, just a "living legend" whose legend has finally caught up with him. There is a journey in the movie, but it's an anti-heroic journey with only one outcome: that Will Munny will actually lose his battle with his demons and commit murder in exchange for filthy lucre. (The character's name is not a coincidence.) Not exactly a healthy outlook on the human condition. "Unforgiven" is what certain critics mean when they describe a movie as "dark," only here the description actually applies. It is dark, and it does not contain a glimmer of hope for anything or anyone. "Deserve's got nothing to do with it," Munny tells Little Bill. And yet everybody in the movie gets exactly what they deserve ... including Will Munny, who's left alone with the demons of his past. The movie is great precisely because of its pessimism; I don't know another way to put it. It is the death of the Western; it is also sad and moving, physically beautiful and vividly acted. Ten years ago, I sorta kinda felt "Unforgiven" didn't deserve the Best Picture Oscar. Now I sorta kinda feel that it's too good for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't deserve all the hype
Review: This movie is well written and well acted. It's the basic premise of the movie that's the main problem here. Garbage is garbage well acted or not. I don't feel this film asks nor answers any real questions about society, as some folks seem to think it does. It is about a man who returns-however reluctantly-to his violent past in order to feed his young children. People do that all the time! The fact that the world out there can be an ugly, confusing place shouldn't be such a novel idea. Or even an interesting one. Why that idea makes for such an "innovative" plot is beyond understanding. Are REALLY good movies gone forever?
Rating:
Summary: A Modern Classic -- The Best Western in the last 30 years
Review: Unforgiven is a modern classic and the best western in the last 30 years and perhaps one of the top five ever made. It ranks with Shane, Ford's calvary triology, Red River and The Searchers as a classic of the genre. All of Eastwood's experience in the genre, of which he is the last great star and this generation's John Wayen, comes to fruition in this beautiful realized film. It is classic in the manner of a Greek tragedy, of a man whose past has unleashed furies that cannot be ignored. If there was a higher rating than five stars, I would give it to Unforgiven. Do not miss this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Why ?
Review: I couldn't believe this won the academy awards.
I understand there is this kind of way to grasp the western,
but it doesn't deserve the awards.
Rating:
Summary: HAVENT FORGIVEN EASTWOOD
Review: I GUESS ITS ABOUT TIME I GOT AROUND TO REVIEWING THIS FILM.
I LOVE EASTWOOD AND AM ENAMORED WITH GOOD 'WESTERNS' UNFORTUNATELY THIS AINT ONE OF THEM. YES, IT IS WELL DIRECTED, WELL WRITTEN AND WELL ACTED. SO WHATS MY BEEF? IT AINT A WESTERN! WESTERNS ARE ABOUT BIG FOLKS DOING BIG THINGS. AND THE BIG FOLKS ARENT GUILT RIDDEN, WHINING RETROBATES. THIS MOVIE WHINES, AND MOANS, AND GROANS THROUGH THE FIRST HOUR AND A HALF. IF IT WASNT FOR GENE HACKMAN'S GIDDY ROLE AS THE SOUR BUT REAL AND NOT WHINING 'BIG WHISKEY' SHERIFF IT WOULD BE UNBEARABLE. (AINT IT FUNNY HOW LIBERALS PLAY REALLY GOOD CONSERVATIVES? I THINK ITS BECAUSE INSIDE EVERY LIBERAL THERE IS AN INTELLIGENT CONSERVATIVE WANTING TO GET OUT!) AT ANY RATE OUR PROTAGONIST, THE BEMOANED EASTWOOD RELUCTANTLY TRAVELS OUT ON A 'KILLING' BECAUSE HE NEEDS THE MONEY. HE IS PARTNERD WITH A FAR SIGHTED KID WHO DOESNT KNOW SHINOLA FROM YOU KNOW WHAT, AND 'NED' EASTWOOD'S COMPADRE FROM THE OLD DAYS. NEITHER NED NOR THE BOY HAVE THE STOMACH FOR THE JOB. AND THATS WHERE I HAVE MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH THIS STORY. IT HAS NO CREDIBILITY. I CAN ALREADY HEAR THE 'REBUTTALS' I KNOW THAT IS THE STORY. BUT LIKE A BLIND HOUND "THAT DOG WONT HUNT!" THE FILMS ONLY SAVING GRACE IS AT THE END WHERE EASTWOOD'S ' WILL MUNNY' FINALLY GROWS SOME GUTS AND WIPES OUT THE GUYS WHO HAVE BRUTALLY INTERROGATED AND KILLED 'NED.' THE ONLY THING UNFORGIVEN HERE, IS EASTWOOD, FOR INSULTING THE VERY GENRE THAT MADE HIM WHAT HE IS.
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