Unforgiven 133574 225122161 2008-07-12T00:04:51Z SieBot 4005189 robot Modifying: [[hr:Nepomirljivi (1992)]] :''This article is about the 1992 film. For other uses, see [[Unforgiven (disambiguation)]]. For the 1960 film, see [[The Unforgiven (1960 film)]] {{Infobox Film | name = Unforgiven | image = Unforgiven 2.jpg | caption = | director = [[Clint Eastwood]] | producer = [[Clint Eastwood]] | writer = [[David Peoples]] | starring = [[Clint Eastwood]]<br>[[Gene Hackman]]<br>[[Morgan Freeman]]<br>[[Richard Harris (actor)|Richard Harris]] | music = [[Lennie Niehaus]] | cinematography = [[Jack N. Green]] | editing = [[Joel Cox]] | distributor = [[Warner Bros.]] | released = [[August 7]], [[1992]] | runtime = 131 min | country = {{USA}} | language = [[English language|English]] | budget = | gross = $159,157,447 | preceded_by = | followed_by = | amg_id = 1:51847 | imdb_id = 0105695 }} '''''Unforgiven''''' is a [[1992]] [[Western (genre)|Western]] [[film]] directed by [[Clint Eastwood]] with screenplay by [[David Peoples|David Webb Peoples]]. The film tells the story of a retired [[gunslinger]] who takes on one more job. A Western that deals frankly with the uglier aspects of violence and the myth of the [[Old West]], it stars [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Gene Hackman]], [[Morgan Freeman]], [[Richard Harris (actor)|Richard Harris]], Jaimz Woolvett, [[Saul Rubinek]] and [[Frances Fisher]]. Eastwood dedicated the movie to former directors and mentors [[Don Siegel]] and [[Sergio Leone]]. The film won four [[Academy Awards]] including [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]] (Gene Hackman), [[Academy Award for Directing|Best Director]], [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Best Film Editing]] and [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]. ''Unforgiven'' was inducted into the [[United States National Film Registry]] in 2004. In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. ''Unforgiven'' was acknowledged as the fourth best film in the western genre.<ref>{{cite news | author = [[American Film Institute]] | title = AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres | work = ComingSoon.net | date = 2008-06-17 | url = http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46072 | accessdate= 2008-06-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title= Top Western | url = http://www.afi.com/10top10/western.html | publisher= [[American Film Institute]] |accessdate= 2008-06-18}}</ref> ==Plot== The film opens with an introductory crawl: "She was a comely young woman and not without prospects. Therefore it was heartbreaking to her mother that she would enter into marriage with [[William Munny]], a known thief and murderer, a man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition. When she died, it was not at his hands as her mother might have expected, but of smallpox. That was 1878." In [[1880]]<ref>The film title states 1880 for the attack. The rest of the movie takes place in 1881 [[President of the United States|President]] [[James A. Garfield]]'s 1881 assassination is discussed in the film, thus setting the year.</ref> [[Wyoming]], in the town of Big Whiskey, a [[cowboy]] with the aid of a fellow cowboy slashes a [[prostitute]]'s face for laughing at his small penis. The venomous local sheriff and former gunfighter, Little Bill Daggett ([[Gene Hackman]]), fines the cowboy and his friend seven ponies, payable to the prostitute's pimp and saloon owner Skinny. The other prostitutes, furious over the cowboys' lax punishments, conspire with each other to offer a $1000 reward to anyone who kills the two. Miles away in Western [[Kansas]], the Schofield Kid (Woolvett) approaches a farm owned by William Munny ([[Clint Eastwood]]) and his two children, looking for a partner to do the hit. Munny, known in his youth as an infamous gunfighter, murderer and bandit, has since retired, having forsworn his criminal ways through the influence of his late wife. After initially declining the Kid's offer to join up and split the reward money, Munny reconsiders amidst his financial troubles and recruits a former associate and neighbor, Ned Logan ([[Morgan Freeman]]), as his partner before catching up with the Schofield Kid. Back in Wyoming, English Bob ([[Richard Harris]]) and his biographer W.W. Beauchamp ([[Saul Rubinek]]) get off a train and ride into Big Whiskey. English Bob ignores the sign that prohibits the possession of firearms and blatantly lies to a deputy about the revolver he carries in plain sight. Following a quick shave, he emerges onto the barber's porch and is confronted by five armed deputies and Little Bill, who remembers Bob from his gunfighting days. After disarming the gunfighter, Little Bill ruthlessly beats him in front of the townspeople, shouting ominous warnings about pursuing the prostitute's bounty. Little Bill then ridicules and insults the jailed English Bob for the benefit of his biographer. Finally, Little Bill deports English Bob with a warning that he will kill him should he return. The humiliated English Bob shouts and curses at the entire town and the American system as he is taken to the train station in a carriage. After a long way through wet, frigid weather, Munny, Logan and the Kid enter a [[bar (establishment)|saloon]] for a drink and inquire about the reward. Feverish and sick after the long wet ride, Munny remains at a table while Logan and the Kid go upstairs to be serviced by the prostitutes. While waiting downstairs for his friends, Little Bill arrives and confronts Munny. A town ordinance prohibits guns &mdash; upon entering town that stormy night, Munny failed (or chose not) to see the warning sign posted alongside the road. Weak from his illness, Munny is in no condition to fight back as Little Bill brutally beats him in full view of the patrons. Munny manages to drag himself out of the saloon as Ned Logan and the Kid escape through a second-story window. The three partners retreat to a barn outside of town. [[Image:Unforgiven22.jpg|220px|thumb|left|''[[Clint Eastwood]]'' as William Munny]] Munny retreats and is nursed by his friends and the prostitutes, and after recovering sufficiently from his injuries, the three men ambush and kill one of the two [[cowboy]]s in a [[canyon]]. It is at that point that Logan realizes he can no longer stomach murder, and decides to head home. Munny and the Kid find the other cowboy and Munny allows the eager Kid to shoot the man in an [[outhouse]] outside the isolated cabin where he had been holed up for safety. Logan is captured and brought back to Little Bill, who beats all the information he can out of him, inadvertently killing Logan in the process. Logan's corpse is put on display in an open coffin outside the saloon as an example of frontier justice. Outside town, the Kid is shaken by the murder he has just committed and admits that it was his first kill; he renounces his planned gunfighting career. He tries to justify his guilt by claiming "Well, I guess he had it coming." "We all have it coming, Kid," returns Munny. One of the prostitutes brings the reward money to Munny and tells him of the death of Logan. This angers Munny who, breaking his vow of sobriety, drinks half a bottle of [[whisky]]. In fear of Munny's reputation, the Kid refuses his share of the loot. Munny takes the Kid's pistols and rides into town to confront the [[sheriff]], after giving the money to the Kid to deliver his and Logan's share to Logan's widow and Munny's children. That night, Munny quietly walks into the crowded Greeley's Saloon. Inside the saloon, Little Bill has assembled a [[posse (law enforcement)|posse]] to pursue Munny and the Kid. Munny demands to see the saloon's owner while holding them all at bay with a [[double barreled shotgun]]. When Skinny, the owner, identifies himself, Munny shoots him with one of the two barrels. Little Bill curses Munny, as he states that Skinny was unarmed. Munny replies, "Well, he should have armed himself if he's gonna decorate his saloon with my friend". Munny trains the other chamber of the shotgun on Little Bill, but the gun misfires and Little Bill commands the others to shoot Munny. A gun fight ensues where Munny kills three posse members outright and seriously wounds Little Bill and another deputy. Munny has a short encounter with Little Bill's erstwhile biographer, who is scared witless, yet amazed and admiring of Munny's cool dispatch of 5 armed men. Beauchamp leaves having finally, after false starts with English Bob and Little Bill, found the real western anti-hero he has sought to document in his penny [[pamphlets]]. Munny hears Little Bill cocking his pistol. Munny steps on Little Bill's hand and points Ned's rifle directly into his face. Little Bill realizes what is to follow and states, "I don't deserve this...to die like this." Munny replies, "Deserve's got nothing to do with it." Little Bill then says, "I'll see you in Hell, William Munny," to which Munny simply whispers, "Yeah", and shoots Little Bill dead. Munny heads to the door, shooting the last injured deputy without bothering to aim. After shouting threats of wanton violence through the open door to anyone who might be outside waiting for him, he leaves the saloon and rides away on a gray horse, unmolested by the frightened townspeople, who recoil in fear, glad to see him ride out (with the possible exception of the disfigured prostitute, who watches Munny leave with something approaching gratitude and/or compassion). The film ends with an epilogue that echoes its introduction: "Some years later, Mrs. Ansonia Feathers made the arduous journey to Hodgeman County, Kansas to visit the last resting place of her only daughter. William Munny had long since disappeared with the children... some said to San Francisco where it was rumored he prospered in dry goods. And there was nothing on the marker to explain to Mrs. Feathers why her only daughter had married a known thief and murderer, a man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition." ==Response== Critical response was very positive. The film makes an appearance in the [[American Film Institute]]'s [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies|100 years, 100 movies]]. In [[2005]], Time.com named it one of the 100 best movies of the last 80 years. In addition, the film is 'Certified Fresh' by rottentomatoes.com, with a 96% approval rating among reviews. Many critics acclaimed the film for its [[film noir|noir-ish]] moral ambiguity and atmosphere. [http://www.montrealfilmjournal.com/review.asp?R=R0000575] They also acclaimed it as a fitting [[eulogy]] to the western genre. It was also admitted to the [[National Film Registry]], and is one of the few westerns in the registry. ==Academy Awards== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#000000" | bgcolor="#75B5F6" | '''Award''' | bgcolor="#75B5F6" | '''Person''' |- | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Clint Eastwood]] |- | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Academy Award for Directing|Best Director]] | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Clint Eastwood]] |- | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Best Editing]] | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Joel Cox]] |- | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]] | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Gene Hackman]] |- | colspan="3" bgcolor="#F2D5A6" | '''Nominated:''' |- | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Academy Award for Best Art Direction|Best Art Direction-Set Decoration ]] | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Henry Bumstead]]<br>[[Janice Blackie-Goodine]] |- | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Clint Eastwood]] |- | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Jack N. Green]] |- | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Academy Award for Sound|Best Sound]] | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Les Fresholtz]]<br>[[Vern Poore]]<br>[[Rick Alexander]] (as Dick Alexander)<br>[[Rob Young]] |- | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] | bgcolor="#ffffff" | [[David Webb Peoples]] |} ==Allusions== ''Unforgiven'' has several allusions to earlier Westerns. The opening scene, where Eastwood stands at the grave of his dead wife, is an allusion to [[John Ford]]'s ''[[She Wore a Yellow Ribbon]]''. The character of English Bob, an assassin working for the railroad, may be a reference to the character of Frank in [[Sergio Leone]]'s ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]'', also employed by the railroad. The scene in which Hackman tells Rubinek to pick up the revolver in the jail is an allusion to ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]'', which has a similar scene in a bar, which again was itself an allusion to the film ''[[Shane (film)|Shane]]''. Rubinek then asks Eastwood how he chose the order in which to kill five men, stating that Little Bill had explained to him that an experienced gunfighter always aimed for the best shot in his opponents first, when facing multiple opponents. Eastwood responds, "Is that right? I was lucky in the order...but I've always been lucky when it comes to killing folks". This is an allusion to ''[[The Outlaw Josey Wales]]'', in which Eastwood's character instantaneously ranks his four simultaneous opponents by reading their faces in the manner of a poker player, similar to what Hackman had told Rubinek an experienced fighter should do. Finally, the scene in the jail, in which Hackman's character is discussing how the most important attribute of a gunfighter is coolness under pressure rather than speed and accuracy (noting that it is difficult to be quick and accurate when an opponent is returning fire), mirrors the backyard shooting practice scene in ''[[The Shootist]]'', in which [[John Wayne]]'s character says essentially the same thing to a young [[Ron Howard]].{{Fact|date=April 2007}} ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == {{wikiquote}} * {{imdb title|0105695|Unforgiven}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|id=1041911-unforgiven|title=Unforgiven}} * {{mojo title|id=unforgiven|title=Unforgiven}} * [http://www.filmsite.org/unfo.html ''Unforgiven''] at [[Filmsite.org]] * [http://artsandfaith.com/t100/2005/entry.php?film=91 ''Unforgiven''] at the [http://artsandfaith.com/t100/ Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films] list {{s-start}} {{s-ach|aw}} {{s-bef|before=''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Academy Award for Best Picture]]|years=[[65th Academy Awards|1992]]}} {{s-aft|after=''[[Schindler's List]]}} {{end}} {{AcademyAwardBestPicture 1981-2000}} {{Clint Eastwood}} {{Americanfilms1990s}} [[Category:1992 films]] [[Category:Films shot in Canada]] [[Category:1990s western films]] [[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe]] [[Category:Films shot anamorphically]] [[Category:Best Picture Academy Award winners]] [[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Academy Award]] [[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winning performance]] [[Category:United States National Film Registry films]] [[Category:Warner Bros. films]] [[Category:English-language films]] [[Category:Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award]] [[de:Erbarmungslos]] [[es:Unforgiven (película)]] [[eo:Unforgiven]] [[fa:نابخشوده (فیلم)]] [[fr:Impitoyable]] [[ko:용서받지 못한 자]] [[hr:Nepomirljivi (1992)]] [[id:Unforgiven]] [[it:Gli spietati]] [[he:בלתי נסלח]] [[mr:अनफरगिव्हन, चित्रपट]] [[nl:Unforgiven]] [[ja:許されざる者 (1992年の映画)]] [[no:Nådeløse menn]] [[pl:Bez przebaczenia]] [[pt:Unforgiven]] [[ru:Непрощённый (фильм, 1992)]] [[simple:Unforgiven]] [[sr:Неопроштено]] [[fi:Armoton]] [[sv:De skoningslösa]] [[zh:殺無赦]]