Is this Eastwood’s best? DOLLARS Trilogy: th-cam.com/play/PLQHhQlj8i5dph8lKnVDfDPmz05NfX4SEH.html Western Reactions: th-cam.com/play/PLQHhQlj8i5doFNPAVpvMK4x_0goHHNGHs.html
No, as someone else commented The Outlaw Josey Wales is his best. High Plains Drifter is at least as good as Unforgiven, but doesn't have the big name cast.
I believe The Good, The Bad And The Ugly is Clint Eastwood's best western, but I enjoy every western Eastwood has ever made, even Back To The Future 3! :)
All Little Bill needed was to have his sense of authority challenged (because he was as shitty a lawman as he was a carpenter) and Munny just needed a bottle of whiskey to let their embedded personas out. I wouldn't call it "true" nature, but if you live with it long enough, it gets hard to adapt to different things.
Throughout the whole movie, William Muny answered every question with “Maybe” or “I suppose so” or other vague answer, until Little Bill says “I’ll see you in hell.” He responds “Yeah” bc it’s the only thing he could be sure about.
Sort of. Yes, great observation. But first Little Bill asks him, "You'd be William Munny out of Missouri, killing women and children." And Munny says, slow and deadly, "That's right!" 😊😊
I read that Eastwood bought and held onto the script for twenty years because he didn’t think he was old enough to play the part. He has vision for sure.
That’s what he said when the movie came out. I hope he clued in the writers when he bought it. That would kinda suck having Clint buy your thing and then have nothing happen with it for twenty years. I suppose money’s money, but if he optioned it rather than bought it, or whatever, then the money wouldn’t have amounted to much, would it? 🤔 Not my field at all.
@yt45204 Yeah, but did he know back in the ‘70s that Clint planned to sit on this for a while, or did he just think he bought it and changed his mind so nothing was going to happen with it? Then in 1992 or whenever, surprise! 😃 I’m not saying Clint did anything wrong if he didn’t share his plans, just wondering how it unfolded.
Eastwood wanted to show the West as it really was, the truth behind the tropes: no honorable sheriffs, no happy hookers, no spotless saloons with cheery piano music, no noble heroes facing off black-hatted villains in fair fights, the fastest draw doesn't always win. Just brutal drunken violence tinged by regret, romanticized by writers who weren't there.
The script was written by David Webb Peoples, co-author of "Blade Runner", in 1976 and was originally titled "The Cut-Whore Killings". The script was optioned by Francis Ford Coppola in 1984 and Eastwood bought the option in 1985. The film was shot in 1991, only 6 years after Eastwood picked up the option. The script was unchanged from the original, with several actors commenting that it was the first script they used that was almost entirely in white - meaning no edits.
“It’s a hell of a thing, killin’ a man. You take away all he has, and all he’s ever gonna have” that line and whole scene is soooo good gives me chills.
"The morality is all over the place in this." Exactly- that's what makes Unforgiven such a great movie in my opinion. There are no simple good guys vs. bad guys- even some of the men who were in the group that cut the woman had a change of heart and felt bad. And of course, we have a main character who has apparently committed atrocious crimes in the past but is full of remorse. Note: Jaimz Woolvett as The Shofield Kid was such a good actor who played flawlessly alongside the greats and never starred in any other big movies.
It's a post-modern western, meaning it looks at myths of the old west through a realistic modern view as to what conditions were really like. Several times there are characters that tell some past news incorrectly which shows how reality can be turned into myths incorrectly. Back when westerns were very popular with young kids, the stories were very basic white hat wearing heroes vs black hat wearing villains and real life isn't like that. Bad guys learn from life and become good like Clint and sheriffs of the law can be violent sadists like Hackman.
I saw this in the theater when it came out. A friend thought Little Bill was in the right and the "good guy" in the movie. I said he was a bully and a coward. Little Bill talks about being one way, brave and all that, but he doesn't live it. He goes after Bob and William only when he has all his men there. Notice with Bob he starts behind his men, not up front. Going after them with numbers does make sense, but then he beats the daylights out of them, and seems to like it. Then there's what he does to Ned... With the other two he might have been trying to send a message, but still. Will was at least trying to clean up his act. He did except for his hogs getting sick. If that hadn't happened, he probably would not have gone along.
@@Thane36425 Definitely one way to look at it. I personally think he is the closest thing to a “ good guy” in the story but that’s what makes this movie great is all the interpretations and discussions it inspires.
I know a lot of people love Tombstone and so do I. But for me THIS is the true classic 90's western and I think the difference is Clint in front of AND behind the camera. One of the few alive who knows how to get the tone right because he's been doing them forever. Even an anagram of his name is Old West Action
Eastwood wanted to show the West as it really was, the truth behind the tropes: no honorable sheriffs, no happy hookers, no spotless saloons with cheery piano music, no noble heroes facing off black-hatted villains in fair fights, the fastest draw doesn't always win. Just brutal drunken violence tinged by regret, romanticized by writers who weren't there.
For me it´s the realism with the language, the fear of a gunfight, draw to fast and miss and how after a beating you are out of it for a few days etc. Open Range and True Grit is on my top list.
This film is a masterpiece. Its like an anti western as far as the genre goes. Instead of all the flashy shoot outs and killing you see in normal westerns...this one focuses on the consequences and reasons of pulling the trigger. Definitely one of my favorite movies of all time and a well deserved Oscar for Best Film.
From your comments after the movie, it's obvious that you "get" it. Unforgiven is definitely a story about morality, right and wrong, overcoming past deeds, forgiving yourself -- or not. So much in this film to think about. I think it's a masterpiece. I'm one of those people who sees Unforgiven as sort of an unofficial sequel -- and ending -- to all of Eastwood's prior westerns.
Very cool outlook Jen. If you like Clint and like movies where who really is the bad guy, then you need to watch "The Outlaw Josey Wales" starring Clint. He is really good in this one and I think you will like it. Love your reaction to Unforgiven.
My and my 3 friends (16 and 17 years olds) watched this the Friday it came out on the big screen. When Clint Eastwood said "Well he should have armed himself!" The entire theatre erupted in Cheer and Laughter, 3 minutes later the entire theatre was in Contemplative Silence. A moment I will never forget. Intense as you say, and very Powerful!
Clint's masterpiece. Great reaction, as usual. You should watch Eastwood's other westerns (High Plains Drifter, Joe Kidd, Outlaw Josie Wales, Pale Rider), as well as his Dirty Harry movies.
Contains my favorite line of any movie, in response to "I guess he had it coming". Munny: "We've all got it coming Kid." He's a Hollywood legend, and the king of the western in my opinion, and this movie is his best one.
“It’s a hell of a thing killing a man. You take away all he’s got… and all he’s ever going to have.” One of the greatest lines ever. Executed perfectly. It gives me chills every time.
I always liked this quote from the movie, "Outlaw Josey Wales": “Dying ain't hard for men like you and me. It's living that's hard when all you've ever cared about has been butchered or raped.”
The two key parts to the point of this movie: (1) Do people ever really change? Or are they just the same people, behaving differently in different situations? (2) English Bob, Little Bill, and William Munny are all dangerous killers, but each has his own radically different take on killing. English Bob is focused on building his reputation. Little Bill thinks he has the whole thing down to a science. And William Munny just feels like he's always been lucky.
1) One could argue that people are how they behave. What is the difference of a saint behaving one way for altruistic reasons and someone else behaving exactly the same way for some other motivations? Do deep motivations matter if the results are exactly the same?
This movie is "said" to be Eastwood's farewell movie to his cowboy, western genre. Eastwood won the Academy Award for Best Picture & Best Director. Gene Hackman won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. I see Unforgiven as Eastwood's finale tribute to all the cowboy characters he portrayed throughout his career. Eastwood was our era's John Wayne. I enjoyed watching Unforgiven with you. I loved your reactions. Thank you, Jen!
Clint Eastwood at his very best along with a fantastic performance by gene Hackman 👌 no green screen just fantastic acting , great scenery , great music and an engaging story I love this movie cheers for reacting to it Jen 🙌 hope one day you watch pale rider too 🤞
You and I had the same theory that the narrative text at the beginning and end is actually the writing of W.W. Beauchamp, the writer character in the movie! It makes sense as he finally witnessed a "real" Western showdown instead of just hearing about it from liars and braggarts. A friend of mine knows the screenwriter, David Peoples (who also wrote or co-wrote "Blade Runner" and "12 Monkeys!",) and one night over dinner he put that theory to Peoples and said that Peoples replied "I never thought of that! But it's an interesting idea." Eastwood did hold onto it for over a decade, at one point it was called "The William Munny Killings" or, before that, "The Cut-Wh*re Killings." But this is a much grander title. Eastwood said that it summed up everything he felt about the Western genre, and he hasn't made another one since. As a director, he's famous in Hollywood for doing minimal meddling - whatever state the script was in when he comes aboard to direct, that's what he shoots. He hires people he trusts and sticks with them for decades, doesn't do unnecessary takes, and tries to finish early every day. So people love working for him.
Love all of Eastwoods movies. Not sure he ever made a really bad movie. Personally, I think " The Outlaw Josey Wales" is his best western, and hopefully you will get around to it. You should also check out "Pale Rider" and all of the Harry Callahan "Dirty Harry" movies. Such a great actor.
Hi Jen! You’re 100% right this is a morality play. Eastwood’s character is purposely a contradiction to the swaggering, macho tough guys in past Westerns. He’s shown to be nothing special when sober, but a cruel vicious killer when drunk. He doesn’t start drinking here until he finds out that Ned has been killed. Little Bill’s monologue about not necessarily being the fastest, but being the most cool headed in a life or death situation is what separates these killers from everyone else. Little Bill had that, while all his deputies were afraid. That’s why in the final scene after Little Bill is wounded, you have a drunk William Munney calmly shooting down the deputies who are panicking and can’t hit anything. That fear is also why he’s allowed to ride out of town unopposed.
'... the forebearance of reptiles'. English Bob is claiming he relies upon rattlesnakes showing restraint rather than trying to bite when he meets them.
“Hell of a thing killing a man, take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.” Pretty much sums up the movie for me at least. The Schofield kid was boasting about killing the entire movie and when he finally did it he was traumatized and revealed that that actually was his first kill while will who’s trying to leave it behind him he realized that it’s gonna follow him forever. He’ll be UNFORGIVEN for the crimes that he committed.
Was so excited to see you get to this one. The beautiful countryside where the film was shot was mostly Southern Alberta. Longview is where Big Whiskey was set up, with other filming in Brooks, High River and Calgary, while the train sequence was shot in Sonora, California.
Jen, I really enjoyed your thoughts about westerns and morality. I tend to believe that good guys and bad guys in the old West are more a creation of Hollywood than reality. I like in this film how the writer character and his simple view of gun fighters was in stark contrast to events around him. Your thoughtful analysis was, as usual, intelligent and goodhearted.
Dumbledore like the kiddies have never seen him before. Top rate cast. Not your typical movie, much less your typical western. No white hats or black hats, no fancy gunplay or rope tricks from horseback. Just folks trying to get by and live their lives, and some good, old fashioned, honest murder-for-hire. I really enjoy this one.
20:55 "Nobody's abidin by ordinance 14" 😂😂😂 This movie always gets me in the mood for playing the game Red Dead Redemption 2. Both are visually stunning. GREAT reaction 🖒🖒
When Eastwood gets the news that Ned has been killed, for what he and the kid did, the anger and guilt in his voice, and the way he just takes the bottle and starts drinking like a switch has been flipped. That’s my favorite scene. Up until then he’s been a man with a past who kept trying to convince everyone else (and maybe himself too) that he’s changed. “I ain’t like that no more.” But after Ned’s killed, he lets the mask he’s been adjusting for the whole film just fall away and lets his true nature out there for the world to see. “I’ve killed women and children. I guess I’ve killed just about everything that walks or crawls at one time or another. And I’m here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you done to Ned.”
@@headhunter1945 Same here. There’s a guy named Ash who has done what I think is the best review of this movie. Actually by far. He not only caught that, but he nailed the true meaning behind the title of the film. In all honesty, I didn’t even realize that one until I watched his review. And I saw the movie in theaters!
Jen, thanks so much. This is the kind of movie that challenges you in a good way. It tears down all the slick reliable cliches of a formula Western, but then at the end it affirms that Wild West spirit. Frances Fisher, the "sassy woman" who's the leader of the prostitutes, was Eastwood's girlfriend at the time and gave birth to his daughter Francesca Eastwood. Hackman would appear later as another villain in another Eastwood-directed movie, a murderous President in Absolute Power. This won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Picture. Damn straight it did.
Clint Eastwood is the GOAT. Such a great actor and director. This movie is definitely one of his masterpieces. Would love to see Jen react to some of his other good westerns like The Outlaw Josey Wales, and High Plains Drifter. The Dirty Harry movies are also highly entertaining.
Dear Jen; I recommend the Outlaw Joey Wales; imo just as great as this is. Btw: a good horse in 1870 cost $150 and today that’s $3373. I thought the ladies were stupid not to accept that offer
Yes!!! A Dark avenging Spirit making that town pay for their sins. I love Some of John Wayne’s movies mostly his later ones but when he called high plains drifter un American he really had no idea what this movie is about or what it was trying to say.
What a great, great film this is. It deconstructs Westerns in a stunningly insightful way, while at the same time telling a fantastic story. Can you imagine death riding out of nowhere, delivering devastation, and then disappearing back into the darkness, again? Man. Before this, my favorite Western of all time was "High Plains Drifter," and then I saw Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West," and that became my favorite. Then I saw this one. It's absolutely rich in metaphor, and filled with people who have a flawed understanding of the nature of morality and justice. I mean, Little Bill's response to a vicious assault was so ill-considered that it triggered the events of the rest of the film, and then he beats a man to almost death to set an example. To Little Bill, "justice" meant "order," even if his conception of "order" required brutal sadism. In that sense, Little Bill's terrible carpentry serves as a metaphor for his understanding of justice, and that meant the "house" he was building in Big Whiskey would never last. The outlaw gunfighters played by Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman were reflections in a dark mirror of the two-dimensional protagonists in the old Western films. The Scofield Kid represented all the fans of those old Western films who had no clue what life back then was really like. The whores, of course, represented all the women's stories from that time you never see. They had the choice to wear themselves out as wives and mothers, barely one step above chattel slavery and subjected to the whims of husbands, having child after child until their bodies gave out -- or selling those same bodies to sometimes terribly abusive men, because it was one of the few ways women in the Old West could achieve some sort of financial independence. A lot of American conceptions of the Old West are wrapped in veils of comfortable illusions about brave pioneers turning an untamed land into a great country. Some of that has truthfulness -- but that simple-mindedness ignores a lot of horribleness this film shows, unflinchingly.
Jen, for sharp, insightful and witty comments, you are the girl to watch movies with. My favorite scene is when Bill is in the bar, confident and prideful, exulting in the praise of all the beta males and suddenly we see a double barrel shotgun enter the frame. We know the real power has made his entrance.
The morality being all over the place is one of the important aspects of the movie. Everyone is unforgiven for their supposed sins whether they repent or not. Like the guilty cowboy's partner. He had nothing to do with it, and even tried to help, but he was judged and unforgiven. Ned refused to shoot him and left because he couldn't commit the deed, but was arrested and ends up dying. Unforgiven. Will is haunted by the ghosts of his past right up to the end. Unforgiven. "I don't deserve this. I was building a house." "Deserve's got nothing to do with it." Unforgiven.
There is a tabletop roleplaying game from 2002 titled "Dust Devils" that has Unforgiven as its main inspiration. Even for people that are not interested in RPGs it would be a good read, because it's very good at deconstructing what makes this movie shine. Every character in the game has a Devil, which is something very ugly about themselves - mostly likely a negative character trait - that they try very hard to suppress. It's like there is a monster hidden inside every character that wants to get out, while the character itself tries to keep it under control. The series of conflicts that the game sets up are meant to push the character into a life and death crisis where the player has to decide to let the Devil loose (usually with deadly and fearsome consequences) or to stay "human" at the potential cost of his/her character's life. That's basically what happens in the movie. Munny has changed his way of life because of his wife and tries very hard to suppress his violent and murderous nature, to the point that he keeps playing the part of the goofy farmer even if he has no talent nor interest in the job. Then events threaten to bring him back into his old habits. For most of the movie he fights his instinct, looking like a pathetic shadow of the dark legend he was suppsed to be, until the moment he learns about the death of his friend, one of the few people he still cares about in life. That's the moment he snaps and reverts to his old self, gunning down the sheriff and his men without an ounce of remorse. What makes the character scary is that at the very moment his fury is unleashed we realize that age has not impacted his ability to kill whatsoever, because it's not the quick reflexes or the perfect accuracy that made him a successfull killer, but his unforgiving nature and the will to kill a man without a second thought. This movie is probably one of the greatest Westerns of all times. I love it unconditionally, and I'm not even fond of the Western genre in general.
6:10 One of my favorite little details about this film pertains to this question. There's a line in the scene around the 21:55 mark where Eastwood says that the powders wet in his pistol when Little Bill confronts him about his gun. For the western nerds like me, this is a fun little detail that further outlines how long its been since Munny has lived that kind of life. In the early 1870s cartridge ammunition had been introduced and by 1880 it would have been what any newer gun you'd own would use. Which you can see displayed in scenes like 11:58 & 19:26. But the earlier revolvers manufactured in the 1850s and 1860s used cap and ball ammunition. In which you'd have to fill each chamber with gun powder and ball shot and pack it down. So the line about being the powder wet lets us know he's using an old pistol that's at least 10 or so years old, if not older.
People miss the reason Eastwood's character was sick was because he contracted Yellow Fever that was going around at the time. That was what they were referring to with the sick hogs at the beginning.
You got it exactly right by thinking of his characters from past Westerns when watching this. Eastwood considered this as a sort of atonement for the depiction of violence that he took part in through the Western genre and meant to show the Old West for what it was instead of how Hollywood depicted it over the years.
One of the only westerns where it shows how it really goes down , once bullets start flying by 99% of peoples first instinct is to cower and run away no matter if you have a gun or not. That fear of death and just wanting survive is no joke.
One of my favorite bits of this “reluctant anti-hero” story is that Eastwood didn’t take the cut up woman with him at the end. That would’ve been too Hollywood to me. Great movie.
Well let’s be honest, as much of a sympathetic victim as the movie made her out to be, what kind of pathetic man would actually hitch his wagon to a prostitute? There’s no way that you could spend the whole movie building up Clint’s character, then give the audience the ultimate payoff with that incredible final scene, only to say “never mind, this dude is really nothing but a total SlMP”.
I like the progression of the writer. He goes from tailing behind a glorified bag of hot air to meeting an actual hard ass SOB who tells it how it is, to meeting the real deal, a stone cold killer that nobody back East has ever heard of.
What many ppl miss about this film, is that it’s a subtle deconstruction of the American Western Outlaw archetype… especially the image of the “lone outlaw”. And from start to end, as the film progresses, the story is filled with revelations about the myths and notorious legends of the different characters-- but ultimately displaying their very real human condition and nature, that brings the audience back to reality. Eastwood, very skillfully used his own main character to illustrate the reality of being an Outlaw, apart from the American mythology that usually surrounds the greatest figures of that time and type, which go to show how these tall tales, are in fact just that--at least for the most part, based on exaggerated stories, assumed stereotypes, misconceptions, second hand experiences, or even outright lies; however, for many of these stories and the figures in them, lie a dark and twisted, often tragic tale that came from just how really brutal the Wild West was, and even more, how morally questionable, if not absent many of these great figures’ actions were, and the very real human cost paid for those very actions.
Outstanding! 💜 Clint's 2nd best film, imo. After 'Gran Torino' (2008). "Well, he should have armed himself if he's going to decorate his saloon with my friend."
Saw this one in the theater. During the showdown, only one person in the audience didn't get it and cheered. He stopped very quickly when everyone else was dead silent. From the moment William took a drink from the Kid's bottle after hearing about Ned, to the rolling of the credits .. it makes you think.
This was talked about as being Clint’s “final western,” and I always see it as almost his reply or even “apology” for some of his earlier films, where he’s the cool gunslinger, and violence is action packed and fun. While his Man with No Name is usually not some terrible person, I think Will is to show you someone known for being a gunfighter but was really just a killer. And scenes like the long, painful death for the first cowboy they shot and the second one where it’s a chaotic scene and the guy’s shot on the toilet… it’s showing what a life of violence and murder is really like. Not some quick clean bloodless shooting where the guy instantly drops dead.
The point where shes telling them about Ned being killed and he takes that bottle from the Kid is one of the most iconic moments in film history and there was zero action other than a bottle being turned up
Richard Harris is actually Irish, and probably thought it hilarious to be going on about the British Crown with such reverential zeal as English Bob. Harris was a screen star, big in the 60s, and 70s. He was nominated for two Oscars and was quite the character in real life. I was very happy to see Harris turn up in Unforgiven when it first hit theatres. I just knew Eastwood was in a new western. Hackman, Freeman, and Harris were all a huge bonus. Skinny Dubois was also played by a familiar face - Anthony James. James was the ultimate creeper/ villain playing character actor at one time. He pops up everywhere in old movies. His face is crazy awesome, and he’s a very good actor. Thanks for making videos eh.
It is a masterpiece. So many scenes can be poured over but I think that look at Ned in the coffin is my favorite. The realization of a man who is haunted by his past that the image of Ned is now been added to all the others. And we all have it coming kid might be the one best single line in all of moviedom. Mesmerizing.
Great, very serious, austere Western. My favorite western by far is *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* - it has John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart amongst others. Highly recommended! (And my two favorite modern westerns are the remakes of *True Grit* and of *3:10** To Yuma* .)
One thing you missed is that when she comes to tell them about Ned being captured he takes the bottle from the kid and starts drinking. That's when he starts becoming the killer that was.
I did too, they were on TBS/TNT all the time. I loved them and still do but they are very much Western Myth stories that glorify violence and killing for money. In “ For a few dollars more “ Clint kills every outlaw in the movie litterally loads all their bodies into a wagon to claim rewards for their dead flesh. Unforgiven is asking the question “ What kind’ve person could do that, just kill indiscriminately with no feeling for money” Unforgiven answers “ No one”. Unforgiven shows us that violence justified or not is an awful soul damming business.
30:30 Ah, THAT was the pivitol moment in the movie. William Munny had given up drinking along with killing people. That was the big thing he was advertising about himself for most of the movie--that he was a changed man. Then he hears that Ned was killed, and... he takes that swig of whiskey. From that moment on, you know he's now back to traveling that dark path.
In the Eastwood Trilogy all the outdoor and town scenes were filmed in Spain only a few in indoor scenes I think were filmed in Italy. A few of the movie towns in Spain used in the Spaghetti Westerns are now used as tourist amusement parks.
I like that Eastwood dedicated the film to Don & Sergio, referring to Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) and Sergio Leone (Dollars trilogy). Gracious classy nod.
"Unforgiven" won Eastwood his very first Academy Award for Best Director in 1993 and it also won for Best Picture-very well deserved. Gene Hackman also won Best Supporting Actor (Eastwood was nominated for Best Actor but lost to Al Pacino for "Scent Of A Woman"). Many say this is Eastwood's masterpiece. Another Eastwood directed film I highly recommend reacting to is the 1995 romantic drama "Bridges Of Madison County" based off the novel of the same name. Meryl Streep gives a beautiful performance in this film and she and Eastwood have great chemistry. The scenery is also very pretty. It's not as well known as his other films but well worth a watch and is quite good. Great reaction Jen!!!!!
Nobody ever mentions it, but Munny isn't riding a pale horse by accident. Also, at the beginning of the film, when Munny tries shooting the can with his old revolver, misses, and then resorts to the shotgun, we can see the kind of rage that is just under the surface with Munny. His daughter even sees it.
This scene was also to show that the shotgun was actually the main weapon of choice for killing in the old west, breaking down the myth of the 6 shooter as the primary weapon of gunmen. People were rarely shot face to face too, most of the time it was by ambush or in the back. There are only a handful of gunfights that were face to face QuickDraw style, Ok Corral fight being the most famous.
One thing I love about English Bob is how he's ruthless, but not at all honest. Even his accent is not honest. Very high and mighty when all is well, but then when he finally gets run out of town, the cockney accent slips in there, showing that even his air of nobility is a put-on - he's probably just some London street crook who just got on a ship to America one day. Great performance by Richard Harris.
A lot of people like to consider this to be a sort of "spiritual epilogue" to the Dollars Trilogy and the Man with No Name. What happens to a notitious gunslinger who settled down and retired to reflect on his pasr. It's also sort of an analogy for the Western film genre in general.
The best western starring Eastwood is probably "The Outlaw Josey Wales". From Wikipedia: "In 1996, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"." I personally also like Pale Rider and High Plains Drifter.
You are correct when you presume Eastwood connects to his former roles in Western movies. Unforgiven is his last Western, his "Magnum Opus". He took all the few worded killers he had done and put them into William Munny, the last, complete "monster". The last scene in this movie is the strongest I have ever seen in a Western, it's Eastwood making up with his past, just as William Munny.
5:16 Mark! Howdy, Jen! 🤠 That tall balding guy! He's a funny hermit-like character in "Mork " Mindy" and if I recall right, a villainous cyborg in "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". 🤔 I'm glad that you're not shocked to see the actress that played Rose's mother in role outside of "Titanic"! Here she plays the brothel madam. In reality at one time, Frances Fisher and Clint were domestic partners. (1990 to 1995.) That would be after Sondra Locke from 1975 to 1989. He's married twice too! 😊
34:52 Mark! It's a popular misnomer to refer to gunslingers as "cowboys"! Even diplomats and critics misuse the term. Captains Piken, Kirk & Picard are equestrians, but they never wrangled cattle. Some NYC slicker came up with the oxymoronic term "cowboy" just because he couldn't tell the differences between "cattle wranglers" and "cattle rustlers" and he came up with "cowboy" for both. Now, because of him, people refer to all bovine cattel as "cows"! ☹️
Yes, This is *absolutely* a story about morality. Eastwood definitely wanted you to ask these questions. By this time, for decades -- as long as there's been movies -- we'd been trained to pick a winner and a loser, a bad guy and a good guy. But, of course, that's a fantasy. I could be the bad guy and so could you. I'm grateful I've never been pressed by circumstance to find out how bad I could be.
One of the best aspects of this movie is that everytime someone relates a story of Will's past ... its a different story. He's that prolific of a killer 😮
At 13:00 . . Little Bill thought he was dead too , but he was just in Nebraska, This coming from a Nebraska boy, I saw this movie back in 1992 and I was the lone voice in the back theatre doing an L O L ! ; 8 - )
One of the things to note is that while Bob and Mr. Beauchamp are in Jail and Bill hands him the gun, he has him cock the pistol but Bob won't take it, which was a smart move by Bob because when Little Bill drops the cartridges out of the gun there are only *five* bullets in the cylinder, and it's the last one that was empty. Which means when Bob had Mr. Beauchamp cock the gun, he cocked it over to the empty cylinder, meaning had he tried to fire it would of simply clicked and Bill would've killed both of them.
Best moment for me is when she says "He said how you was really William Munny out of Missouri" and that exact moment he takes a drink of whiskey like he used to
Great reaction to one of Eastwood's best movies. Showing all the "moral" shades of gray are what makes this movie great. For example, the only way the women could get any sort of justice was by going outside the "law" and hiring gun fighters. My favorite line was Hackman saying he doesn't "deserve" this, and Eastwood's reply " Deserves has nothing to do with it". Glad you chose this Eastwood masterpiece.
Westerns usually deal with American myths, honor, and heroism. This nuanced masterpiece breaks all those western tropes. Clint Eastwood has given us incredible movies from many different genres. Some I highly recommend include: The Outlaw Josey Wales - Western Pale Rider - Western Million Dollar Baby - Sports Drama (Female Boxing) Gran Torino - Drama Heartbreak Ridge - War Drama
One of my top 3 westerns! To me it seems through the whole movie as he’s telling ned and the kid he’s not like that anymore and that his wife changed him, he’s really trying to convince himself of that. In the end you can see that he really is that person. It’s like he’s been trying to deny his true nature. I love how this movie shows that nothing is black and white and there are no truly good or bad.
I love Little Bill's character. A violent murderer with a holier than thou attitude. He fancies himself a lawman but he relishes in and constantly dispenses violence. I always thought the house he is building was a metaphor for his real persona. He fancies himself a carpenter, like Jesus, but the house he builds is all crooked and full of leaks.
This movie makes you think about the nature of taking another life. Thanks Jen, for another fine reaction to this nuanced script. Notice the changing stories, people embelishing the past, or even the nature of the crime against the young whore. Everyone is trying to bolster their image, become the hero in the story, or right a sordid past. We are able to see these untruths and consequences playing out within this film. No one is completely innocent, and no one is completely bad. Not even William Muny. Within ourselves, we think, should the revenge killing occur? Is it justified? I liked that you voiced this question in your reaction. We know that it’s wrong, but we seek the justice that is done when the revenge is complete. At some point, we realize we were willing to trade our own innocence for a corrupted sense of justice. No one is all good, and no one is all bad. Not the characters in the movie, and upon inner reflection, maybe not even ourselves.
HBO's Deadwood is of equal excellence. Actually it's even better but the comparison is unfair, as Unforgiven only has 2 hours for the story and characters, whereas Deadwood has 3 seasons and a movie to wrap it up (32 hours total). Ian McShane's portrayal as the crime boss, 'Al Swearengen' of the lawless town is up there with James Gandolfini's 'Tony Soprano'. It's probably Ian McShane's greatest performance and that's from a great many excellent ones from such an amazingly good actor. The whole ensemble cast of Deadwood is outstanding. But my, they sure love the F and C and C.S.'s words. They'd make Joe Pesci blush.
My absolute favourite western, so so SO goddamn good. Just a top to bottom masterpiece. For another fun unique western, I recommend Open Range (winter style) and Quigley Down Under
Forgot to add, Eastwood does play the piano. He sings in Paint Your Wagon, (been a long time but I recall it being not a bad film), and Honkytonk Man and the credits for Every Which Way But Loose. Probably some other films too.
@07:24 "Sounds Nice!" is why Jen Murray is the Best movie commentator! Good movie, Great ending! THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES is Clint Eastwoods movie Directorial Debut and a Must Watch for any Eastwood fan! And as far as any Morality Tale to be told, William Munny out of Missouri said it all - "We all have it Come'n, kid."
Is this Eastwood’s best?
DOLLARS Trilogy: th-cam.com/play/PLQHhQlj8i5dph8lKnVDfDPmz05NfX4SEH.html
Western Reactions: th-cam.com/play/PLQHhQlj8i5doFNPAVpvMK4x_0goHHNGHs.html
You need to watch Eastwood’s ‘Gran Torino’ (2009) very underrated film that reactors love when they see it.
Space Cowboys is a great Eastwood movie. Not a western, though lol.
No, as someone else commented The Outlaw Josey Wales is his best. High Plains Drifter is at least as good as Unforgiven, but doesn't have the big name cast.
I believe The Good, The Bad And The Ugly is Clint Eastwood's best western, but I enjoy every western Eastwood has ever made, even Back To The Future 3! :)
After this one, my favorite Eastwood Western is The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976).
I like how Bill was a shitty carpenter, and William was a shitty farmer. Violence was really the only thing they were good at .
English Bob was a shitty Ambassador for the crown.
All Little Bill needed was to have his sense of authority challenged (because he was as shitty a lawman as he was a carpenter) and Munny just needed a bottle of whiskey to let their embedded personas out. I wouldn't call it "true" nature, but if you live with it long enough, it gets hard to adapt to different things.
I’m good at carpentry and violence. Never tried farming.
Carpentry served as a metaphor for Little Bill's understanding of the nature of justice.
Wow, I never thought of that similarity.
Throughout the whole movie, William Muny answered every question with “Maybe” or “I suppose so” or other vague answer, until Little Bill says “I’ll see you in hell.” He responds “Yeah” bc it’s the only thing he could be sure about.
Wow! The subtle innuendos listed in these comments. Amazing!
One of my favorite Clint Eastwood films.
I’m glad you watched this one.
Deserves got nothing to do with it! That’s one of the best lines in a western.
Great observation.
Sort of. Yes, great observation. But first Little Bill asks him, "You'd be William Munny out of Missouri, killing women and children." And Munny says, slow and deadly, "That's right!" 😊😊
"I guess maybe so" has been a Clint Eastwood line in so many movies I can't even count.
I read that Eastwood bought and held onto the script for twenty years because he didn’t think he was old enough to play the part. He has vision for sure.
That’s what he said when the movie came out. I hope he clued in the writers when he bought it. That would kinda suck having Clint buy your thing and then have nothing happen with it for twenty years. I suppose money’s money, but if he optioned it rather than bought it, or whatever, then the money wouldn’t have amounted to much, would it? 🤔 Not my field at all.
@yt45204 Yeah, but did he know back in the ‘70s that Clint planned to sit on this for a while, or did he just think he bought it and changed his mind so nothing was going to happen with it? Then in 1992 or whenever, surprise! 😃
I’m not saying Clint did anything wrong if he didn’t share his plans, just wondering how it unfolded.
Eastwood wanted to show the West as it really was, the truth behind the tropes: no honorable sheriffs, no happy hookers, no spotless saloons with cheery piano music, no noble heroes facing off black-hatted villains in fair fights, the fastest draw doesn't always win. Just brutal drunken violence tinged by regret, romanticized by writers who weren't there.
I thought his son Scott said it was 10 years but if Clint said 20 I'll go with that from now on haha
The script was written by David Webb Peoples, co-author of "Blade Runner", in 1976 and was originally titled "The Cut-Whore Killings". The script was optioned by Francis Ford Coppola in 1984 and Eastwood bought the option in 1985. The film was shot in 1991, only 6 years after Eastwood picked up the option.
The script was unchanged from the original, with several actors commenting that it was the first script they used that was almost entirely in white - meaning no edits.
“It’s a hell of a thing, killin’ a man. You take away all he has, and all he’s ever gonna have” that line and whole scene is soooo good gives me chills.
We all got it comin' kid
Any man who don’t want to get killed better clear on out the back….. I like that line. Lots of good lines in this film.
deserves got nothin to do with it
The Duck of Death
@@jimlechuga3193I've always been partial to "No shit Little Bill'
"The morality is all over the place in this." Exactly- that's what makes Unforgiven such a great movie in my opinion. There are no simple good guys vs. bad guys- even some of the men who were in the group that cut the woman had a change of heart and felt bad. And of course, we have a main character who has apparently committed atrocious crimes in the past but is full of remorse. Note: Jaimz Woolvett as The Shofield Kid was such a good actor who played flawlessly alongside the greats and never starred in any other big movies.
It's a post-modern western, meaning it looks at myths of the old west through a realistic modern view as to what conditions were really like. Several times there are characters that tell some past news incorrectly which shows how reality can be turned into myths incorrectly. Back when westerns were very popular with young kids, the stories were very basic white hat wearing heroes vs black hat wearing villains and real life isn't like that. Bad guys learn from life and become good like Clint and sheriffs of the law can be violent sadists like Hackman.
Great points- I hadn't thought of it as a postmodern interpretation, which in a way seems a little like breaking the 4th wall
I saw this in the theater when it came out. A friend thought Little Bill was in the right and the "good guy" in the movie. I said he was a bully and a coward.
Little Bill talks about being one way, brave and all that, but he doesn't live it. He goes after Bob and William only when he has all his men there. Notice with Bob he starts behind his men, not up front. Going after them with numbers does make sense, but then he beats the daylights out of them, and seems to like it. Then there's what he does to Ned... With the other two he might have been trying to send a message, but still.
Will was at least trying to clean up his act. He did except for his hogs getting sick. If that hadn't happened, he probably would not have gone along.
@@Thane36425 Definitely one way to look at it. I personally think he is the closest thing to a “ good guy” in the story but that’s what makes this movie great is all the interpretations and discussions it inspires.
I know a lot of people love Tombstone and so do I. But for me THIS is the true classic 90's western and I think the difference is Clint in front of AND behind the camera. One of the few alive who knows how to get the tone right because he's been doing them forever.
Even an anagram of his name is Old West Action
Eastwood wanted to show the West as it really was, the truth behind the tropes: no honorable sheriffs, no happy hookers, no spotless saloons with cheery piano music, no noble heroes facing off black-hatted villains in fair fights, the fastest draw doesn't always win. Just brutal drunken violence tinged by regret, romanticized by writers who weren't there.
For me it´s the realism with the language, the fear of a gunfight, draw to fast and miss and how after a beating you are out of it for a few days etc.
Open Range and True Grit is on my top list.
Two of me favourite westerns were directed bt Clint Eastwood: Unforgiven and Pale Rider.
As far as modern westerns go, I think Open Range edges out this one and Tombstone both.
Yes, it's called the Revisionist Western genre, and Clint does that better than anyone, also. Thanks for that great Anagram!
This film is a masterpiece. Its like an anti western as far as the genre goes. Instead of all the flashy shoot outs and killing you see in normal westerns...this one focuses on the consequences and reasons of pulling the trigger. Definitely one of my favorite movies of all time and a well deserved Oscar for Best Film.
From your comments after the movie, it's obvious that you "get" it. Unforgiven is definitely a story about morality, right and wrong, overcoming past deeds, forgiving yourself -- or not. So much in this film to think about. I think it's a masterpiece.
I'm one of those people who sees Unforgiven as sort of an unofficial sequel -- and ending -- to all of Eastwood's prior westerns.
100 percent the bookend to the Eastwood gunfighter movies.
Naaaaah.
Most of his other western characters who were if not good guys, then at least anti heroes who were significantly more good than bad.
You can also see Clint in the Outlaw Josey Wales and Pale Rider. Both are excellent westerns.
This movie is an absolute masterpiece. My other two favourite Eastwood westerns are Pale Rider and The Outlaw Josey Wales. I recommend 🙂
Pale Rider has always been a favorite of mine too.
Both are MUST WATCH Eastwood westerns.
Gen-X here and Pale Rider got me into Westerns. I had completely dismissed them before watching it on HBO one day.
Pale Rider would be a fun one for Jen to watch. I know she would get a kick out of a certain Bond henchman in it. 😉
Love this! Everyone always recommends the dollars and the good/bad/ugly… but pale rider and outlaw Josef wales are chefs kiss 🤗
This film is such a perfect masterpiece. The dialogue is so well written. It’s all so powerful and subtle at the same time.
Very cool outlook Jen. If you like Clint and like movies where who really is the bad guy, then you need to watch "The Outlaw Josey Wales" starring Clint. He is really good in this one and I think you will like it. Love your reaction to Unforgiven.
it is always a compliment to the movie when it makes people think
This was a great film to see on the big screen. The final scene with Gene Hackman was very intense.
My and my 3 friends (16 and 17 years olds) watched this the Friday it came out on the big screen. When Clint Eastwood said "Well he should have armed himself!" The entire theatre erupted in Cheer and Laughter, 3 minutes later the entire theatre was in Contemplative Silence. A moment I will never forget. Intense as you say, and very Powerful!
Clint's masterpiece. Great reaction, as usual. You should watch Eastwood's other westerns (High Plains Drifter, Joe Kidd, Outlaw Josie Wales, Pale Rider), as well as his Dirty Harry movies.
Yes, make reactions for High Plains Drifter, Josie Wales. At least those for sure!
Contains my favorite line of any movie, in response to "I guess he had it coming". Munny: "We've all got it coming Kid."
He's a Hollywood legend, and the king of the western in my opinion, and this movie is his best one.
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it."
One of the greatest movie quotes of all time
Really enjoy your western reactions, Jen. "Once upon a Time in the West" is a must see. 👍💯
“It’s a hell of a thing killing a man. You take away all he’s got… and all he’s ever going to have.”
One of the greatest lines ever. Executed perfectly. It gives me chills every time.
💯
I always liked this quote from the movie, "Outlaw Josey Wales": “Dying ain't hard for men like you and me. It's living that's hard when all you've ever cared about has been butchered or raped.”
@@Rosedach For me Outlaw Josey Wales is Clint’s statement about War and how everyone looses.
The two key parts to the point of this movie:
(1) Do people ever really change? Or are they just the same people, behaving differently in different situations?
(2) English Bob, Little Bill, and William Munny are all dangerous killers, but each has his own radically different take on killing. English Bob is focused on building his reputation. Little Bill thinks he has the whole thing down to a science. And William Munny just feels like he's always been lucky.
1) One could argue that people are how they behave. What is the difference of a saint behaving one way for altruistic reasons and someone else behaving exactly the same way for some other motivations? Do deep motivations matter if the results are exactly the same?
“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” The Batman
@@flerbus "You are what you do" Kuato
This movie is "said" to be Eastwood's farewell movie to his cowboy, western genre. Eastwood won the Academy Award for Best Picture & Best Director. Gene Hackman won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. I see Unforgiven as Eastwood's finale tribute to all the cowboy characters he portrayed throughout his career. Eastwood was our era's John Wayne. I enjoyed watching Unforgiven with you. I loved your reactions. Thank you, Jen!
Clint Eastwood at his very best along with a fantastic performance by gene Hackman 👌 no green screen just fantastic acting , great scenery , great music and an engaging story I love this movie cheers for reacting to it Jen 🙌 hope one day you watch pale rider too 🤞
You and I had the same theory that the narrative text at the beginning and end is actually the writing of W.W. Beauchamp, the writer character in the movie! It makes sense as he finally witnessed a "real" Western showdown instead of just hearing about it from liars and braggarts. A friend of mine knows the screenwriter, David Peoples (who also wrote or co-wrote "Blade Runner" and "12 Monkeys!",) and one night over dinner he put that theory to Peoples and said that Peoples replied "I never thought of that! But it's an interesting idea."
Eastwood did hold onto it for over a decade, at one point it was called "The William Munny Killings" or, before that, "The Cut-Wh*re Killings." But this is a much grander title. Eastwood said that it summed up everything he felt about the Western genre, and he hasn't made another one since. As a director, he's famous in Hollywood for doing minimal meddling - whatever state the script was in when he comes aboard to direct, that's what he shoots. He hires people he trusts and sticks with them for decades, doesn't do unnecessary takes, and tries to finish early every day. So people love working for him.
Love all of Eastwoods movies. Not sure he ever made a really bad movie. Personally, I think " The Outlaw Josey Wales" is his best western, and hopefully you will get around to it. You should also check out "Pale Rider" and all of the Harry Callahan "Dirty Harry" movies. Such a great actor.
Yes! The Outlaw Josey Wales and High Plains Drifter!!! ☮️
Hi Jen! You’re 100% right this is a morality play. Eastwood’s character is purposely a contradiction to the swaggering, macho tough guys in past Westerns. He’s shown to be nothing special when sober, but a cruel vicious killer when drunk. He doesn’t start drinking here until he finds out that Ned has been killed. Little Bill’s monologue about not necessarily being the fastest, but being the most cool headed in a life or death situation is what separates these killers from everyone else. Little Bill had that, while all his deputies were afraid. That’s why in the final scene after Little Bill is wounded, you have a drunk William Munney calmly shooting down the deputies who are panicking and can’t hit anything. That fear is also why he’s allowed to ride out of town unopposed.
Unforgiven won an Oscar for best picture, best director by Clint Eastwood and best supporting actor by Gene Hackman. Thank you Jen great reaction 🙂🙂👍👍
'... the forebearance of reptiles'. English Bob is claiming he relies upon rattlesnakes showing restraint rather than trying to bite when he meets them.
“Hell of a thing killing a man, take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.” Pretty much sums up the movie for me at least. The Schofield kid was boasting about killing the entire movie and when he finally did it he was traumatized and revealed that that actually was his first kill while will who’s trying to leave it behind him he realized that it’s gonna follow him forever. He’ll be UNFORGIVEN for the crimes that he committed.
It’s really the perfect title because literally all the main characters are “ Unforgiven”
Was so excited to see you get to this one. The beautiful countryside where the film was shot was mostly Southern Alberta. Longview is where Big Whiskey was set up, with other filming in Brooks, High River and Calgary, while the train sequence was shot in Sonora, California.
Jen, I really enjoyed your thoughts about westerns and morality. I tend to believe that good guys and bad guys in the old West are more a creation of Hollywood than reality. I like in this film how the writer character and his simple view of gun fighters was in stark contrast to events around him. Your thoughtful analysis was, as usual, intelligent and goodhearted.
Dumbledore like the kiddies have never seen him before.
Top rate cast. Not your typical movie, much less your typical western. No white hats or black hats, no fancy gunplay or rope tricks from horseback. Just folks trying to get by and live their lives, and some good, old fashioned, honest murder-for-hire. I really enjoy this one.
It was Jen Murray's reactions that cured me of evil and wickedness
20:55
"Nobody's abidin by ordinance 14"
😂😂😂
This movie always gets me in the mood for playing the game Red Dead Redemption 2. Both are visually stunning.
GREAT reaction 🖒🖒
When Eastwood gets the news that Ned has been killed, for what he and the kid did, the anger and guilt in his voice, and the way he just takes the bottle and starts drinking like a switch has been flipped. That’s my favorite scene. Up until then he’s been a man with a past who kept trying to convince everyone else (and maybe himself too) that he’s changed. “I ain’t like that no more.” But after Ned’s killed, he lets the mask he’s been adjusting for the whole film just fall away and lets his true nature out there for the world to see. “I’ve killed women and children. I guess I’ve killed just about everything that walks or crawls at one time or another. And I’m here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you done to Ned.”
It signals that the Angel of Death has arrived.
I've watched a few reactions to Unforgiven now, and my favorite is always to see if they catch the moment he starts drinking again.
@@headhunter1945 Same here. There’s a guy named Ash who has done what I think is the best review of this movie. Actually by far. He not only caught that, but he nailed the true meaning behind the title of the film. In all honesty, I didn’t even realize that one until I watched his review. And I saw the movie in theaters!
Jen, thanks so much. This is the kind of movie that challenges you in a good way. It tears down all the slick reliable cliches of a formula Western, but then at the end it affirms that Wild West spirit. Frances Fisher, the "sassy woman" who's the leader of the prostitutes, was Eastwood's girlfriend at the time and gave birth to his daughter Francesca Eastwood. Hackman would appear later as another villain in another Eastwood-directed movie, a murderous President in Absolute Power. This won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Picture. Damn straight it did.
Clint Eastwood is the GOAT. Such a great actor and director. This movie is definitely one of his masterpieces.
Would love to see Jen react to some of his other good westerns like The Outlaw Josey Wales, and High Plains Drifter. The Dirty Harry movies are also highly entertaining.
Yes for all of those. And "Gran Torino" for another great Eastwood film.
This movie is a multilevel masterpiece
Dear Jen; I recommend the Outlaw Joey Wales; imo just as great as this is. Btw: a good horse in 1870 cost $150 and today that’s $3373. I thought the ladies were stupid not to accept that offer
You're fun to watch, Jen. You really do deserve your status as one of the respected, well known reactors.
Thanks that's kind of you to say!
Don't miss out on High Plains Drifter for Clints ultimate role for cruel retribution, A true, true classic.
Yes!!! A Dark avenging Spirit making that town pay for their sins. I love Some of John Wayne’s movies mostly his later ones but when he called high plains drifter un American he really had no idea what this movie is about or what it was trying to say.
What a great, great film this is.
It deconstructs Westerns in a stunningly insightful way, while at the same time telling a fantastic story.
Can you imagine death riding out of nowhere, delivering devastation, and then disappearing back into the darkness, again?
Man. Before this, my favorite Western of all time was "High Plains Drifter," and then I saw Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West," and that became my favorite.
Then I saw this one.
It's absolutely rich in metaphor, and filled with people who have a flawed understanding of the nature of morality and justice.
I mean, Little Bill's response to a vicious assault was so ill-considered that it triggered the events of the rest of the film, and then he beats a man to almost death to set an example.
To Little Bill, "justice" meant "order," even if his conception of "order" required brutal sadism.
In that sense, Little Bill's terrible carpentry serves as a metaphor for his understanding of justice, and that meant the "house" he was building in Big Whiskey would never last.
The outlaw gunfighters played by Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman were reflections in a dark mirror of the two-dimensional protagonists in the old Western films.
The Scofield Kid represented all the fans of those old Western films who had no clue what life back then was really like.
The whores, of course, represented all the women's stories from that time you never see.
They had the choice to wear themselves out as wives and mothers, barely one step above chattel slavery and subjected to the whims of husbands, having child after child until their bodies gave out -- or selling those same bodies to sometimes terribly abusive men, because it was one of the few ways women in the Old West could achieve some sort of financial independence.
A lot of American conceptions of the Old West are wrapped in veils of comfortable illusions about brave pioneers turning an untamed land into a great country.
Some of that has truthfulness -- but that simple-mindedness ignores a lot of horribleness this film shows, unflinchingly.
Jen, for sharp, insightful and witty comments, you are the girl to watch movies with. My favorite scene is when Bill is in the bar, confident and prideful, exulting in the praise of all the beta males and suddenly we see a double barrel shotgun enter the frame. We know the real power has made his entrance.
The morality being all over the place is one of the important aspects of the movie. Everyone is unforgiven for their supposed sins whether they repent or not. Like the guilty cowboy's partner. He had nothing to do with it, and even tried to help, but he was judged and unforgiven. Ned refused to shoot him and left because he couldn't commit the deed, but was arrested and ends up dying. Unforgiven. Will is haunted by the ghosts of his past right up to the end. Unforgiven. "I don't deserve this. I was building a house." "Deserve's got nothing to do with it." Unforgiven.
Oh yea, so excited to watch this. Freaking love Unforgiven!
There is a tabletop roleplaying game from 2002 titled "Dust Devils" that has Unforgiven as its main inspiration. Even for people that are not interested in RPGs it would be a good read, because it's very good at deconstructing what makes this movie shine.
Every character in the game has a Devil, which is something very ugly about themselves - mostly likely a negative character trait - that they try very hard to suppress. It's like there is a monster hidden inside every character that wants to get out, while the character itself tries to keep it under control. The series of conflicts that the game sets up are meant to push the character into a life and death crisis where the player has to decide to let the Devil loose (usually with deadly and fearsome consequences) or to stay "human" at the potential cost of his/her character's life.
That's basically what happens in the movie. Munny has changed his way of life because of his wife and tries very hard to suppress his violent and murderous nature, to the point that he keeps playing the part of the goofy farmer even if he has no talent nor interest in the job. Then events threaten to bring him back into his old habits. For most of the movie he fights his instinct, looking like a pathetic shadow of the dark legend he was suppsed to be, until the moment he learns about the death of his friend, one of the few people he still cares about in life. That's the moment he snaps and reverts to his old self, gunning down the sheriff and his men without an ounce of remorse.
What makes the character scary is that at the very moment his fury is unleashed we realize that age has not impacted his ability to kill whatsoever, because it's not the quick reflexes or the perfect accuracy that made him a successfull killer, but his unforgiving nature and the will to kill a man without a second thought.
This movie is probably one of the greatest Westerns of all times. I love it unconditionally, and I'm not even fond of the Western genre in general.
6:10 One of my favorite little details about this film pertains to this question. There's a line in the scene around the 21:55 mark where Eastwood says that the powders wet in his pistol when Little Bill confronts him about his gun. For the western nerds like me, this is a fun little detail that further outlines how long its been since Munny has lived that kind of life. In the early 1870s cartridge ammunition had been introduced and by 1880 it would have been what any newer gun you'd own would use. Which you can see displayed in scenes like 11:58 & 19:26. But the earlier revolvers manufactured in the 1850s and 1860s used cap and ball ammunition. In which you'd have to fill each chamber with gun powder and ball shot and pack it down. So the line about being the powder wet lets us know he's using an old pistol that's at least 10 or so years old, if not older.
English Bob, was played by Richard Harris. He also played Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies. He died before #3 started filming.
People miss the reason Eastwood's character was sick was because he contracted Yellow Fever that was going around at the time. That was what they were referring to with the sick hogs at the beginning.
You got it exactly right by thinking of his characters from past Westerns when watching this. Eastwood considered this as a sort of atonement for the depiction of violence that he took part in through the Western genre and meant to show the Old West for what it was instead of how Hollywood depicted it over the years.
Funny enough the westerns he did prior to this were mostly Italian films....not "Hollywood".
@@dre3k78 Not entirely true, but three of the most revered of them are Italian, yes
@@fmellish71 Correct. Had to edit it.
One of the only westerns where it shows how it really goes down , once bullets start flying by 99% of peoples first instinct is to cower and run away no matter if you have a gun or not. That fear of death and just wanting survive is no joke.
One of my favorite bits of this “reluctant anti-hero” story is that Eastwood didn’t take the cut up woman with him at the end. That would’ve been too Hollywood to me. Great movie.
She shouldn't go with him.
And he knows it.
Well let’s be honest, as much of a sympathetic victim as the movie made her out to be, what kind of pathetic man would actually hitch his wagon to a prostitute?
There’s no way that you could spend the whole movie building up Clint’s character, then give the audience the ultimate payoff with that incredible final scene, only to say “never mind, this dude is really nothing but a total SlMP”.
Wonderful reactions from Jen, to this powerful and superb Eastwood western.
I like the progression of the writer. He goes from tailing behind a glorified bag of hot air to meeting an actual hard ass SOB who tells it how it is, to meeting the real deal, a stone cold killer that nobody back East has ever heard of.
The kid didn't have a change of heart, he simply stopped ignoring it.
What many ppl miss about this film, is that it’s a subtle deconstruction of the American Western Outlaw archetype… especially the image of the “lone outlaw”. And from start to end, as the film progresses, the story is filled with revelations about the myths and notorious legends of the different characters-- but ultimately displaying their very real human condition and nature, that brings the audience back to reality. Eastwood, very skillfully used his own main character to illustrate the reality of being an Outlaw, apart from the American mythology that usually surrounds the greatest figures of that time and type, which go to show how these tall tales, are in fact just that--at least for the most part, based on exaggerated stories, assumed stereotypes, misconceptions, second hand experiences, or even outright lies; however, for many of these stories and the figures in them, lie a dark and twisted, often tragic tale that came from just how really brutal the Wild West was, and even more, how morally questionable, if not absent many of these great figures’ actions were, and the very real human cost paid for those very actions.
Outstanding! 💜 Clint's 2nd best film, imo. After 'Gran Torino' (2008).
"Well, he should have armed himself if he's going to decorate his saloon with my friend."
Unforgiven is a lot about reputation, about getting a reputation, about forgetting a reputation, and the need to kill reputation.
Saw this one in the theater. During the showdown, only one person in the audience didn't get it and cheered. He stopped very quickly when everyone else was dead silent. From the moment William took a drink from the Kid's bottle after hearing about Ned, to the rolling of the credits .. it makes you think.
Jen, 'Pale Rider" and "the Outlaw Josey Wales" are probably Clint Eastwood's best western films.
This was talked about as being Clint’s “final western,” and I always see it as almost his reply or even “apology” for some of his earlier films, where he’s the cool gunslinger, and violence is action packed and fun. While his Man with No Name is usually not some terrible person, I think Will is to show you someone known for being a gunfighter but was really just a killer. And scenes like the long, painful death for the first cowboy they shot and the second one where it’s a chaotic scene and the guy’s shot on the toilet… it’s showing what a life of violence and murder is really like. Not some quick clean bloodless shooting where the guy instantly drops dead.
The point where shes telling them about Ned being killed and he takes that bottle from the Kid is one of the most iconic moments in film history and there was zero action other than a bottle being turned up
Richard Harris is actually Irish, and probably thought it hilarious to be going on about the British Crown with such reverential zeal as English Bob.
Harris was a screen star, big in the 60s, and 70s. He was nominated for two Oscars and was quite the character in real life.
I was very happy to see Harris turn up in Unforgiven when it first hit theatres. I just knew Eastwood was in a new western. Hackman, Freeman, and Harris were all a huge bonus.
Skinny Dubois was also played by a familiar face - Anthony James.
James was the ultimate creeper/ villain playing character actor at one time. He pops up everywhere in old movies. His face is crazy awesome, and he’s a very good actor.
Thanks for making videos eh.
It is a masterpiece. So many scenes can be poured over but I think that look at Ned in the coffin is my favorite. The realization of a man who is haunted by his past that the image of Ned is now been added to all the others. And we all have it coming kid might be the one best single line in all of moviedom. Mesmerizing.
Great, very serious, austere Western. My favorite western by far is *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* - it has John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart amongst others. Highly recommended! (And my two favorite modern westerns are the remakes of *True Grit* and of *3:10** To Yuma* .)
One thing you missed is that when she comes to tell them about Ned being captured he takes the bottle from the kid and starts drinking. That's when he starts becoming the killer that was.
One of my favorite movies. Clint Eastwood actually wrote that nylon guitar piece that plays throughout.
I grew up on Eastwood spaghetti westerns. "Unforgiven" for me was the perfect epilogue to those films.
I did too, they were on TBS/TNT all the time. I loved them and still do but they are very much Western Myth stories that glorify violence and killing for money. In “ For a few dollars more “ Clint kills every outlaw in the movie litterally loads all their bodies into a wagon to claim rewards for their dead flesh. Unforgiven is asking the question “ What kind’ve person could do that, just kill indiscriminately with no feeling for money” Unforgiven answers “ No one”. Unforgiven shows us that violence justified or not is an awful soul damming business.
23:24 Mark! "Angel of Death"! To those of us that saw "Pale Rider" first, that's a funny irony! 😉
30:30 Ah, THAT was the pivitol moment in the movie. William Munny had given up drinking along with killing people. That was the big thing he was advertising about himself for most of the movie--that he was a changed man. Then he hears that Ned was killed, and... he takes that swig of whiskey. From that moment on, you know he's now back to traveling that dark path.
In the Eastwood Trilogy all the outdoor and town scenes were filmed in Spain only a few in indoor scenes I think were filmed in Italy. A few of the movie towns in Spain used in the Spaghetti Westerns are now used as tourist amusement parks.
I like that Eastwood dedicated the film to Don & Sergio, referring to Don Siegel (Dirty Harry) and Sergio Leone (Dollars trilogy). Gracious classy nod.
24:30 "You ain't ugly like me" - He's talking about character. William Munny knows he was a bad, bad man.
"Unforgiven" won Eastwood his very first Academy Award for Best Director in 1993 and it also won for Best Picture-very well deserved. Gene Hackman also won Best Supporting Actor (Eastwood was nominated for Best Actor but lost to Al Pacino for "Scent Of A Woman"). Many say this is Eastwood's masterpiece. Another Eastwood directed film I highly recommend reacting to is the 1995 romantic drama "Bridges Of Madison County" based off the novel of the same name. Meryl Streep gives a beautiful performance in this film and she and Eastwood have great chemistry. The scenery is also very pretty. It's not as well known as his other films but well worth a watch and is quite good. Great reaction Jen!!!!!
Nobody ever mentions it, but Munny isn't riding a pale horse by accident.
Also, at the beginning of the film, when Munny tries shooting the can with his old revolver, misses, and then resorts to the shotgun, we can see the kind of rage that is just under the surface with Munny. His daughter even sees it.
This scene was also to show that the shotgun was actually the main weapon of choice for killing in the old west, breaking down the myth of the 6 shooter as the primary weapon of gunmen. People were rarely shot face to face too, most of the time it was by ambush or in the back. There are only a handful of gunfights that were face to face QuickDraw style, Ok Corral fight being the most famous.
This was filled in southern Alberta, great reaction again. Cheers
One thing I love about English Bob is how he's ruthless, but not at all honest. Even his accent is not honest. Very high and mighty when all is well, but then when he finally gets run out of town, the cockney accent slips in there, showing that even his air of nobility is a put-on - he's probably just some London street crook who just got on a ship to America one day. Great performance by Richard Harris.
I'm not sure if anyone has said it yet, but English Bob is the actor who was the original Dumbledore.
A lot of people like to consider this to be a sort of "spiritual epilogue" to the Dollars Trilogy and the Man with No Name.
What happens to a notitious gunslinger who settled down and retired to reflect on his pasr. It's also sort of an analogy for the Western film genre in general.
The best western starring Eastwood is probably "The Outlaw Josey Wales". From Wikipedia: "In 1996, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"." I personally also like Pale Rider and High Plains Drifter.
You are correct when you presume Eastwood connects to his former roles in Western movies. Unforgiven is his last Western, his "Magnum Opus". He took all the few worded killers he had done and put them into William Munny, the last, complete "monster". The last scene in this movie is the strongest I have ever seen in a Western, it's Eastwood making up with his past, just as William Munny.
5:16 Mark! Howdy, Jen! 🤠 That tall balding guy! He's a funny hermit-like character in "Mork " Mindy" and if I recall right, a villainous cyborg in "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". 🤔
I'm glad that you're not shocked to see the actress that played Rose's mother in role outside of "Titanic"! Here she plays the brothel madam. In reality at one time, Frances Fisher and Clint were domestic partners. (1990 to 1995.) That would be after Sondra Locke from 1975 to 1989.
He's married twice too! 😊
34:52 Mark! It's a popular misnomer to refer to gunslingers as "cowboys"! Even diplomats and critics misuse the term. Captains Piken, Kirk & Picard are equestrians, but they never wrangled cattle. Some NYC slicker came up with the oxymoronic term "cowboy" just because he couldn't tell the differences between "cattle wranglers" and "cattle rustlers" and he came up with "cowboy" for both. Now, because of him, people refer to all bovine cattel as "cows"! ☹️
Yes, This is *absolutely* a story about morality. Eastwood definitely wanted you to ask these questions. By this time, for decades -- as long as there's been movies -- we'd been trained to pick a winner and a loser, a bad guy and a good guy. But, of course, that's a fantasy. I could be the bad guy and so could you. I'm grateful I've never been pressed by circumstance to find out how bad I could be.
One of the best aspects of this movie is that everytime someone relates a story of Will's past ... its a different story. He's that prolific of a killer 😮
High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider, Outlaw Josey Wales… true classics
At 13:00 . . Little Bill thought he was dead too ,
but he was just in Nebraska, This coming from a
Nebraska boy, I saw this movie back in 1992 and I
was the lone voice in the back theatre doing an L O L ! ; 8 - )
One of the things to note is that while Bob and Mr. Beauchamp are in Jail and Bill hands him the gun, he has him cock the pistol but Bob won't take it, which was a smart move by Bob because when Little Bill drops the cartridges out of the gun there are only *five* bullets in the cylinder, and it's the last one that was empty. Which means when Bob had Mr. Beauchamp cock the gun, he cocked it over to the empty cylinder, meaning had he tried to fire it would of simply clicked and Bill would've killed both of them.
Interesting! I always thought he just knew Beauchamp wouldn't have done anything.
@@Brando_1983 he likely knew Beauchamp wouldn't pull the trigger, but he wanted an out to shoot them both "legally"
Best moment for me is when she says "He said how you was really William Munny out of Missouri" and that exact moment he takes a drink of whiskey like he used to
Great reaction to one of Eastwood's best movies. Showing all the "moral" shades of gray are what makes this movie great. For example, the only way the women could get any sort of justice was by going outside the "law" and hiring gun fighters. My favorite line was Hackman saying he doesn't "deserve" this, and Eastwood's reply " Deserves has nothing to do with it". Glad you chose this Eastwood masterpiece.
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it"
That's my favourite line, too.
This is the best of them all, but not too far behind are "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Pale Rider".
Westerns usually deal with American myths, honor, and heroism. This nuanced masterpiece breaks all those western tropes. Clint Eastwood has given us incredible movies from many different genres. Some I highly recommend include:
The Outlaw Josey Wales - Western
Pale Rider - Western
Million Dollar Baby - Sports Drama (Female Boxing)
Gran Torino - Drama
Heartbreak Ridge - War Drama
One of my top 3 westerns! To me it seems through the whole movie as he’s telling ned and the kid he’s not like that anymore and that his wife changed him, he’s really trying to convince himself of that. In the end you can see that he really is that person. It’s like he’s been trying to deny his true nature. I love how this movie shows that nothing is black and white and there are no truly good or bad.
I love Little Bill's character. A violent murderer with a holier than thou attitude. He fancies himself a lawman but he relishes in and constantly dispenses violence. I always thought the house he is building was a metaphor for his real persona. He fancies himself a carpenter, like Jesus, but the house he builds is all crooked and full of leaks.
This movie makes you think about the nature of taking another life. Thanks Jen, for another fine reaction to this nuanced script. Notice the changing stories, people embelishing the past, or even the nature of the crime against the young whore. Everyone is trying to bolster their image, become the hero in the story, or right a sordid past. We are able to see these untruths and consequences playing out within this film. No one is completely innocent, and no one is completely bad. Not even William Muny. Within ourselves, we think, should the revenge killing occur? Is it justified? I liked that you voiced this question in your reaction. We know that it’s wrong, but we seek the justice that is done when the revenge is complete. At some point, we realize we were willing to trade our own innocence for a corrupted sense of justice. No one is all good, and no one is all bad. Not the characters in the movie, and upon inner reflection, maybe not even ourselves.
Very well spoken comment.
This film "Unforgiven" won an Oscar for best movie in 1993.
HBO's Deadwood is of equal excellence. Actually it's even better but the comparison is unfair, as Unforgiven only has 2 hours for the story and characters, whereas Deadwood has 3 seasons and a movie to wrap it up (32 hours total). Ian McShane's portrayal as the crime boss, 'Al Swearengen' of the lawless town is up there with James Gandolfini's 'Tony Soprano'. It's probably Ian McShane's greatest performance and that's from a great many excellent ones from such an amazingly good actor.
The whole ensemble cast of Deadwood is outstanding. But my, they sure love the F and C and C.S.'s words. They'd make Joe Pesci blush.
@@mr.a8315 I have the collection of only 3 years and a movie years later. Very disappointing that it was stopped after 3 seasons.
My absolute favourite western, so so SO goddamn good. Just a top to bottom masterpiece. For another fun unique western, I recommend Open Range (winter style) and Quigley Down Under
Forgot to add, Eastwood does play the piano.
He sings in Paint Your Wagon, (been a long time but I recall it being not a bad film), and Honkytonk Man and the credits for Every Which Way But Loose.
Probably some other films too.
He looked pretty confident in the bar at the end.
@07:24 "Sounds Nice!" is why Jen Murray is the Best movie commentator! Good movie, Great ending! THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES is Clint Eastwoods movie Directorial Debut and a Must Watch for any Eastwood fan! And as far as any Morality Tale to be told, William Munny out of Missouri said it all - "We all have it Come'n, kid."
If you missed it he first started drinking again after the woman told him about Ned being killed.