I actually think that the gossip about Delilah's wounds being increasingly more severe isn't coming from the women who put out the bounty, but just the general game of telephone that happens when people spread rumours. It makes it even more poignant when Will actually sees Delilah and even though she is scarred, she is still very beautiful.
That's why the myth of the "wild west" exists in the first place. There were never real notable examples of the Quickdraw contest in the street. The "wild west" was extremely polite and civilized, because you mind your manners when everybody has a gun.
@@Abraided Canada is nowadays known as a country where the government can take all your liberties away and no one dares to do anything about it, because that would be rude.
The scene where William snatches the whiskey and starts drinking is just too good. You are so focused at the dialoge and the shock of Ned being killed that you don't even notice, simply brilliant.
For me, that's when Will finally lets go of any reserve his late wife had instilled in him, and was at least temporarily, no longer a widower and a father, but the killing machine he used to be. It also makes you think just how much of the man he used to be was due to alcohol...note that his wife made him give it up, and he never drank until that moment.
Its like the old demon inside him is waking up. By the time he meets Little Bill for the second time, his mannerisms, voice, and the look in his eyes is different. Its clear he ain't the same guy Bill beat up earlier.
The script author David Peoples (who also scripted Blade Runner and co-scripted 12 Monkeys!) wept with joy when he saw the screening of Unforgiven, because he said literally not a word of the dialogue from his 70s script had been changed. An extremely rare event.
I love how Munny instantly flips from guy trying really hard to be a better man to totally cold blooded revenge killer. It sort of mirrors what you said about Little Bill trying to be a "good sheriff" but can't control a seething violence innate in him. It's like they're both trying to deny who they really are. Although, Munny's attempts to be a better man definitely seem more genuine than Little Bill's.
@JamesVSCinema you should watch a few of the Spaghetti Westerns this was truly a loving tribute a d continuation of those flicks, just look at his horse through all the movies
One of the best Western tales ever!.. on film anyways; the tale of several predators meeting in happenstance, "to the Victor goes the spoil " even if it's vengeance/ " one last ride"
The scene where the Kid flips from being a snotty thug to essentially being terrified of Munny is great. After having actually killed someone for the first time and knowing how awful it feels, the Kid realizes just what a dangerous person Munny is after having witnessed how seemingly easy it was for him to do the same earlier. He realizes that Munny is capable of any evil.
It’s cool you chose this one to discuss screenplays, because the story goes that David Peoples, the writer, had sold the script some years earlier, and Eastwood picked it up from the original production company and made the film without People’s involvement. Peoples assumed, as all writers do, that his script would be extensively re-written, so when Eastwood invited him to a private screening before the films released, it’s said that Peoples was in tears at the end. He turned to Eastwood and said ‘you shot my script.’ Every single word of his script was on the screen. Incredibly rare.
Eastwood just goes for the great scripts, gets the right actors and shoots almost everything in one take. I heard him say something like "If the script is really good the film practically makes itself" once and I believe that. That's why so many modern big movies are in trouble once you hear that 5 or 6 people are writing the script, that's not a good sign.
@@Jayskiallthewayski yabbut… Space Cowboys. Heartbreak Ridge. Hereafter. I mean he has a good track record, but they’re not all gems. Which is understandable, because his method is, as you describe, thrown together, one take and move on. If continuity errors were Oscars he’d have hundreds by now.
Not sure if you caught it but the entire movie William insisted he was a different man than he used to be, and he refused to drink a single drop of liquor. He refused to drink in the storm l, pushed the glass away in the saloon, but as soon as he learned Ned had been killed he took a big pull of whiskey straight from the bottle, pretty much marking the exact moment the moment he became the old William Munny again. Easy to miss they dont draw a lot of attention to it, but I love that little touch.
No insult intended but I watched this when I was 12 back in 1992 and even I noticed that detail. I think they designed the film in such a way that most folks with some amount of perception and empathy would notice that.
Yep..I love that moment. Such a powerful scene when he basically says "oh hell no, this is on" when he hits that bottle. He knew exactly what would happen when he drank it, but embraced it because Bill unfairly killed his closest friend
It's told that Clint Eastwood got the rights to this years before he made the movie, he did'nt think he was old enough to play the character at that time. A true masterpiece, thanks james.
What I also love about "Unforgiven" is its depiction of death and justice. Little Davey, who was arguably innocent of the whole situation other than just being associated with Quick Mike, dies what might well be the most brutal death of the entire film (except for Ned): a bullet to the guts. Quick Mike, by contrast, dies quick . . . but while taking a shit, an undignified death if ever there was one. Deserve's got nothin' to do with it, indeed.
Little Davey was the one that a) didn't do the cutting and b)showed actual remorse returning to the women, not the saloon owner, to try to make amends. And then goes out slowly and in pain. All the characters are trying to put things behind them and they all seem to find that their past can't just be erased.
As far as justice, it's a story of frontier justice. In this story you have multiple islands of morality all flawed and biased depending on the person's social position and personal bias. You have the bully sheriff treating the whores like cattle and whores taking vigilante justice into their own hand with a bounty.
@@michaelelkins3996 Devey held her down for Mike but did not know what Mike was gonna do. He also did not try to stop Mike once he realized what was going on. His sin in the movie is passivity in the face of evil. He recognizes that what is happening is wrong but he does not go against the flow. He stays with the cattle crew even though they support Mike in his actions. He does not intentionally do evil but he stands by while evil is done and does not fight against it. Then when an evil thing happens to him, there is no one there willing to fight for him and he dies slowly and painfully.
Unlike most westerns (or gratuitous violent action movies) this film makes the audience see and feel the taking of life through the characters' reactions to the reality, and weight, of taking a life.👋Great work of art. Great film.
One of the themes was about reputation (stories, myths, legends, etc) and the fear it can instill in a person. Everyone in that bar, in the end, heard of his reputation but were not sure if they were true. But it was enough to keep them a little fearful. And when Will walks right into the bar, alone, with no fear against them, they immediately believed the stories and sh*t their pants and were too afraid to shoot back. Also, the movie displays that even if you're the bad guy, there is always someone out there more badder.
Indeed, it also shook them enough to panic when they eventually started firing after the missfire so they missed their shots whereas Munny was cold af and made his shots count.
One aspect I loved about the movie is the juxtaposition of the exploits. Schofield Kid talked up big, but in the end he was a nothing newbie. Ned was a good shot, but probably was reckless because of youth, alcohol and being around Will. English Bob was a prima donna, wanted to be noble, but got his body count by luck and backstabbing. Little Bill was at least accurate. He told his stories mostly straight. He just thought he was a good guy when he was really a nasty bully. Now William Munny. Notice through out the movie he is trying so hard to redeem himself. And you catch hints of his stories. Ned was there and relayed that he killed more than people believed. SO in the bar, the posse saw Bob and beat and killed Ned. Ned told them big stories that were scary. But for the one man to enter their den, alone, seriously who does that? And his cold look. For once, things got real, that Death himself enter the room, something they have not seen before. Will must have the confidence to kill to be so brazen. He truly was more than his myth. Scary indeed.
*What Unforgiven's script is really about* The script for "Unforgiven" had actually been around for nearly 20 years. When Eastwood first read it, he wanted to direct it but he waited until he was old enough to play the role of William Munny-- and it's all the more better for it. Yea, to fully appreciate this film, you need to be familiar with westerns that came before it. "Unforgiven" is primarily concerned with deconstructing the morally black-and-white vision of the American West that was established by traditional works in the genre, as David Webb Peoples’ script is saturated with unnerving reminders of Munny’s own horrific past as a murderer and gunfighter haunted by the lives he's taken, while the film as a whole "reflects a reverse image of classical Western tropes": the protagonists, rather than avenging a God-fearing innocent, are hired to collect a bounty for a group of prostitutes. Men who claim to be fearless killers are either exposed as cowards and weaklings or self-promoting liars, while others find that they no longer have it in them to take another life. A writer with no conception of the harshness and cruelty of frontier life publishes stories that glorify common criminals as infallible men of honor. The law is represented by a pitiless and cynical former gunslinger whose idea of justice is often swift and without mercy, and while the main protagonist initially tries to resist his violent impulses, the murder of his friend drives him to become the same cold-blooded killer he once was, suggesting that a Western hero is not necessarily "the good guy", but rather "just the one who survived".
Morgan Freeman was interviewed by James Lipton on "Inside the Actor's Studio" show. Freeman said it was the most scared he has ever been doing films while Hackman did the torture speech scene in the jail with him. My favorite part of the movie was when he says, he will come back and kill everyone. Then they show riding off on a pale horse. It reminds me of, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him". Best part of that is Clint actually played Death in the movie, "Pale Rider" in 1985.
This is my favorite western. Clint Eastwood really went out for this film. The man won Best Picture and Best Director for this, got nominated for Best Actor and Gene Hackman won Best Supporting Actor for his role in this film and the script was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Everyone is amazing, from Eastwood to Hackman to Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris and Frances Fisher. Everybody is on their A-Game in this and it’s an amazing ride to go on. Great reaction James, have a great rest of your day and take care!
I'm surprised you didn't mention the foreshadowing of Little Bill explaining to the writer about a dangerous man, who is not the man that shoots first and misses, but the one who doesn't panic, perfectly mirrored on that final scene. This movie is one of my all time favorites, is any genre. Writing, acting, cinematography, score, this is a masterpiece in every way.
What I love so much about the W. W. Beauchamp storyline is that he goes from writing about a back-shooting blowhard liar (English Bob) to a capable but unflashy man of violence (Little Bill) to a true gunslinging demon (Will Munny). It makes me think of that old adage about veterans of combat: the ones who *really* experienced carnage never talked about it, and certainly not in the grand ways that English Bob or even Little Bill did. English Bob craved fame. Little Bill craved respect. Will craved neither.
Great observation, @kuraban1. This is very similar to a quote attributed to the real Wyatt Earp, who said, "I wasn't the fastest shot. I just learned early on to take my time in a hurry."
YES! Gene Hackman deserved that Oscar. My favorite scene is when he told the writer to give Bill the gun. So much tension. Brilliantly acted, directed. My second favorite Western. SHANE is my fat, almost the same kind of story.
This is one of my all time favorite movies. Every line of dialogue and every shot holds my attention. The scene where Eastwood shoots one of the cowboys and then he and Ned are just sitting there in reflective silence is great.
This movie was taken from the book of the same title by David Peoples. It was said, when Clint screened the movie to Peoples, he wept during the screening and explained later to Clint, "I'm crying because this is the first time not one word was changed from my book to suit the film."
One of my favorite aspects about this film is in the way William answers different questions. Throughout basically the *entire* film, whenever someone asks him a question, his answer is always equivocated. He always will say "I guess," "I reckon," or something like that. This continues right until the very end, when Little Bill tells him, "I'll see you in Hell, William Munny" and the response is simply "Yeah" before he fires. He never acts like he's sure of anything, but when it comes to him being already damned... he's absolutely certain.
Final scene Munney shows us he’s supernatural levels of badass and he knows it, it’s familiar to him, he becomes it entirely. To capture this on film is something else.
The screenplay had been languishing in development hell for a long, long time. When the movie was finally made by Eastwood, he invited the screenwriter David Webb Peoples (Blade Runner, Unforgiven) to a screening. Expecting multiple rewrites, when David Webb Peoples finally saw the movie, he became very emotional, thanking Eastwood, as the movie seemed to be exactly like what he wrote in his original screenplay.
I don't think the girls necessarily lied about what happened, it's just what happens with word of mouth - the story changes a bit for every re-telling and people like to embellish a bit to make it even more dramatic.
@@rxtsec1The girls didn’t Need to lie. The truth was bad enough. Stories get embellished along the way all the time because storytellers are always trying to shock and impress other people by making things either worse or better than they are.
@@jimj9040 i bet the girls didn't tell anyone that Delilah didn't want them to put out a bounty or that she was willing to accept the gift of the horse from the guy who didn't cut her up either. she was the one cut up but they made it about what they wanted & didn't listen to her so yes even they were deceiving. like i said everyone had there hand in twisting some of the facts
@@jimj9040 you must not have watched the movie. Remember when they were taking among themselves and admitted delilah was willing to forgive but the girls were like we still are gonna raise the money or remember when they didn't let her make the decision on accepting the horse from the guy. They spoke for her and chased him away. Like I said everyone made it about themselves & twisted the story for there benefit. The actual victim had no say in how to deal with the situation and they weren't gonna tell anyone that. So even they withheld information. Have a good one
Surprised you never saw this. Very surprised you never heard of it. Clint Eastwood's masterpiece. With Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. Big names in a very big movie
There's hundreds of these first seeing podcasts format and I'm just not believing it anymore this guy never hearing of Eastwood's The Unforgiven and call himself a filmmaker who speaks English it's just not believable
Clint played the perfect Anti-Hero which he first became famous for in Euro Westerns Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, Good Bad and the Ugly and then his Dirty Harry films and American Westerns.
I saw an interview with one of the cast I think, who said Clint followed the script to the letter, and in a private screening for the author he wept. This script had been bought a couple of times before it came into Clints posession.
the scene earlier in the sherriffs office where the men were preparing to confront english bob was the set for the final shootout scene. you can see the fear in all of their eyes. and the conversation about corky sets up how hard it really can be to shoot someone and how much real nerve is needed to do that. then at the end, all those men completely panicked and were gunned down because of that panic.
Clint eastwood is absolutely amazing director and actor both. Hes directed so many of my favourite movies and starred in most of them, i believe they really dont make em like that anymore. The first time i watched unforgiven i was so blown away as its that good, so is everyone else in it. I remember reading somewhere not long after i saw it the first time that clint eastwood held onto the script for a number of years because he wanted to age naturally and play the character as an older and more grizzled man. If its true it shows how dedicated he was toward the making of this true masterpiece of a movie.
What a cast. There's not a poor performance in this film. Frances Fisher, Anna Thompson don't get enough credit in their roles as everyone applauds Eastwood, Freeman, Hackman rightfully.
Also, Jaimz Wolvett, who played The Scofield Kid, kind of fell off the Hollywood map after he made this movie, but man did he nail his role. His reaction after finally killing a man is incredible acting.
just listened to your intro. I imagine that since your focus is going to be the screen writing that you are in for a special treat. This is my all time favorite western and top 10 all time movie.
Such an amazing film. The mythology of The West, minus the romance and hyperbole of cinema. It feels very real and the characters are so grounded. Munny at the end is larger than life, but somehow totally relatable and believable. You can see how the shadows Munny casts make everybody believe he is evil incarnate, but at the same time, you can see that Munny is just a broken man with nothing to lose and nothing to fight for - except vengeance.
The ambience of the last scene, with the thunder and lightning, pouring rain. Amazing. The whole movie is a slow build that just crescendos at the end. Masterpiece.
Dad raised me on Clint Eastwoods spaghetti westerns like Outlaw Josef Wales. To see them culminate into unforgivan was a treat and I’m glad I got to experience seeing it with him. The majority of films people react to as of late he took me to as a kid and I’ll always be grateful for those experiences. Miss him still.
James -- a few things I think you'll reconsider: The opening preamble sets up the story as a kind of parable, a film that both exploits western tropes while simultaneously dismantling them. Guns jam. Notorious gunslingers fall off horses. People get scared and won't shoot. Evidence: the brothel did NOT spread exaggerations about her injuries; no, that storyline shows how second-hand (mis) information spreads from mouth to mouth, changing over time. Count all that gunslinger lore as hyperbole too, according to Little Bill. The film goes a little on the chin making English Bob's writer a major character -- he represents a collective memory, what we've all read about Westerns -- a selective memory colored by our vices and virtues. As per your question about Westerns as popular cinema fodder: Think of this genre to modern audiences as "familiar fantasy," a setting removed from our times, but with all the distractions, anxiety, ennui, and urban anonymity removed, leaving just the bare elements directors can use. Yes! "That line!" is when the film finally reveals the slowly waking violence about to deliver a kind of mythical retribution. The bluish, sobering color grade makes William Munny as some inevitable Earthly karma that defies even a writer's depiction (fleeing guy from bar).
> Hello James. I'd make my day if you react to Polanski's --- ROSEMARY'S BABY --- Such a fantastic script, acting, cinematography and of course -- POLANSKI -- To me the icing on the cake is to see New York City in the late 60's.
James I am honestly shocked that you had never heard of Unforgiven. It might be Eastwood's best film and it's in pretty much everyone's top ten westerns of all time list.
This film is so good. It shows the true weight of bravado fulfilled. Taking a life in this way is crushing. Either immediately like with the kid or over time like Clint, Morgan, and Gene's characters.
"Morality in a battleground", Great observation! This is my favorite film. Loved seeing you process it for the first time, sir. I hope to see your 4-hr western someday.
I remember going to the cinema as a teenager to watch this movie at release in the early 90s, it remains one of my standout memories for sure as a special film, especially as a fan of Eastwood's westerns as I was - this always felt like the perfect finale to his western film career. The intro and final scenes felt incredibly powerful and poignant.
I'm not at all a fan of Westerns, but this is one of my favourite movies. It's a deep exploration of moral ambiguity, trauma, justice & the barbarity of the "wild west". My favourite scene & line "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it." The scene where Will & the kid are waiting to receive their reward is incredibly well acted & written. What a great movie.
The cowboys that cut up Delilah weren't cops or deputies. They were just cowboys who worked at the nearby Bar T. Little Bill was partial to them in the opening scene because he sees them as honest working boys, while viewing the women as "being given over to wickedness in a regular way." He said as much in his conversation with Strawberry Alice.
You just reacted to one of the greatest movies ever made. This one won the 1993 Academy Awards Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor for Clint Eastwood.
Westerns are idealized simplistic story telling. There are many people who argue Unforgiven is the best Western. I absolutely love how William is constantly fighting with himself about who he really is. "I ain't like that no more." And we keep hearing all these stories about his violent past but we never actually see it. There's a contrast there with the exaggeration of what happen to the girl in the beginning and how people keep blowing what actually happened more and more out of proportion. But with William, the stories that are told don't do his violent past justice and at the end we finally see it, how he just walks into a bar filled with armed men, kills five of them and walks out without a scratch on him.
As you were looking for the word at one point; the sheriffs assistance men were called deputies, a deputy in the Wild West would usually carry a star like the sheriff. The meaning of deputy is "a person appointed as a substitute with power to act".
Possibly the darkest western. No riding into the sunset, Will rides into the pitch black darkness. “And behold I saw a pale horse and its rider who sat on it was Death, and hell followed with him.”
I saw this masterpiece in theaters when it came out 30 years ago. That final shootout…seeing it on the big screen, I don’t think I breathed or blinked through the whole thing! Throughout the film, it’s implied that alcohol brings out the worst in Eastwood’s character. When the girl is telling Will and the Kid about Ned’s killing and then brings up Will’s past, notice how Will takes that swig from the whiskey bottle. It’s been a long time coming. We know then we are about to enter Hell.
Gene Hackman's acting in this movie is so damn good. I am so glad Eastwood was able to convince him to be in this, since he no longer wanted to be in movies with violence.
I call Unforgiven one of the first post-cowboy westerns. Gene Hackman initially refused to be in another film which celebrated violence until Clint called him personally and explained this film is an apology of sorts for the propogation of violence.
Do you remember Lil Bill's speech about people being nervous in a gunfight? They'll MISS... And that's what happened at the end. All his deputies were TERRIFIED and missed..
One of my favorite movies of all-time, just amazing, great writing, great acting & dialogue, the cinematography, just everything. It's damn-near perfect, & probably my favorite Western.
James, films like this, that are a coda on an actors career, (see Logan, Grosse Point Blank, and others) are some of my favorites. Growing up watching Eastwood Westerns, and seeing this "old man cowboy killer" representing all the characters he portrayed over the years is just so satisfying. Thanks for watching with us! Check out "Unforgiven" from 2013, a Japanese remake, with Samurai / Ronin...
Did anyone question in the beginning whether William was as bad as everyone said? They did an interesting thing with the rumors about the woman’s injuries how they were way worse than actual that it could have implied William’s reputation was the same. Especially with him not being able to shoot, ride, or do much of anything well.
@@justinbarnett9476 I think the 1st moment where it becomes clear he was a monster was when the kid tells that story of how William killed the 2 law men, but then Ned says later that he remembered William killing 3 law men. This goes back to rumors exaggerating reality, but in this case, reality is WORSE than the rumor. That's when you know you've got a monster on your hands.
This is a deconstruction of the classic western - maybe the best. I especially love how they don't show The Kid being afraid of Will until after he finally kills someone himself. He's heard all the stories about the bad old days, but he doesn't really understand what kind of man Will must be, until he feels the impact of being a killer himself.
Awesome reaction as always! In terms of screenwriting this is my favorite example of a structural absence. By that I mean, Will's wife Claudia has died before the movie begins, so she never appears in the movie. But she is totally in the movie! Her presence and legacy echo through the whole story thanks to the changes we see Will endure. And all of that emotion and resonance comes from those text passages that opens/ closes the film. It's a perfect script, really.
What a majestic piece of work. There is a lot of gray area in this film. A film where everything is morally wrong. The sheriff himself, while keeping the law in his own eyes, goes about it in a very wrong way every single time including torture. There is no reason to truly stand behind anybody in this film for anything they do to justify their actions. You can understand the reasoning, but can you truly stand behind the person for what they are doing? Maybe the only person was Ned. He was the only one that decided to stop his actions, but he even ended up dead. They all had it coming to them in one way or another. In this film there are no heros. It’s a very real brutal movie. Things like this has happened or does happen in life all the time. An officer of the law that takes things too far. Shooting unarmed people. Glorifying a killing by putting the body on display. A man brutally attacking and cutting a womans face up and taking away her physical appearance. Women being treated like property with no care. An assassination. Hiring an assassin. Crazy things are going on here. I also felt the kid (Jaimz Woolvett) did a great job of acting in that scene after he kills that man. You could feel the weight he was going to carry for the rest of his life, for taking a man’s life while using the latrine.
I don't know if you noticed but when Little Bill explains how fast he can draw his gun and kill someone he explains literally the final shootout in this movie, because in a shootout the one who is the fastest doesn't win, but the one who is the calmest, because the one who pulls the gun too fast can miss because he focuses on the highest possible speed to draw their gun and shoot, like in the final shootout when William Money throws his rifle as a diversion to draw his gun ready and focused, while the others hurried to draw their pistols as soon as possible and shoot, but they made mistakes and just missed or were hit, and many ran away because they were full of fear and insecurity which is what kills you here in these skirmishes, and the reason why they chose to run away from the salon, and when the writer approached William and said that William went strategically by shooting the Little Bill first, but William himself said that he went as it suited him, that he did not specifically choose the order of who to kill first, because real killers do not make mistakes, but look to finish the job properly.
James, when people exaggerated what happened to the lady that was cut up, I kind of figured it was like a Wild West game of telephone; each person embellishing on the same story further. The Kid described what happened which was probably an embellishment on what he’d been told, and then Will embellishes it further when describing it to Ned.
"Where it was rumored he prospered in dry goods" gets me everytime. "Well he should have armed himself if he thought he was gonna undercut me on bolts of taffeta and tenpenny nails."
"We all have it comin', kid." When that line dropped in the theater, I actually got dizzy from the impact. A lot of revisionist Westerns bother me, but this movie is perfect. Perfect.
Clint Eastwood is a heck of a filmmaker. I haven't seen his earlier directorial efforts yet, but Mystic River, Gran Torino, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling, Sully...all are so good, but not in a flashy way. He has a down-to-earth, almost tranquil style even when extreme things are happening. But Unforgiven is his best, imo. It's just a masterpiece.
Clint gets complimented for his directing, but not wnough in my opinion. I think his directing is better than his acting and he has directed many classics.
The Outlaw Josey Wales was the first movie he directed, another deconstructed western, and it's definitely worth a watch. It's interesting to see the progression.
When legendary Richard Harris (English Bob) was asked about being in the movie he said yes immediately. They asked "Don't you want to see the script?" He said no. Clint is making a Western - I'm in!
Couple of notes: 1) Coppola had this script when it was called "The Cut-Whore Killings" or "The William Munny Killings" or versions thereof, which indicates, yet again, what a master he was in identifying a fantastic mythic story when he saw one. Even though the Coppola version of this film would have been spectacular, it's hard to imagine even him improving on what Eastwood achieved here. 2) Eastwood kept this on the shelf for ten years until he felt he was old enough to play the part. Wise. 3) A good deal of what makes it powerful, certainly in its initial release, is the meta aspect of Eastwood playing Munny. By that point two generations of audiences had seen Eastwood kill literally thousands of people onscreen, and they brought that baggage with them watching the film. 4) Eastwood the director, notorious for one or two takes and moving on, Steadicam shots to cover a bunch of pages so he can get to his early-evening tee time, actually crafts this movie with great rigor. It's almost like he knew how special this could be, and not just his spring project for the year like Pink Cadillac or whatever. It's his most carefully made film, the one that clearly has the most effort put into it. I think it's the best thing he's ever done, even from an acting standpoint, by a country mile.
This movie is worth a rewatch, but this time pay attention to who each character THINKS they are. William Munny thinks he's a reformed man, Ned thinks he's still capable of taking a life, and the kid fancies himself to be what William Munny used to be. In the end it turns out they are all wrong. Munny is still the cold blooded killer he always was, Ned can't pull the trigger, and once the kid finally kills someone he's tortured by guilt.
I actually think that the gossip about Delilah's wounds being increasingly more severe isn't coming from the women who put out the bounty, but just the general game of telephone that happens when people spread rumours. It makes it even more poignant when Will actually sees Delilah and even though she is scarred, she is still very beautiful.
That's why the myth of the "wild west" exists in the first place. There were never real notable examples of the Quickdraw contest in the street. The "wild west" was extremely polite and civilized, because you mind your manners when everybody has a gun.
Good catch!!
@@st0n3p0ny An armed society, is a polite society.
@@SimoExMachina2 Yes.... that's why canada is notorious in reputation for it's politeness and the US is well... *waves around vaguely*
@@Abraided Canada is nowadays known as a country where the government can take all your liberties away and no one dares to do anything about it, because that would be rude.
The scene where William snatches the whiskey and starts drinking is just too good. You are so focused at the dialoge and the shock of Ned being killed that you don't even notice, simply brilliant.
like an evil Popeye
For me, that's when Will finally lets go of any reserve his late wife had instilled in him, and was at least temporarily, no longer a widower and a father, but the killing machine he used to be.
It also makes you think just how much of the man he used to be was due to alcohol...note that his wife made him give it up, and he never drank until that moment.
One of my favorite subtle scenes in cinema of all time!
Any time Clint Eastwood puts his game face on, you know it's about to get spectacular.
Its like the old demon inside him is waking up. By the time he meets Little Bill for the second time, his mannerisms, voice, and the look in his eyes is different. Its clear he ain't the same guy Bill beat up earlier.
The script author David Peoples (who also scripted Blade Runner and co-scripted 12 Monkeys!) wept with joy when he saw the screening of Unforgiven, because he said literally not a word of the dialogue from his 70s script had been changed. An extremely rare event.
I love how Munny instantly flips from guy trying really hard to be a better man to totally cold blooded revenge killer. It sort of mirrors what you said about Little Bill trying to be a "good sheriff" but can't control a seething violence innate in him. It's like they're both trying to deny who they really are. Although, Munny's attempts to be a better man definitely seem more genuine than Little Bill's.
Yup! Honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this was a building block for Red Dead Redemption (videogame)
It's the alcohol, he was always drunk in the old days...you see him throw down the empty bottle when riding into town
They got a sign on him?!?
@JamesVSCinema you should watch a few of the Spaghetti Westerns this was truly a loving tribute a d continuation of those flicks, just look at his horse through all the movies
@@korybeavers6528 Yep. I like to think of Eastwood's earlier westerns as moments from William Munny's past.
This film won Best Picture in 1992, and for my money is one of the very finest films to take that prize.
It’s women empowerment. So of course it won.
@@kevinfinnerty8414 lol tell me, with brains made of piss, do you have to wear earplugs so they dont drain out?
@@kevinfinnerty8414shut up, Kevin
@@kevinfinnerty8414 You could argue that the women got a little more than they bargained for.
One of the best Western tales ever!.. on film anyways; the tale of several predators meeting in happenstance, "to the Victor goes the spoil " even if it's vengeance/ " one last ride"
The scene where the Kid flips from being a snotty thug to essentially being terrified of Munny is great. After having actually killed someone for the first time and knowing how awful it feels, the Kid realizes just what a dangerous person Munny is after having witnessed how seemingly easy it was for him to do the same earlier. He realizes that Munny is capable of any evil.
It’s cool you chose this one to discuss screenplays, because the story goes that David Peoples, the writer, had sold the script some years earlier, and Eastwood picked it up from the original production company and made the film without People’s involvement. Peoples assumed, as all writers do, that his script would be extensively re-written, so when Eastwood invited him to a private screening before the films released, it’s said that Peoples was in tears at the end. He turned to Eastwood and said ‘you shot my script.’ Every single word of his script was on the screen. Incredibly rare.
Yes. I read that too. Clint Eastwood is a creative artist who respects the art of others.
Facts.
Eastwood just goes for the great scripts, gets the right actors and shoots almost everything in one take. I heard him say something like "If the script is really good the film practically makes itself" once and I believe that. That's why so many modern big movies are in trouble once you hear that 5 or 6 people are writing the script, that's not a good sign.
@@Jayskiallthewayski yabbut… Space Cowboys. Heartbreak Ridge. Hereafter. I mean he has a good track record, but they’re not all gems. Which is understandable, because his method is, as you describe, thrown together, one take and move on. If continuity errors were Oscars he’d have hundreds by now.
@@ronbock8291Heartbreak Ridge is fantastic , damnit. Don't mess with Gunny Highway. 😉
Not sure if you caught it but the entire movie William insisted he was a different man than he used to be, and he refused to drink a single drop of liquor. He refused to drink in the storm l, pushed the glass away in the saloon, but as soon as he learned Ned had been killed he took a big pull of whiskey straight from the bottle, pretty much marking the exact moment the moment he became the old William Munny again. Easy to miss they dont draw a lot of attention to it, but I love that little touch.
He's William, not Ed
No insult intended but I watched this when I was 12 back in 1992 and even I noticed that detail. I think they designed the film in such a way that most folks with some amount of perception and empathy would notice that.
@@acemodez3169 Lol tru facts dont know where I pulled that from.
@michaelborden363 I mean I caught it as well but he didnt mention it in the reaction so I thought he might not have noticed.
Yep..I love that moment. Such a powerful scene when he basically says "oh hell no, this is on" when he hits that bottle. He knew exactly what would happen when he drank it, but embraced it because Bill unfairly killed his closest friend
It's told that Clint Eastwood got the rights to this years before he made the movie, he did'nt think he was old enough to play the character at that time. A true masterpiece, thanks james.
What I also love about "Unforgiven" is its depiction of death and justice. Little Davey, who was arguably innocent of the whole situation other than just being associated with Quick Mike, dies what might well be the most brutal death of the entire film (except for Ned): a bullet to the guts. Quick Mike, by contrast, dies quick . . . but while taking a shit, an undignified death if ever there was one. Deserve's got nothin' to do with it, indeed.
Little Davey was the one that a) didn't do the cutting and b)showed actual remorse returning to the women, not the saloon owner, to try to make amends. And then goes out slowly and in pain. All the characters are trying to put things behind them and they all seem to find that their past can't just be erased.
As far as justice, it's a story of frontier justice. In this story you have multiple islands of morality all flawed and biased depending on the person's social position and personal bias. You have the bully sheriff treating the whores like cattle and whores taking vigilante justice into their own hand with a bounty.
@@steffenam The genius of that scene is that Will Munny knows what will happen if you give a gutshot man water -- they will die quicker.
@@michaelelkins3996 Devey held her down for Mike but did not know what Mike was gonna do. He also did not try to stop Mike once he realized what was going on. His sin in the movie is passivity in the face of evil. He recognizes that what is happening is wrong but he does not go against the flow. He stays with the cattle crew even though they support Mike in his actions. He does not intentionally do evil but he stands by while evil is done and does not fight against it. Then when an evil thing happens to him, there is no one there willing to fight for him and he dies slowly and painfully.
Unlike most westerns (or gratuitous violent action movies) this film makes the audience see and feel the taking of life through the characters' reactions to the reality, and weight, of taking a life.👋Great work of art. Great film.
One of the themes was about reputation (stories, myths, legends, etc) and the fear it can instill in a person. Everyone in that bar, in the end, heard of his reputation but were not sure if they were true. But it was enough to keep them a little fearful. And when Will walks right into the bar, alone, with no fear against them, they immediately believed the stories and sh*t their pants and were too afraid to shoot back.
Also, the movie displays that even if you're the bad guy, there is always someone out there more badder.
Indeed, it also shook them enough to panic when they eventually started firing after the missfire so they missed their shots whereas Munny was cold af and made his shots count.
More Smarter 😈
One aspect I loved about the movie is the juxtaposition of the exploits. Schofield Kid talked up big, but in the end he was a nothing newbie. Ned was a good shot, but probably was reckless because of youth, alcohol and being around Will. English Bob was a prima donna, wanted to be noble, but got his body count by luck and backstabbing. Little Bill was at least accurate. He told his stories mostly straight. He just thought he was a good guy when he was really a nasty bully. Now William Munny. Notice through out the movie he is trying so hard to redeem himself. And you catch hints of his stories. Ned was there and relayed that he killed more than people believed. SO in the bar, the posse saw Bob and beat and killed Ned. Ned told them big stories that were scary. But for the one man to enter their den, alone, seriously who does that? And his cold look. For once, things got real, that Death himself enter the room, something they have not seen before. Will must have the confidence to kill to be so brazen. He truly was more than his myth. Scary indeed.
*What Unforgiven's script is really about*
The script for "Unforgiven" had actually been around for nearly 20 years. When Eastwood first read it, he wanted to direct it but he waited until he was old enough to play the role of William Munny-- and it's all the more better for it. Yea, to fully appreciate this film, you need to be familiar with westerns that came before it.
"Unforgiven" is primarily concerned with deconstructing the morally black-and-white vision of the American West that was established by traditional works in the genre, as David Webb Peoples’ script is saturated with unnerving reminders of Munny’s own horrific past as a murderer and gunfighter haunted by the lives he's taken, while the film as a whole "reflects a reverse image of classical Western tropes": the protagonists, rather than avenging a God-fearing innocent, are hired to collect a bounty for a group of prostitutes. Men who claim to be fearless killers are either exposed as cowards and weaklings or self-promoting liars, while others find that they no longer have it in them to take another life. A writer with no conception of the harshness and cruelty of frontier life publishes stories that glorify common criminals as infallible men of honor. The law is represented by a pitiless and cynical former gunslinger whose idea of justice is often swift and without mercy, and while the main protagonist initially tries to resist his violent impulses, the murder of his friend drives him to become the same cold-blooded killer he once was, suggesting that a Western hero is not necessarily "the good guy", but rather "just the one who survived".
Well said!
Morgan Freeman was interviewed by James Lipton on "Inside the Actor's Studio" show. Freeman said it was the most scared he has ever been doing films while Hackman did the torture speech scene in the jail with him.
My favorite part of the movie was when he says, he will come back and kill everyone. Then they show riding off on a pale horse. It reminds me of, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him".
Best part of that is Clint actually played Death in the movie, "Pale Rider" in 1985.
I love how non-chalant he is about finally having a drink. That entire moment is fantastic.
This is my favorite western. Clint Eastwood really went out for this film. The man won Best Picture and Best Director for this, got nominated for Best Actor and Gene Hackman won Best Supporting Actor for his role in this film and the script was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Everyone is amazing, from Eastwood to Hackman to Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris and Frances Fisher. Everybody is on their A-Game in this and it’s an amazing ride to go on. Great reaction James, have a great rest of your day and take care!
sadly, Pale Rider and Unforgiven where his first 2 westerns I saw.
had to go back and watch all his classics afterwards.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the foreshadowing of Little Bill explaining to the writer about a dangerous man, who is not the man that shoots first and misses, but the one who doesn't panic, perfectly mirrored on that final scene.
This movie is one of my all time favorites, is any genre. Writing, acting, cinematography, score, this is a masterpiece in every way.
What I love so much about the W. W. Beauchamp storyline is that he goes from writing about a back-shooting blowhard liar (English Bob) to a capable but unflashy man of violence (Little Bill) to a true gunslinging demon (Will Munny). It makes me think of that old adage about veterans of combat: the ones who *really* experienced carnage never talked about it, and certainly not in the grand ways that English Bob or even Little Bill did.
English Bob craved fame. Little Bill craved respect. Will craved neither.
Great observation, @kuraban1. This is very similar to a quote attributed to the real Wyatt Earp, who said, "I wasn't the fastest shot. I just learned early on to take my time in a hurry."
YES! Gene Hackman deserved that Oscar. My favorite scene is when he told the writer to give Bill the gun. So much tension. Brilliantly acted, directed. My second favorite Western. SHANE is my fat, almost the same kind of story.
This is one of my all time favorite movies. Every line of dialogue and every shot holds my attention. The scene where Eastwood shoots one of the cowboys and then he and Ned are just sitting there in reflective silence is great.
“We all got it comin, kid.”
Best line in the film.
Death rode a Pale Horse, the symbolism in the scene where he rides out of town. Epic.
The author and script writer was amazed. Not one page was rewritten. That's unheard of in Hollywood.
This movie was taken from the book of the same title by David Peoples. It was said, when Clint screened the movie to Peoples, he wept during the screening and explained later to Clint, "I'm crying because this is the first time not one word was changed from my book to suit the film."
It wasn't a book. It was written by David Peoples as a screenplay.
Unlike modern movies the hero stumbles, has weakness, overcomes personal and physical struggles to better themselves.
Story telling 101.
One of my favorite aspects about this film is in the way William answers different questions. Throughout basically the *entire* film, whenever someone asks him a question, his answer is always equivocated. He always will say "I guess," "I reckon," or something like that. This continues right until the very end, when Little Bill tells him, "I'll see you in Hell, William Munny" and the response is simply "Yeah" before he fires. He never acts like he's sure of anything, but when it comes to him being already damned... he's absolutely certain.
Final scene Munney shows us he’s supernatural levels of badass and he knows it, it’s familiar to him, he becomes it entirely. To capture this on film is something else.
The screenplay had been languishing in development hell for a long, long time. When the movie was finally made by Eastwood, he invited the screenwriter David Webb Peoples (Blade Runner, Unforgiven) to a screening. Expecting multiple rewrites, when David Webb Peoples finally saw the movie, he became very emotional, thanking Eastwood, as the movie seemed to be exactly like what he wrote in his original screenplay.
I don't think the girls necessarily lied about what happened, it's just what happens with word of mouth - the story changes a bit for every re-telling and people like to embellish a bit to make it even more dramatic.
I think it was both
@@rxtsec1The girls didn’t Need to lie. The truth was bad enough. Stories get embellished along the way all the time because storytellers are always trying to shock and impress other people by making things either worse or better than they are.
@@jimj9040 i bet the girls didn't tell anyone that Delilah didn't want them to put out a bounty or that she was willing to accept the gift of the horse from the guy who didn't cut her up either. she was the one cut up but they made it about what they wanted & didn't listen to her so yes even they were deceiving. like i said everyone had there hand in twisting some of the facts
@@rxtsec1 No facts were twisted in your examples so what the hell are you talking about?
@@jimj9040 you must not have watched the movie. Remember when they were taking among themselves and admitted delilah was willing to forgive but the girls were like we still are gonna raise the money or remember when they didn't let her make the decision on accepting the horse from the guy. They spoke for her and chased him away. Like I said everyone made it about themselves & twisted the story for there benefit. The actual victim had no say in how to deal with the situation and they weren't gonna tell anyone that. So even they withheld information. Have a good one
Surprised you never saw this. Very surprised you never heard of it. Clint Eastwood's masterpiece. With Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. Big names in a very big movie
There's hundreds of these first seeing podcasts format and I'm just not believing it anymore this guy never hearing of Eastwood's The Unforgiven and call himself a filmmaker who speaks English it's just not believable
Clint played the perfect Anti-Hero which he first became famous for in Euro Westerns Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, Good Bad and the Ugly and then his Dirty Harry films and American Westerns.
I saw an interview with one of the cast I think, who said Clint followed the script to the letter, and in a private screening for the author he wept. This script had been bought a couple of times before it came into Clints posession.
"Appaloosa" is a really good, underrated western. Stars Ed Harris & Viggo Mortensen.
the scene earlier in the sherriffs office where the men were preparing to confront english bob was the set for the final shootout scene. you can see the fear in all of their eyes. and the conversation about corky sets up how hard it really can be to shoot someone and how much real nerve is needed to do that. then at the end, all those men completely panicked and were gunned down because of that panic.
A proper take on the "wild west" and a helluva movie with some amazing performances. A true classic.
Remember Little Bill lecturing the Writer about how it's the man quick enough to aim x hit his target in the midst of chaos.
That last scene where he kills Hackman and all the bad guys is literally iconic
Clint eastwood is absolutely amazing director and actor both. Hes directed so many of my favourite movies and starred in most of them, i believe they really dont make em like that anymore. The first time i watched unforgiven i was so blown away as its that good, so is everyone else in it. I remember reading somewhere not long after i saw it the first time that clint eastwood held onto the script for a number of years because he wanted to age naturally and play the character as an older and more grizzled man. If its true it shows how dedicated he was toward the making of this true masterpiece of a movie.
What a cast. There's not a poor performance in this film. Frances Fisher, Anna Thompson don't get enough credit in their roles as everyone applauds Eastwood, Freeman, Hackman rightfully.
Also, Jaimz Wolvett, who played The Scofield Kid, kind of fell off the Hollywood map after he made this movie, but man did he nail his role. His reaction after finally killing a man is incredible acting.
You forgot the late legend Richard Harris as English Bob.
just listened to your intro. I imagine that since your focus is going to be the screen writing that you are in for a special treat. This is my all time favorite western and top 10 all time movie.
Such an amazing film. The mythology of The West, minus the romance and hyperbole of cinema. It feels very real and the characters are so grounded. Munny at the end is larger than life, but somehow totally relatable and believable. You can see how the shadows Munny casts make everybody believe he is evil incarnate, but at the same time, you can see that Munny is just a broken man with nothing to lose and nothing to fight for - except vengeance.
The ambience of the last scene, with the thunder and lightning, pouring rain. Amazing. The whole movie is a slow build that just crescendos at the end. Masterpiece.
In terms of pure movie making, it's hard to do better.
Filming, acting, cinematography, set design, everything was spot on.
Dad raised me on Clint Eastwoods spaghetti westerns like Outlaw Josef Wales. To see them culminate into unforgivan was a treat and I’m glad I got to experience seeing it with him. The majority of films people react to as of late he took me to as a kid and I’ll always be grateful for those experiences. Miss him still.
Eastwood actually said part of why he wanted to make this movie was to in a way atone for his career.
Clint’s best film and my favorite Hackman performance.
David Webb Peoples won an Oscar for his screenplay
James -- a few things I think you'll reconsider:
The opening preamble sets up the story as a kind of parable, a film that both exploits western tropes while simultaneously dismantling them. Guns jam. Notorious gunslingers fall off horses. People get scared and won't shoot.
Evidence: the brothel did NOT spread exaggerations about her injuries; no, that storyline shows how second-hand (mis) information spreads from mouth to mouth, changing over time.
Count all that gunslinger lore as hyperbole too, according to Little Bill. The film goes a little on the chin making English Bob's writer a major character -- he represents a collective memory, what we've all read about Westerns -- a selective memory colored by our vices and virtues.
As per your question about Westerns as popular cinema fodder: Think of this genre to modern audiences as "familiar fantasy," a setting removed from our times, but with all the distractions, anxiety, ennui, and urban anonymity removed, leaving just the bare elements directors can use.
Yes! "That line!" is when the film finally reveals the slowly waking violence about to deliver a kind of mythical retribution. The bluish, sobering color grade makes William Munny as some inevitable Earthly karma that defies even a writer's depiction (fleeing guy from bar).
Rootin Tootin Cowboy Shootin'..!
Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema
Have a great day!
Its always shady to me when folks have never heard of oscar winning films...
> Hello James. I'd make my day if you react to Polanski's --- ROSEMARY'S BABY --- Such a fantastic script, acting, cinematography and of course -- POLANSKI -- To me the icing on the cake is to see New York City in the late 60's.
Did you know there is a remake, set in Japan, with Samurai / Ronin? ua-cam.com/video/gj3gwo01Pf4/v-deo.html&feature=share7
If you like this movie check out OUTLAW JOSEY WALES.
So your saying everyone must know. I guess you know everything
The amazing part is Clint loved the screenplay so much he bought the rights to it and in the end they didn't change a single line of it.
James I am honestly shocked that you had never heard of Unforgiven. It might be Eastwood's best film and it's in pretty much everyone's top ten westerns of all time list.
Trust me he's seen it or heard of it
This film is so good. It shows the true weight of bravado fulfilled. Taking a life in this way is crushing. Either immediately like with the kid or over time like Clint, Morgan, and Gene's characters.
"Morality in a battleground", Great observation! This is my favorite film. Loved seeing you process it for the first time, sir. I hope to see your 4-hr western someday.
I love how this movie shows that no matter how bad the person is, there is no glory in killing them or anyone else
Unforgiven fucking transcends the genre. It is a powerful statement of anti-violence.
This and Once Upon a Time in the West are my favorite westerns. Thanks for the reaction🥳
I remember going to the cinema as a teenager to watch this movie at release in the early 90s, it remains one of my standout memories for sure as a special film, especially as a fan of Eastwood's westerns as I was - this always felt like the perfect finale to his western film career. The intro and final scenes felt incredibly powerful and poignant.
I'm not at all a fan of Westerns, but this is one of my favourite movies. It's a deep exploration of moral ambiguity, trauma, justice & the barbarity of the "wild west". My favourite scene & line "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it." The scene where Will & the kid are waiting to receive their reward is incredibly well acted & written. What a great movie.
"We all got it comin', kid."
He is death incarnate in that end scene. The angel of death riding away into the darkness with the souls he just claimed.
The cowboys that cut up Delilah weren't cops or deputies. They were just cowboys who worked at the nearby Bar T. Little Bill was partial to them in the opening scene because he sees them as honest working boys, while viewing the women as "being given over to wickedness in a regular way." He said as much in his conversation with Strawberry Alice.
My favorite western of all time. Superb acting, great writing and a deep moral center. Brilliant film.
With so many amazing Eastwood Westerns, one would have thought he couldn't out do himself. And then he did it. Legendary ending.
"ANY MAN DONT WANNA GET KILLED BETTER CLEAR ON OUT THE BACK"
FAVORITE LINE
You just reacted to one of the greatest movies ever made. This one won the 1993 Academy Awards Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor for Clint Eastwood.
Westerns are idealized simplistic story telling. There are many people who argue Unforgiven is the best Western.
I absolutely love how William is constantly fighting with himself about who he really is. "I ain't like that no more." And we keep hearing all these stories about his violent past but we never actually see it. There's a contrast there with the exaggeration of what happen to the girl in the beginning and how people keep blowing what actually happened more and more out of proportion. But with William, the stories that are told don't do his violent past justice and at the end we finally see it, how he just walks into a bar filled with armed men, kills five of them and walks out without a scratch on him.
Dances with wolves, Open Range, Young Guns, Pale Rider, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly would all be awesome reactions.
As you were looking for the word at one point; the sheriffs assistance men were called deputies, a deputy in the Wild West would usually carry a star like the sheriff. The meaning of deputy is "a person appointed as a substitute with power to act".
22:31 Lemme help you bro I gotchu 😂
Great video as well, love this movie. One of the many westerns that inspired me to write four western scripts
Your reaction to this movie was so real and on point, I really enjoyed your commentary and interpretation of this film
Appreciate the very kind words! thank you
Hands down one of my favorite westerns. I love the shootout at the end, it feels almost like a Heisenberg moment
Possibly the darkest western. No riding into the sunset, Will rides into the pitch black darkness.
“And behold I saw a pale horse and its rider who sat on it was Death, and hell followed with him.”
I started watching this film the other day, such a good character arc. Cant wait to watch bro
Damn good journey!
I saw this masterpiece in theaters when it came out 30 years ago. That final shootout…seeing it on the big screen, I don’t think I breathed or blinked through the whole thing!
Throughout the film, it’s implied that alcohol brings out the worst in Eastwood’s character. When the girl is telling Will and the Kid about Ned’s killing and then brings up Will’s past, notice how Will takes that swig from the whiskey bottle. It’s been a long time coming. We know then we are about to enter Hell.
19:43 -the Split Diopter Shot/lens. It's a cool technique and I forget the name too!
Gene Hackman's acting in this movie is so damn good.
I am so glad Eastwood was able to convince him to be in this, since he no longer wanted to be in movies with violence.
Clint did have the script on his side - this movie abhors violence.
I call Unforgiven one of the first post-cowboy westerns. Gene Hackman initially refused to be in another film which celebrated violence until Clint called him personally and explained this film is an apology of sorts for the propogation of violence.
Do you remember Lil Bill's speech about people being nervous in a gunfight? They'll MISS... And that's what happened at the end. All his deputies were TERRIFIED and missed..
JAMES I'VE BEEN WAITNG FOR YOU TO DO THIS FOREVER!!!
One of the best western ever made and your upload was one of the best. Thank you.
One of my favorite movies of all-time, just amazing, great writing, great acting & dialogue, the cinematography, just everything. It's damn-near perfect, & probably my favorite Western.
One of my favs of all time!!! Best western ever and nod to eastwoods cowboy characters from the past.redemption through action
James, films like this, that are a coda on an actors career, (see Logan, Grosse Point Blank, and others) are some of my favorites. Growing up watching Eastwood Westerns, and seeing this "old man cowboy killer" representing all the characters he portrayed over the years is just so satisfying. Thanks for watching with us! Check out "Unforgiven" from 2013, a Japanese remake, with Samurai / Ronin...
One of my favorite westerns, and absolute classic and masterpiece. Eastwood is such a great filmmaker.
Did anyone question in the beginning whether William was as bad as everyone said? They did an interesting thing with the rumors about the woman’s injuries how they were way worse than actual that it could have implied William’s reputation was the same. Especially with him not being able to shoot, ride, or do much of anything well.
That’s a great point! I assume he was a very bad guy, a drunk and did kill people, but probably wasn’t the unstoppable monster everyone thinks he was
@@justinbarnett9476 I think the 1st moment where it becomes clear he was a monster was when the kid tells that story of how William killed the 2 law men, but then Ned says later that he remembered William killing 3 law men. This goes back to rumors exaggerating reality, but in this case, reality is WORSE than the rumor. That's when you know you've got a monster on your hands.
Watch The Searchers, 1956 with John Wayne and Natalie Wood. Note how times have changed!
I always try to use "We all have it coming, kid" and "Deserves got nothing to do with it" as much as I possible can lol
This is a deconstruction of the classic western - maybe the best. I especially love how they don't show The Kid being afraid of Will until after he finally kills someone himself. He's heard all the stories about the bad old days, but he doesn't really understand what kind of man Will must be, until he feels the impact of being a killer himself.
so happy you are seeing this, such a different kind of film and different kind of western
Awesome reaction as always! In terms of screenwriting this is my favorite example of a structural absence. By that I mean, Will's wife Claudia has died before the movie begins, so she never appears in the movie. But she is totally in the movie! Her presence and legacy echo through the whole story thanks to the changes we see Will endure. And all of that emotion and resonance comes from those text passages that opens/ closes the film. It's a perfect script, really.
What a majestic piece of work. There is a lot of gray area in this film. A film where everything is morally wrong. The sheriff himself, while keeping the law in his own eyes, goes about it in a very wrong way every single time including torture. There is no reason to truly stand behind anybody in this film for anything they do to justify their actions. You can understand the reasoning, but can you truly stand behind the person for what they are doing? Maybe the only person was Ned. He was the only one that decided to stop his actions, but he even ended up dead. They all had it coming to them in one way or another. In this film there are no heros. It’s a very real brutal movie. Things like this has happened or does happen in life all the time. An officer of the law that takes things too far. Shooting unarmed people. Glorifying a killing by putting the body on display. A man brutally attacking and cutting a womans face up and taking away her physical appearance. Women being treated like property with no care. An assassination. Hiring an assassin. Crazy things are going on here.
I also felt the kid (Jaimz Woolvett) did a great job of acting in that scene after he kills that man. You could feel the weight he was going to carry for the rest of his life, for taking a man’s life while using the latrine.
I don't know if you noticed but when Little Bill explains how fast he can draw his gun and kill someone he explains literally the final shootout in this movie, because in a shootout the one who is the fastest doesn't win, but the one who is the calmest, because the one who pulls the gun too fast can miss because he focuses on the highest possible speed to draw their gun and shoot, like in the final shootout when William Money throws his rifle as a diversion to draw his gun ready and focused, while the others hurried to draw their pistols as soon as possible and shoot, but they made mistakes and just missed or were hit, and many ran away because they were full of fear and insecurity which is what kills you here in these skirmishes, and the reason why they chose to run away from the salon, and when the writer approached William and said that William went strategically by shooting the Little Bill first, but William himself said that he went as it suited him, that he did not specifically choose the order of who to kill first, because real killers do not make mistakes, but look to finish the job properly.
Clint Eastwood described this film as an apology for his Sergio Leone trilogy that glorified death and violence.
Truly a great film.
Clint Eastwood at his finest !
Dapper man
I'm not disagreeing with you but watch the trailer for The Beguiled (1971). The pitchman would have you thinking it was an X movie, very funny
James, when people exaggerated what happened to the lady that was cut up, I kind of figured it was like a Wild West game of telephone; each person embellishing on the same story further.
The Kid described what happened which was probably an embellishment on what he’d been told, and then Will embellishes it further when describing it to Ned.
"Where it was rumored he prospered in dry goods" gets me everytime.
"Well he should have armed himself if he thought he was gonna undercut me on bolts of taffeta and tenpenny nails."
"We all have it comin', kid." When that line dropped in the theater, I actually got dizzy from the impact. A lot of revisionist Westerns bother me, but this movie is perfect. Perfect.
Clint Eastwood is a heck of a filmmaker. I haven't seen his earlier directorial efforts yet, but Mystic River, Gran Torino, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling, Sully...all are so good, but not in a flashy way. He has a down-to-earth, almost tranquil style even when extreme things are happening. But Unforgiven is his best, imo. It's just a masterpiece.
Dont forget MILLION DOLLAR BABY and A PERFECT WORLD.
Play misty for him is his first movie as director.. and a great 1.
Clint gets complimented for his directing, but not wnough in my opinion. I think his directing is better than his acting and he has directed many classics.
Agreed! This movie and his streak of Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwojima and Grand Tarino are
The Outlaw Josey Wales was the first movie he directed, another deconstructed western, and it's definitely worth a watch. It's interesting to see the progression.
@@missk8tiehis first directed movie was Play Misty For Me
I love how at the end instead of riding off into the sunset he rides off into a void of pure darkness
When legendary Richard Harris (English Bob) was asked about being in the movie he said yes immediately. They asked "Don't you want to see the script?" He said no. Clint is making a Western - I'm in!
Couple of notes: 1) Coppola had this script when it was called "The Cut-Whore Killings" or "The William Munny Killings" or versions thereof, which indicates, yet again, what a master he was in identifying a fantastic mythic story when he saw one. Even though the Coppola version of this film would have been spectacular, it's hard to imagine even him improving on what Eastwood achieved here. 2) Eastwood kept this on the shelf for ten years until he felt he was old enough to play the part. Wise. 3) A good deal of what makes it powerful, certainly in its initial release, is the meta aspect of Eastwood playing Munny. By that point two generations of audiences had seen Eastwood kill literally thousands of people onscreen, and they brought that baggage with them watching the film. 4) Eastwood the director, notorious for one or two takes and moving on, Steadicam shots to cover a bunch of pages so he can get to his early-evening tee time, actually crafts this movie with great rigor. It's almost like he knew how special this could be, and not just his spring project for the year like Pink Cadillac or whatever. It's his most carefully made film, the one that clearly has the most effort put into it. I think it's the best thing he's ever done, even from an acting standpoint, by a country mile.
Beautifully done. Not alot of shootouts, no loud soundtrack music. This is the most realistic "Western".
Love this James. Hope to see your western someday. I really liked Old Henry (2021) , it had the same feel for me - I think you would enjoy.
This movie is worth a rewatch, but this time pay attention to who each character THINKS they are. William Munny thinks he's a reformed man, Ned thinks he's still capable of taking a life, and the kid fancies himself to be what William Munny used to be. In the end it turns out they are all wrong. Munny is still the cold blooded killer he always was, Ned can't pull the trigger, and once the kid finally kills someone he's tortured by guilt.
"You just shot an unarmed man"
"He should of armed himself if hes gonna decorate his saloon with my friend." Classic line. Awesome movie!