*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".
The most ironic thing is that if it had been made today it would have been lampooned as a woke director trying to destroy American culture and history. But it was directed by one of the arch conservatives of todays Hollywood. The irony is that right wing discourse has become so black and white that it is unrecognizable from what it was 30 years ago.
I grew up just after the western era; so, I got a never ending stream of those movies on TV, many of them starring Eastwood as a younger man. I think nearly everyone sees this as a good or great movie, but it hits a little bit differently when you grew up with westerns. It's the only time I've seen an entire genre resurrected, skewered and the laid back to rest at its apogee in a single movie.
Even the Schofield kid is a deconstruction of the typical Young Gun type character, a man eager to kill and boastful to a fault, but this time it's what would really happen to those types of characters, he would freeze in the moment, be regretful of the life he has taken, and it would haunt him the rest of his life, there is no killing spree for him like their is for William Money.
I like how this movie doesn’t just show everyone as a good or evil like most films. Every character here are different shades of grey. They’re complex and complicated, just like real people are. Some good people do bad things, some bad people do good things and some people just get pulled into doing something they never would intend to in the first place because of circumstance.
The scene near the end, at the tree when they're being paid... it's not in this video, but there's a couple of things that go on that always send chills down my back. The first is the line, "It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he's got, all he's ever gonna have." The second is where he grabs the bottle from the kid. After not taking a drink, sticking to his principles (or his wife's), in that moment he washes all that away with several slugs from the bottle. The good man, gone... replaced by a whiskey drinking hard, cold blooded killer. It's chilling.
She skipped those two lines, and "Well he should have armed himself, if he's going to decorate his saloon with my friend". The three best lines of the entire film.
I remember wondering, "What could Eastwood have left in the tank? How could he top the ending to all his westerns." And then the bastard went and did it.
Yeah, a lot of people had written him off as a serious actor around that time, but he was really coming into his prime as both an actor and director. So many good movies after Unforgiven. Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and American Sniper just to name 3 Oscar winners. Btw, if you read this Mary, all 3 would be good movies for your channel but if I had to choose one it would be Million Dollar Baby. It's a female sports movie that ultimately deals with a moral dilemma. Fantastic acting and directing.
"Million Dollar Baby" is another masterpiece film directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring both Eastwood and Morgan. "Unforgiven" is not your typical Western. It breaks all the classic western tropes. "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is an older western Clint Eastwood classic - highly recommended.
Mary, I highly recommend the following Eastwood films: Westerns: The Outlaw Josey Wales, High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider Boxing: Million Dollar Baby (Best Picture, 2004) Cop/Crime: Dirty Harry WWII: Where Eagles Dare (with Richard Burton) Psychological Thriller: Play Misty for Me
One of the many great things about this movie is the fact that Clint had played sooooo many gunslingers before this, where he was basically death incarnate with his pistol(s), and where there was no remorse or really thought about the rising body count. In this movie, it’s the opposite. A real study of the effects of killing and violence on those left behind and on the violent ones themselves. That is, until they kill Ned. Then the great gunslinger returns. Best. Western. Ever.
"my wife changed me" "it was the whiskey"he said those lines like they were a prayer and in the end he reverted to his true nature.a cold blooded killer.one critic said no more westerns should made after this.because this one said it all.thanks for a fantastic reaction Mary to my favorite Western of all times
There’s unlimited space for more westerns since it’s an integral part of US history. There should be more movies like this one which inform rather than glorify. Just my $0.02 👍
Hey Mary! I have 2 recommendations based upon this: 1) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - my favorite western of all time; it transcends the genre and is so much more, too. 2) In The Line Of Fire - Another Eastwood film from the 1990s. A classic 90’s action/drama/thriller with possibly my favorite “bad guy” in the movies. I love your channel!
Unforgiven is Clint Eastwood's last Western, by choice. This is his swan song in the genre, his farewell. Doing that, he created William Munny, a collection of all the gunmen, avengers, and killers he played in Westerns during the decades. William, who has his past running behind him, comes out at the end of the movie as the ultimate Western monster, drunk, killing everyone, even unarmed people, he shoots them in the back. He knows he will meet Little Bill in hell, but first, he will save his kids.
"he created william munny". lets keep in mind that eastwood neither wrote the script, nor changed anything about the script. and that is was written more than a decade earlier, and wasnt written with eastwood in mind. yes its a truly magnificent farewell to westerns for the greatest western actor of them all. but lets not speak falsehoods to give him extra credit, when he gets enough credit for that which he did do. and please spare the reply "i meant as an actor he CREATED the character". you claim that this character is a collection of his other characters and spread misinformation. the truth of this movies excellence, from eastwood's acting, to his directing, to the rest of the cast, to the brilliant screenplay that eastwood had nothing to do with, (other than purchasing the rights to it) the truth is more than good enough, with no need for false embellishment.
@@ice-iu3vvI wanted to say the same thing. I'll just add that the script was written by David Webb Peoples who also co-wrote Blade Runner. It was originally picked up by Francis Ford Coppola and Eastwood bought the rights from him. The original title was The Cut-Whore Killings. Not exactly something you want to see on a marquee. 😂
Mary-I see others suggesting “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and it is a classic. If you watch it try to bear in mind the scene in this movie where Beauchamp asks William Munny about the order he shot the men in the bar. That was, at least in part, a reference to a famous scene in “Josey Wales”.
Yes, there is one western Clint Eastwood movie you likely haven't watched and most people don't ever watch despite it's one hell of a movie. It's called "High Plains Drifter and it's fairly creepy and unexpected. I recommend watching it if you haven't because it's a hidden gem that gets very little attention.
Clint Eastwood "Pale Rider" is great also. "Once Upon a Time in the West" is a masterpiece, especially with who the bad guy is played by is quite a shock.
Million Dollar Baby also directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Eastwood and Morgan Freeman is another must. Like Unforgiven, it won Best Picture. Mystic River was also directed by Eastwood and stars Tim Robbins (Shawshank), Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon (Tremors, Apollo 13, A Few Good Men). Mystic River also nominated Best Picture.
I agree with the suggestion of The Big Country, an excellent movie. And the rousing musical soundtrack is just magnificent. My mother was indifferent to most Westerns, but The Big Country was one of her very favorite films.
My late wife and I viewed this in the theatre upon its release, and we were both captivated by this film and the message therein. CE was Debbie's very favorite and really loved all of his pix. My Auntie Gloria was a film/TV actress from the early-1950s to the mid-1960s and worked w/ Eastwood a couple of times on the "Rawhide" western series. (She may have even given him his first on-screen kiss. A snippet of the two of them appearing together may be seen in the CE-directed "Jersey Boys".)
An older western Clint Eastwood both directed and starred in is High Plain Drifter. It's a bit forgotten now - with Unforgiven being one of the best westerns ever made - but it is a great movie with an original bend to the genre. Would love to see you react to that movie.
A friend and I went to the drive-in and saw this without knowing what it was about. We just figured it would be a shoot 'em up western. Boy were we wrong and I was glad. This became my favorite western.
Its funny how the shotgun scene seems to be lost on those who don't know guns. He was not evaluating the shotgun for the trip. Pistols shoot a single bullet. Shotguns, on the other hand, can shoot over 100 small pellets. And they spread out which is why some refer to them as a "scattergun". He became angry that he could not hit the can with his pistol. He knew full well the shotgun blast would hit the can. He wanted to kill that damn can for not dieing by the pistol. Its actually a quite funny scene for that reason.
My reaction as well to that scene. "Damn-it, I'm gonna get that can one way or another..." I remember seeing this in the theater. As he came out with that shotgun, I chucked to myself, "yeah, that'll do it"
For Clint Eastwood westerns, "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly", "A fist Full of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More", "Hang 'Em High", "Pale Rider", "The Outlaw Josey Wales". Of course the Dirty Harry series. "Kelly's Heroes", "Heartbreak Ridge". "The Eiger Sanction". Morgan Freeman has a lot of great movies. My favorites are "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Glory"
Loved all your comments on this, Mary. Your humorous observations, calling out things correctly, your pondering about the world the characters inhabit, the deeper meanings, all with that great balance of empathy, maturity and intellect. A great reaction to one of my favorite movies!
I love the scene where the Little Bill explains how the guy who remains calm and takes time aim is the the one wins a gun fight, then it plays out during the course of the movie, especially at the movie's climax.
Some other good westerns: (1) "Open Range" (2) "True Grit" (both versions) (3) "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (4) "Lonesome Dove" (miniseries) (5) "Cat Ballou" (comedy)
I was born in the early 1980's. My parents bought an old village school house to be our summer cottage when I was maybe 1.5 years old. The building is now more than 100 years old and it is huge. They got it dirt cheap, but it was in bad condition and trying to restore it and keep it in a living shape, has been a life time effort and investment. Latest improvements have been running water to the house, dishwashers and washing machines (guess what they required), and a swimming pool that lets you experience the "arctic dip" since the water comes from the same deep well with water temperarure around 4 degrees celcius.
when eastwood called richard harris to offer him the role of english bob, harris was watching the movie "high plains drifter" which i love and wish someone would react to. he thought it must be a joke when he was told "clint eastwood is on the phone for you".
to clarify, he didnt think it must be a joke that he was being asked to act in a western. he thought it must be a joke that clint eastwood is on the phone, while clint eastwood is on the tv screen killing people. @@Cheepchipsable
I love how 95% of the movie deconstructs the image of the unstoppable gunslinger. We see how mentally difficult and destructive the idea of killing another human is to people. Then at the very end we get to see William Munny actually be the living embodiment of those 'BS' gunslinger tales. This contrast makes the final scene in the bar so much more effective.
My husband and I are Canadian, he served in Afghanistan, volunteered in Iraq and Syria in 2014 and volunteered in the International Legion in Ukraine last year. He's always said he's never been troubled by who he's killed. He's hurt by the friends he has lost but he uses that as fuel to fight even harder. I'm proud of my husband.
Clint Eastwood got his start in the tv show Rawhide. It's about cattle ranchers moving across US in the old west. It had a pretty good theme song. The Blues Brothers movie starring John Belushi and Dan Akroyd did the song when they played it in a western bar as their music wasn't the taste of the crowd. That movie was about two brothers trying to raise money to save the orphanage ran by a nun who raised them. It's a pretty funny movie with lots of great music even though it's not a musical. Eastwood was in a western musical movie. called Paint Your Wagon. It's about settlers moving west in wagon trains. Eastwood also sang. in a solo.
That part at the beginning when he leaves his kids on their own is an odd thing in modern times. I grew up in the 80s & 90s & was a "Latchkey Kid" where I'd be alone with my younger siblings. I used to stay with a friend in an apartment building whose mom would disappear over the weekend. No one thought it odd. I remember a story my Dad told back in the early 60s after highways were finished & my grandparents took him & my uncles across the country from Massachusetts to California. A couple of times my grandparents needed to ask for directions so they'd pull over and leave my Dad & his brothers, one of which was a baby, on the side of the highway, in the middle of the night, for hours on end because taking them would slow things down. People just did stuff like that until like 20-30 years ago.
I think what folks need to understand is that this period, in this region, was a time of anarchy. You had to be terrified of strangers. And yes, you forcibly disarm and beat up the well-known assassin who walked into town and thumbed his nose at the deputies. And the response to Munny in the bar … much the same. The dude was armed. They asked him to give up his gun. He didn't. And thus, they violently took it from him. That would happen today, though the beating would stop sooner … or he might just be dead.
Million Dollar Baby has both Eastwood and Freeman and is one of Eastwood's best. Hilary swank's performance is outstanding. You will enjoy the story of a woman, who is the underdog.
My great grandmother was born only 5 years after this movie was to have taken place. Kind of weird that I had conversations with her when I was a teenager. She lived to be 100.
A very underestimated western, and one which is older, is The Big Country. I'm not a big western fan per se, although I was brought up with them as my father was a huge western fan. The Big Country is one of those westerns that nonwestern people can enjoy as well. It isn't just meaningless action. It's from the 1960s but it is in color and has an epic musical score. It is really about integrity and should be seen. Please do so on your own time if nothing else.
"Unforgiven" is great, but "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is Eastwood's best Western film, IMO. Josey's pact with Ten Bears is one of the best scenes in film history.
My great-great grandfather built a cabin in the woods of Ontario, Canada in the 1880's. It still exists on our family land, up there. Four years ago I bought a pre-manufactured storage shed that turned out to be the same dimensions as that old cabin. My eldest brother, who has visited the cabin, was surprised that I got a building the same size for only $5,000 USD. Seems G-G-Grandpa spent substantially more, when adjusted for inflation. 🤣
Shipping is a massive part of reduced prices. Imagine shipping that amount of cut and treated wood overland, with just trains and horse-drawn wagons as your transportation methods.
When you said built a cabin in the woods, I assumed you meant he cut the trees down to make it. What was the pre-fab made of? There is a guy on YT who has a channel repossessing plastic pre-fab sheds, quite large too.
When Munny tries to to shoot the tin box with a pistol and misses and then tries the shotgun and hits on the first shot, it's because shotguns were usually loaded with buckshot, which have 8-12 bullets inside that are fired all at once with each pull of the trigger.
IMO: Clint's TOP 5 movies - you should absolutely watch 5. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly 6. The High Plains Drifter 4. Pale Rider 7. Richard Jewell 3. The Outlaw Josey Wales 8. Heartbreak Ridge 2. Dirty Harry 9. The Gauntlet 1. Gran Torino Morgan Freeman - TOP 7 movies - you should absolutely watch: 7. Seven 6. Red 5. Million Dollar Baby (also with Clint) 4. Glory 3. Shawshank Redemption 2. Deep Impact 1. Lean On Me
Unforgiven is a follow-up of several sixties Clint Eastwood films of which I would highly recommend The Outlaw Josey Wales.. if William Munny was based on anyone, it was Josey Wales. And if any film stands up to or exceeds Unforgiven, it's that one. Morgan Freeman delivered his first truly standout performance in the Civil War epic Glory, as did Denzel Washington and the recently deceasedand astounding Andre Braugher. (99!) Which also Stars Matthew Broderick from Ferris Bueller's Day off and Carey Elwes, Wesley from The Princess Bride.
One of my professors in college who did courses on cinema defined this movie as the nail in the coffin on the Western genre. It’s such a brilliant and apt argument.
Westerns to watch: (listed best first): "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976) Clint Eastwood "The Magnificent Seven" (1960 original) remake of Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai" "Breakheart Pass" (1975) from a book by Alistair MacLean "Maverick" (1994) "Pale Rider" (1985) Clint Eastwood "3:10 to Yuma" (2007 remake) from a book by Elmore Leonard "The Cowboys" (1972) "True Grit" (2010 remake, 1969 original) from a book "The Shootist" (1976) from a book, mentioned in the IMDB trivia for "Unforgiven" "The Professionals" (1966) "Rooster Cogburn" (1975) sequel to "True Grit" "The Undefeated" (1969) "The Horse Soldiers" (1959) "The Long Riders" (1980) "Three Violent People" (1956) "Sergeant Rutledge" (1960) and a couple neo-westerns "Hell or High Water" (2016) "The Highwaymen" (2019)
The scene in the jail with the gun: Something I never noticed until it was pointed out is that Bill only empties 5 bullets from the gun. The first chamber is empty. Even if English Bob had taken the gun, he wouldn't have been able to get a shot off before Bill.
I hadn't watched a movie with Richard Harris in a long time - may he rest in peace. But a few weeks ago I had watched again the first Harry Potter after a long time, and now this one. And I was wondering what other actor (I had seen more recently) Richard Harris' voice and manners of speaking kept reminding me of. It hit me: of course he sounds like Jared Harris from Chernobyl or Foundation. Next second my dumb ass goes like, wait, what? Harris? I never knew they were father and son.
Much earlier than this but two other movies that also redefined westerns were Little Big Man and Jeremiah Johnson. In this movie, William Munney kills the culture that glorifies killers like him and Little Bill.
The best Clint Eastwood movies to watch: "Absolute Power" (1998) "Where Eagles Dare" (1968) from a book by Alistair MacLean "A Perfect World" (1994) "The Eiger Sanction" (1975) "Blood Work" (2002) "Kelly's Heroes" (1970) "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976) Clint Eastwood "Pale Rider" (1985) Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" (1971) "Sudden Impact" (1983) 4th "Dirty Harry" movie "Tightrope" (1984) "The Dead Pool" (1988) 5th "Dirty Harry" movie "Magnum Force" (1973) sequel to "Dirty Harry"
I don't recall the exact date they said this was, but I seem to recall hearing 1875. An online calculator said: $1000.00 in 1875 would be approx. $27,886.00 today.
26:12 that's the gist of Unforgiven, it's the anti-western western. It shoots down (no pun intended) all the Western tropes and glorification of shootouts and killings that happen in many other westerns -- including the spaghetti westerns that Clint became famous for. "Hell of a thing killing a man, you take everything he's got and all he's ever gonna."
Exactly. Shows how unjust everybody was. "Deserves got nothing to do it" summed of the movie perfectly. The first boy dies for no reason at all besides strawberry being blood thirsty. The 2nd guy dies when the woman is still alive. Ned dies when he didn't kill anybody and then ironically little Bill was the only one that actually deserved it.
Eastwood has said that he wanted to deconstruct the mythos of the Western in this film and I believe he succeeded...surpassing even John Ford's great The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance as a filmmaker's fine and final say on the genre that made them.
This was one of the first films I ever saw that it was obvious that the William were not just force for good. Chinese whispers made the cowboys crime worse and knowing them better a in story was showing that they were not all bad either. Little Bill doing all he can to maintain the peace in town and ends up being rsteam olled by the fury of William.
At at least two points in the film English Bob drops his posh accent: first when he's genuinely shocked to see Little Bill, and later in his curse-filled rant as he leaves town.
When this movie came out a lot of fans and critics said this would be the last western, because it subverted all the western tropes of the genre in favor of realism. And it did it well, highlighting the fairytale nature of the morality plays which previous westerns had relied upon. Many people thought the genre couldn't survive this movie.
I'm sure they will make a come back into fashion. I think the problem is so many people think movies accurately portray history - even Mary though it was "sad" the kids were living on the farm, but you will find since they knew no different they would have been happy enough. That her view from a modern day perspective.
@@Cheepchipsable There have been lots of Westerns since, but they favor less courageous heroics and more historical realism. Louis L'Amour was a famous amateur Western historian who funded his research by writing Western novels. He used many of the classic Western genre tropes, but injected as much realism into the setting as he could to educate people against the Hollywood fictions. His books have been made into quite a number of movies since this came out. It's just another era, different emphasis, different tropes.
My friend, in no way can anyone be "a loser" if they just got done recalling the time they rode a horse which alone is pretty cool to be able to tell people about, regardless of how scared it made them feel ( considering a horse literally took out superman) but in mountains no less, that sounds absolutely incredible.
I went horseback riding twice once at nine years and the next at ten. The first time the horse did what he wanted including going back into the barn with me on him and following another group as they passed. The other time was during a year with the seven year cicada emergence. Neither time was enjoyable.
Silverado is another good western. Not a Clint Eastwood one but has a star studded cast of Kevin Cline, Danny Glover, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum and a young Kevin Costner along with other well knowns.
Unleashed is an interesting movie with Morgan Freeman. It stars Jet Li, and while it's very different, the themes of moral ambiguity do come up, and Morgan Freeman is always top notch. I don't want to spoil it, in case you decide to check it out.
One of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". He didn't star in it, but he directed it. It's a mystery/crime flick. Mary might like it.
See "The Cowboys" with John Wayne and Bruce Dern. Dern's performance as a bad guy was so incredible that he received hate mail and death threats. The actor had a hard time getting work after that film.
In my more lucid moments I find your comments very on point and I listen closely to your commentary. And congratulations to you and your husband on the baby.
imo, the key to the movie is the writer. the movie is basically about STORIES. that stories DISTORT. you know how the story about what happened to the prostitute that got her face cut became EXAGGERATED over the numerous tellings? and the stories about the "duck of death" - they were basically self serving distortions that twisted what really happened to make himself look more heroic. and the kid's youth is kind of about how young people BELIEVE in the stories... they believe that violence in the real world is like violence in movies and that it's cool and that they can be cool. like you said, in other movies people get shot and they die instantly and cleanly. but that in real life, violence is ugly and pathetic and sad and that those who engage in it are not to be admired because they are ruined souls. the entire movie is kind of an examination and deconstruction of the western genre in particular. because it itself is a perfect example of stories completely COMPLETELY DISTORTING history. almost everything people know about the "old west" is DIRECTLY FROM HOLLYWOOD MOVIES. and those movies are a COMPLETE DISTORTION of the reality of the old west. in most towns, it was illegal to carry a firearm. and the murder rate in modern cities is FAR HIGHER than the murder rate back in the old west. and it certainly would not be that way if people were having showdowns and gunfights in saloons as frequently as depicted in the movies. imo, this is eastwood's magnum opus masterpiece. he could have and maybe should have ended his career as a director with this movie. sadly he didn't. and he goes on to make a movie like "american sniper" which does exactly the thing that this movie denounces - romanticizes violence and make heroes of mere human beings.
Spaghetti westerns (that I watched as a kid) were always about the good guy and the bad guys having shootouts and the good guy always won. Mr. Eastwood was always the good guy even when he was the bad guy. This one shows a more realistic version of what the old west was probably like. The lighting was probably to imitate the candlelight back then or the old lightbulbs if they were around then. At the end of the show when he's leaving town it shows the way old westerns used to end as well, with the distortion in the film.
The Schofield Kid: [after killing a man for the first time] It don't seem real... how he ain't gonna never breathe again, ever... how he's dead. And the other one too. All on account of pulling a trigger. Will Munny: It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have. The Schofield Kid: Yeah, well, I guess they had it coming. Will Munny: We all got it coming, kid.
Two things about William Mummy character he was reluctant to get back to his old ways but once he was,the final shot out In the bar he was so calm that why he was able to shot them all.
*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".
The most ironic thing is that if it had been made today it would have been lampooned as a woke director trying to destroy American culture and history. But it was directed by one of the arch conservatives of todays Hollywood. The irony is that right wing discourse has become so black and white that it is unrecognizable from what it was 30 years ago.
Did you see Shanelle Riccio reaction posted yesterday?
I grew up just after the western era; so, I got a never ending stream of those movies on TV, many of them starring Eastwood as a younger man. I think nearly everyone sees this as a good or great movie, but it hits a little bit differently when you grew up with westerns. It's the only time I've seen an entire genre resurrected, skewered and the laid back to rest at its apogee in a single movie.
Even the Schofield kid is a deconstruction of the typical Young Gun type character, a man eager to kill and boastful to a fault, but this time it's what would really happen to those types of characters, he would freeze in the moment, be regretful of the life he has taken, and it would haunt him the rest of his life, there is no killing spree for him like their is for William Money.
I like how this movie doesn’t just show everyone as a good or evil like most films. Every character here are different shades of grey. They’re complex and complicated, just like real people are. Some good people do bad things, some bad people do good things and some people just get pulled into doing something they never would intend to in the first place because of circumstance.
The scene near the end, at the tree when they're being paid... it's not in this video, but there's a couple of things that go on that always send chills down my back. The first is the line, "It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he's got, all he's ever gonna have." The second is where he grabs the bottle from the kid. After not taking a drink, sticking to his principles (or his wife's), in that moment he washes all that away with several slugs from the bottle. The good man, gone... replaced by a whiskey drinking hard, cold blooded killer. It's chilling.
That was one of the MANY amazing lines and scenes in this movie.
The drinking while hearing what happened to Ned is some top tier film making. The acting, the editing, the photography, it's all perfect.
She skipped those two lines, and "Well he should have armed himself, if he's going to decorate his saloon with my friend". The three best lines of the entire film.
Unforgiven is such a perfect film, and another great Eastwood western is The Outlaw Josey Wales.
'The Outlaw Josey Wales" is an incredible movie that Clint directed and stars in (his first time directing) I highly recommend!😀
No, Play Misty For Me was Eastwood's directorial debut. That was 1971, 5 years before The Outlaw Josey Wales.
My mistake, thank you for correcting me.@@timothylockard3846
I remember wondering, "What could Eastwood have left in the tank? How could he top the ending to all his westerns." And then the bastard went and did it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I walked into that theater being a bit suspicious about the hype I had heard about it. Walked out amazed.
I can't believe Clint kept directing and made movies of about the same caliber! He should be in a hall of fame!
I thought Pale Rider was the best... and then this came out.
@@njt2347 Dude... you're making want to binge. 😆
Yeah, a lot of people had written him off as a serious actor around that time, but he was really coming into his prime as both an actor and director. So many good movies after Unforgiven. Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and American Sniper just to name 3 Oscar winners. Btw, if you read this Mary, all 3 would be good movies for your channel but if I had to choose one it would be Million Dollar Baby. It's a female sports movie that ultimately deals with a moral dilemma. Fantastic acting and directing.
"Million Dollar Baby" is another masterpiece film directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring both Eastwood and Morgan.
"Unforgiven" is not your typical Western. It breaks all the classic western tropes. "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is an older western Clint Eastwood classic - highly recommended.
"You just shot an unarmed man."
"Well he should've armed himself ..."
Mary, I highly recommend the following Eastwood films:
Westerns: The Outlaw Josey Wales, High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider
Boxing: Million Dollar Baby (Best Picture, 2004)
Cop/Crime: Dirty Harry
WWII: Where Eagles Dare (with Richard Burton)
Psychological Thriller: Play Misty for Me
You can add The Beguiled to the psychological thrillers.
One of the many great things about this movie is the fact that Clint had played sooooo many gunslingers before this, where he was basically death incarnate with his pistol(s), and where there was no remorse or really thought about the rising body count. In this movie, it’s the opposite. A real study of the effects of killing and violence on those left behind and on the violent ones themselves. That is, until they kill Ned. Then the great gunslinger returns. Best. Western. Ever.
"my wife changed me" "it was the whiskey"he said those lines like they were a prayer and in the end he reverted to his true nature.a cold blooded killer.one critic said no more westerns should made after this.because this one said it all.thanks for a fantastic reaction Mary to my favorite Western of all times
There’s unlimited space for more westerns since it’s an integral part of US history. There should be more movies like this one which inform rather than glorify. Just my $0.02 👍
Hey Mary! I have 2 recommendations based upon this:
1) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - my favorite western of all time; it transcends the genre and is so much more, too.
2) In The Line Of Fire - Another Eastwood film from the 1990s. A classic 90’s action/drama/thriller with possibly my favorite “bad guy” in the movies.
I love your channel!
LIberty Valance is such a classic!
"high Plains Drifter" is my favorite of his, because it has a twist that you don't expect.
Unforgiven is Clint Eastwood's last Western, by choice. This is his swan song in the genre, his farewell. Doing that, he created William Munny, a collection of all the gunmen, avengers, and killers he played in Westerns during the decades. William, who has his past running behind him, comes out at the end of the movie as the ultimate Western monster, drunk, killing everyone, even unarmed people, he shoots them in the back. He knows he will meet Little Bill in hell, but first, he will save his kids.
"he created william munny". lets keep in mind that eastwood neither wrote the script, nor changed anything about the script. and that is was written more than a decade earlier, and wasnt written with eastwood in mind. yes its a truly magnificent farewell to westerns for the greatest western actor of them all. but lets not speak falsehoods to give him extra credit, when he gets enough credit for that which he did do. and please spare the reply "i meant as an actor he CREATED the character". you claim that this character is a collection of his other characters and spread misinformation. the truth of this movies excellence, from eastwood's acting, to his directing, to the rest of the cast, to the brilliant screenplay that eastwood had nothing to do with, (other than purchasing the rights to it) the truth is more than good enough, with no need for false embellishment.
@@ice-iu3vvI wanted to say the same thing. I'll just add that the script was written by David Webb Peoples who also co-wrote Blade Runner. It was originally picked up by Francis Ford Coppola and Eastwood bought the rights from him. The original title was The Cut-Whore Killings. Not exactly something you want to see on a marquee. 😂
Mary-I see others suggesting “The Outlaw Josey Wales” and it is a classic. If you watch it try to bear in mind the scene in this movie where Beauchamp asks William Munny about the order he shot the men in the bar. That was, at least in part, a reference to a famous scene in “Josey Wales”.
Yes, there is one western Clint Eastwood movie you likely haven't watched and most people don't ever watch despite it's one hell of a movie. It's called "High Plains Drifter and it's fairly creepy and unexpected. I recommend watching it if you haven't because it's a hidden gem that gets very little attention.
This is set in 1880. $1,000 USD would be $30,100 USD today (27,800 euros).
Clint Eastwood "Pale Rider" is great also. "Once Upon a Time in the West" is a masterpiece, especially with who the bad guy is played by is quite a shock.
Million Dollar Baby also directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Eastwood and Morgan Freeman is another must. Like Unforgiven, it won Best Picture. Mystic River was also directed by Eastwood and stars Tim Robbins (Shawshank), Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon (Tremors, Apollo 13, A Few Good Men). Mystic River also nominated Best Picture.
Two of the finest movies made.
If you watch Million Dollar Baby have the tissues ready
Another western would be 5he big country. Great cast... Quigley down under with Tm selleck, alan Rickman, and the mini series Lonesome Dove...
Both those would be great reactions. Million Dollar Baby is one of those must see films imo. Unfortunately Mystic River is chronically overlooked.
I agree with the suggestion of The Big Country, an excellent movie. And the rousing musical soundtrack is just magnificent. My mother was indifferent to most Westerns, but The Big Country was one of her very favorite films.
My late wife and I viewed this in the theatre upon its release, and we were both captivated by this film and the message therein. CE was Debbie's very favorite and really loved all of his pix. My Auntie Gloria was a film/TV actress from the early-1950s to the mid-1960s and worked w/ Eastwood a couple of times on the "Rawhide" western series. (She may have even given him his first on-screen kiss. A snippet of the two of them appearing together may be seen in the CE-directed "Jersey Boys".)
"Appaloosa" with Viggo Mortenson and Ed Helms. Amazing western. No one reacts to that.
An older western Clint Eastwood both directed and starred in is High Plain Drifter. It's a bit forgotten now - with Unforgiven being one of the best westerns ever made - but it is a great movie with an original bend to the genre. Would love to see you react to that movie.
A friend and I went to the drive-in and saw this without knowing what it was about. We just figured it would be a shoot 'em up western. Boy were we wrong and I was glad. This became my favorite western.
Morgan Freedman said when gene hackman said he would hurt him "i believed him". I think that says a lot about both actors
Its funny how the shotgun scene seems to be lost on those who don't know guns. He was not evaluating the shotgun for the trip. Pistols shoot a single bullet. Shotguns, on the other hand, can shoot over 100 small pellets. And they spread out which is why some refer to them as a "scattergun". He became angry that he could not hit the can with his pistol. He knew full well the shotgun blast would hit the can. He wanted to kill that damn can for not dieing by the pistol. Its actually a quite funny scene for that reason.
Yes, seemed quite obvious he was pissed that he couldn't hit the can with a pistol, so got the shotgun because he knew he couldn't miss.
My reaction as well to that scene. "Damn-it, I'm gonna get that can one way or another..." I remember seeing this in the theater. As he came out with that shotgun, I chucked to myself, "yeah, that'll do it"
For Clint Eastwood westerns, "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly", "A fist Full of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More", "Hang 'Em High", "Pale Rider", "The Outlaw Josey Wales". Of course the Dirty Harry series. "Kelly's Heroes", "Heartbreak Ridge". "The Eiger Sanction".
Morgan Freeman has a lot of great movies. My favorites are "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Glory"
"It's gonna be quite a happy movie" oh you sweet summer child... :)
I was gonna comment the same thing! 😅
Loved all your comments on this, Mary. Your humorous observations, calling out things correctly, your pondering about the world the characters inhabit, the deeper meanings, all with that great balance of empathy, maturity and intellect. A great reaction to one of my favorite movies!
I love the scene where the Little Bill explains how the guy who remains calm and takes time aim is the the one wins a gun fight, then it plays out during the course of the movie, especially at the movie's climax.
Some other good westerns:
(1) "Open Range"
(2) "True Grit" (both versions)
(3) "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"
(4) "Lonesome Dove" (miniseries)
(5) "Cat Ballou" (comedy)
I was born in the early 1980's. My parents bought an old village school house to be our summer cottage when I was maybe 1.5 years old. The building is now more than 100 years old and it is huge. They got it dirt cheap, but it was in bad condition and trying to restore it and keep it in a living shape, has been a life time effort and investment. Latest improvements have been running water to the house, dishwashers and washing machines (guess what they required), and a swimming pool that lets you experience the "arctic dip" since the water comes from the same deep well with water temperarure around 4 degrees celcius.
My Uncle from Eastern Oregon.. Old time rancher. His nickname was Slim.
when eastwood called richard harris to offer him the role of english bob, harris was watching the movie "high plains drifter" which i love and wish someone would react to. he thought it must be a joke when he was told "clint eastwood is on the phone for you".
Richard Harris was in a western called A Man Called Horse, and quite a few others.
to clarify, he didnt think it must be a joke that he was being asked to act in a western. he thought it must be a joke that clint eastwood is on the phone, while clint eastwood is on the tv screen killing people. @@Cheepchipsable
I love how 95% of the movie deconstructs the image of the unstoppable gunslinger. We see how mentally difficult and destructive the idea of killing another human is to people.
Then at the very end we get to see William Munny actually be the living embodiment of those 'BS' gunslinger tales.
This contrast makes the final scene in the bar so much more effective.
My husband and I are Canadian, he served in Afghanistan, volunteered in Iraq and Syria in 2014 and volunteered in the International Legion in Ukraine last year. He's always said he's never been troubled by who he's killed. He's hurt by the friends he has lost but he uses that as fuel to fight even harder. I'm proud of my husband.
Clint Eastwood got his start in the tv show Rawhide. It's about cattle ranchers moving across US in the old west. It had a pretty good theme song. The Blues Brothers movie starring John Belushi and Dan Akroyd did the song when they played it in a western bar as their music wasn't the taste of the crowd. That movie was about two brothers trying to raise money to save the orphanage ran by a nun who raised them. It's a pretty funny movie with lots of great music even though it's not a musical. Eastwood was in a western musical movie. called Paint Your Wagon. It's about settlers moving west in wagon trains. Eastwood also sang. in a solo.
Eastwood is also a musician - he sings in the credits of one of the "Every Which Way..." movies
He's well trained as a jazz pianist, and also composes music, such as the closing song in Unforgiven.
That part at the beginning when he leaves his kids on their own is an odd thing in modern times. I grew up in the 80s & 90s & was a "Latchkey Kid" where I'd be alone with my younger siblings. I used to stay with a friend in an apartment building whose mom would disappear over the weekend. No one thought it odd.
I remember a story my Dad told back in the early 60s after highways were finished & my grandparents took him & my uncles across the country from Massachusetts to California. A couple of times my grandparents needed to ask for directions so they'd pull over and leave my Dad & his brothers, one of which was a baby, on the side of the highway, in the middle of the night, for hours on end because taking them would slow things down. People just did stuff like that until like 20-30 years ago.
I think what folks need to understand is that this period, in this region, was a time of anarchy. You had to be terrified of strangers. And yes, you forcibly disarm and beat up the well-known assassin who walked into town and thumbed his nose at the deputies.
And the response to Munny in the bar … much the same. The dude was armed. They asked him to give up his gun. He didn't. And thus, they violently took it from him. That would happen today, though the beating would stop sooner … or he might just be dead.
Million Dollar Baby has both Eastwood and Freeman and is one of Eastwood's best. Hilary swank's performance is outstanding. You will enjoy the story of a woman, who is the underdog.
Fun Fact for Mary: Bob ,the Duke of Death is the first Dumbledore!
My great grandmother was born only 5 years after this movie was to have taken place. Kind of weird that I had conversations with her when I was a teenager. She lived to be 100.
"Million Dollar Baby", Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman together again. Very emotional though.
When will says "or I'll come back and kill everyone of you sons of bitches" always gives me chills just the look on his face.
A very underestimated western, and one which is older, is The Big Country. I'm not a big western fan per se, although I was brought up with them as my father was a huge western fan. The Big Country is one of those westerns that nonwestern people can enjoy as well. It isn't just meaningless action. It's from the 1960s but it is in color and has an epic musical score. It is really about integrity and should be seen. Please do so on your own time if nothing else.
"Unforgiven" is great, but "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is Eastwood's best Western film, IMO.
Josey's pact with Ten Bears is one of the best scenes in film history.
Richard Harris (English Bob) also plays Prof. Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies.
One of the best movies ever made :)
I love how everytime someone tells a story about William its different. 😊
My great-great grandfather built a cabin in the woods of Ontario, Canada in the 1880's. It still exists on our family land, up there. Four years ago I bought a pre-manufactured storage shed that turned out to be the same dimensions as that old cabin. My eldest brother, who has visited the cabin, was surprised that I got a building the same size for only $5,000 USD. Seems G-G-Grandpa spent substantially more, when adjusted for inflation. 🤣
Shipping is a massive part of reduced prices. Imagine shipping that amount of cut and treated wood overland, with just trains and horse-drawn wagons as your transportation methods.
When you said built a cabin in the woods, I assumed you meant he cut the trees down to make it.
What was the pre-fab made of?
There is a guy on YT who has a channel repossessing plastic pre-fab sheds, quite large too.
When Munny tries to to shoot the tin box with a pistol and misses and then tries the shotgun and hits on the first shot, it's because shotguns were usually loaded with buckshot, which have 8-12 bullets inside that are fired all at once with each pull of the trigger.
IMO: Clint's TOP 5 movies - you should absolutely watch
5. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
6. The High Plains Drifter
4. Pale Rider
7. Richard Jewell
3. The Outlaw Josey Wales
8. Heartbreak Ridge
2. Dirty Harry
9. The Gauntlet
1. Gran Torino
Morgan Freeman - TOP 7 movies - you should absolutely watch:
7. Seven
6. Red
5. Million Dollar Baby (also with Clint)
4. Glory
3. Shawshank Redemption
2. Deep Impact
1. Lean On Me
Unforgiven is one of the best written westerns of all time. Great cast and great direction.
Unforgiven is a follow-up of several sixties Clint Eastwood films of which I would highly recommend The Outlaw Josey Wales.. if William Munny was based on anyone, it was Josey Wales. And if any film stands up to or exceeds Unforgiven, it's that one.
Morgan Freeman delivered his first truly standout performance in the Civil War epic Glory, as did Denzel Washington and the recently deceasedand astounding Andre Braugher. (99!)
Which also Stars Matthew Broderick from Ferris Bueller's Day off and Carey Elwes, Wesley from The Princess Bride.
One of my professors in college who did courses on cinema defined this movie as the nail in the coffin on the Western genre. It’s such a brilliant and apt argument.
I'm stunned that this is 30 years old. Wow.
Spectacular film.
Westerns to watch: (listed best first):
"The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976) Clint Eastwood
"The Magnificent Seven" (1960 original) remake of Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai"
"Breakheart Pass" (1975) from a book by Alistair MacLean
"Maverick" (1994)
"Pale Rider" (1985) Clint Eastwood
"3:10 to Yuma" (2007 remake) from a book by Elmore Leonard
"The Cowboys" (1972)
"True Grit" (2010 remake, 1969 original) from a book
"The Shootist" (1976) from a book, mentioned in the IMDB trivia for "Unforgiven"
"The Professionals" (1966)
"Rooster Cogburn" (1975) sequel to "True Grit"
"The Undefeated" (1969)
"The Horse Soldiers" (1959)
"The Long Riders" (1980)
"Three Violent People" (1956)
"Sergeant Rutledge" (1960)
and a couple neo-westerns
"Hell or High Water" (2016)
"The Highwaymen" (2019)
The scene in the jail with the gun: Something I never noticed until it was pointed out is that Bill only empties 5 bullets from the gun. The first chamber is empty. Even if English Bob had taken the gun, he wouldn't have been able to get a shot off before Bill.
Bill was hedging his bets in case he was wrong about the writer.
Both the writer and the young killer romanticised outlaws.
I hadn't watched a movie with Richard Harris in a long time - may he rest in peace. But a few weeks ago I had watched again the first Harry Potter after a long time, and now this one. And I was wondering what other actor (I had seen more recently) Richard Harris' voice and manners of speaking kept reminding me of. It hit me: of course he sounds like Jared Harris from Chernobyl or Foundation. Next second my dumb ass goes like, wait, what? Harris? I never knew they were father and son.
This great western won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1993.
Please continue with Star Trek.
Much earlier than this but two other movies that also redefined westerns were Little Big Man and Jeremiah Johnson. In this movie, William Munney kills the culture that glorifies killers like him and Little Bill.
The best Clint Eastwood movies to watch:
"Absolute Power" (1998)
"Where Eagles Dare" (1968) from a book by Alistair MacLean
"A Perfect World" (1994)
"The Eiger Sanction" (1975)
"Blood Work" (2002)
"Kelly's Heroes" (1970)
"The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976) Clint Eastwood
"Pale Rider" (1985) Clint Eastwood
"Dirty Harry" (1971)
"Sudden Impact" (1983) 4th "Dirty Harry" movie
"Tightrope" (1984)
"The Dead Pool" (1988) 5th "Dirty Harry" movie
"Magnum Force" (1973) sequel to "Dirty Harry"
Hi Mary,
A couple of suggestions: Little Big Man is a Western that's actually quite good. Tombstone with Kurt Russell is another good one.
A man called Horse?
Dido on LITTLE BIG MAN. An absolute classic.
Also add HOW THE WEST WAS WON to must see westerns.
For anyone wondering... $1000 in 1880 is roughly equal to $30000 or about €27300.
A good Clint Eastwood movie is The Beguiled (1971) Mary.
Well something to keep in mind is that the horse doesn’t want to fall off the cliff either. As long as it is not spooked you would be fine.
Don't know if you noticed, but the "Duke of Death" was Dumbledore in the first two movies.
I love “you just shot an unarmed man” “well he should have armed himself, if he’s going to decorate his establishment with my friend”
I don't recall the exact date they said this was, but I seem to recall hearing 1875. An online calculator said: $1000.00 in 1875 would be approx. $27,886.00 today.
26:12 that's the gist of Unforgiven, it's the anti-western western. It shoots down (no pun intended) all the Western tropes and glorification of shootouts and killings that happen in many other westerns -- including the spaghetti westerns that Clint became famous for. "Hell of a thing killing a man, you take everything he's got and all he's ever gonna."
Exactly. Shows how unjust everybody was. "Deserves got nothing to do it" summed of the movie perfectly. The first boy dies for no reason at all besides strawberry being blood thirsty. The 2nd guy dies when the woman is still alive. Ned dies when he didn't kill anybody and then ironically little Bill was the only one that actually deserved it.
Eastwood has said that he wanted to deconstruct the mythos of the Western in this film and I believe he succeeded...surpassing even John Ford's great The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance as a filmmaker's fine and final say on the genre that made them.
This was one of the first films I ever saw that it was obvious that the William were not just force for good. Chinese whispers made the cowboys crime worse and knowing them better a in story was showing that they were not all bad either. Little Bill doing all he can to maintain the peace in town and ends up being rsteam olled by the fury of William.
At at least two points in the film English Bob drops his posh accent: first when he's genuinely shocked to see Little Bill, and later in his curse-filled rant as he leaves town.
When this movie came out a lot of fans and critics said this would be the last western, because it subverted all the western tropes of the genre in favor of realism. And it did it well, highlighting the fairytale nature of the morality plays which previous westerns had relied upon. Many people thought the genre couldn't survive this movie.
I'm sure they will make a come back into fashion.
I think the problem is so many people think movies accurately portray history - even Mary though it was "sad" the kids were living on the farm, but you will find since they knew no different they would have been happy enough. That her view from a modern day perspective.
@@Cheepchipsable There have been lots of Westerns since, but they favor less courageous heroics and more historical realism. Louis L'Amour was a famous amateur Western historian who funded his research by writing Western novels. He used many of the classic Western genre tropes, but injected as much realism into the setting as he could to educate people against the Hollywood fictions. His books have been made into quite a number of movies since this came out. It's just another era, different emphasis, different tropes.
My friend, in no way can anyone be "a loser" if they just got done recalling the time they rode a horse which alone is pretty cool to be able to tell people about, regardless of how scared it made them feel ( considering a horse literally took out superman) but in mountains no less, that sounds absolutely incredible.
Million Dollar Baby is also excellent, thanks
Such a great movie, I rewatch this movie every couple of years.
By the way, I have four grown kids: Emily, 32; Stephen 28; Richard 28 & Samuel 23. They are successful in their own rignt.😊
I went horseback riding twice once at nine years and the next at ten. The first time the horse did what he wanted including going back into the barn with me on him and following another group as they passed. The other time was during a year with the seven year cicada emergence. Neither time was enjoyable.
Aw, the editor cut "I don't deserve this....I was building a house". One of the most weirdly tragic bad-guy last words in cinema history.
Silverado is another good western. Not a Clint Eastwood one but has a star studded cast of Kevin Cline, Danny Glover, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum and a young Kevin Costner along with other well knowns.
Unleashed is an interesting movie with Morgan Freeman. It stars Jet Li, and while it's very different, the themes of moral ambiguity do come up, and Morgan Freeman is always top notch. I don't want to spoil it, in case you decide to check it out.
One of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". He didn't star in it, but he directed it. It's a mystery/crime flick. Mary might like it.
I agree with The Outlaw Josie Wales being his best. As for Morgan Freeman I'm sure you saw Shawshank Redemption. I watch so many of yours I forget
See "The Cowboys" with John Wayne and Bruce Dern. Dern's performance as a bad guy was so incredible that he received hate mail and death threats. The actor had a hard time getting work after that film.
Mary, "Million Dollar Baby" is a must-see movie starring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Hilary Swank. Please check it out!
It's the #1 Western on my list. It's right up there for any genre. A great movie.
In my more lucid moments I find your comments very on point and I listen closely to your commentary. And congratulations to you and your husband on the baby.
More Clint, hmmmm 'Any which way but loose' would be fun :)
I can’t remember if you have watched Million Dollar Baby before or not, but if you haven’t, it is a great Swank/Eastwood/Freeman movie.
imo, the key to the movie is the writer. the movie is basically about STORIES. that stories DISTORT. you know how the story about what happened to the prostitute that got her face cut became EXAGGERATED over the numerous tellings? and the stories about the "duck of death" - they were basically self serving distortions that twisted what really happened to make himself look more heroic. and the kid's youth is kind of about how young people BELIEVE in the stories... they believe that violence in the real world is like violence in movies and that it's cool and that they can be cool. like you said, in other movies people get shot and they die instantly and cleanly. but that in real life, violence is ugly and pathetic and sad and that those who engage in it are not to be admired because they are ruined souls.
the entire movie is kind of an examination and deconstruction of the western genre in particular. because it itself is a perfect example of stories completely COMPLETELY DISTORTING history. almost everything people know about the "old west" is DIRECTLY FROM HOLLYWOOD MOVIES. and those movies are a COMPLETE DISTORTION of the reality of the old west. in most towns, it was illegal to carry a firearm. and the murder rate in modern cities is FAR HIGHER than the murder rate back in the old west. and it certainly would not be that way if people were having showdowns and gunfights in saloons as frequently as depicted in the movies.
imo, this is eastwood's magnum opus masterpiece. he could have and maybe should have ended his career as a director with this movie.
sadly he didn't. and he goes on to make a movie like "american sniper" which does exactly the thing that this movie denounces - romanticizes violence and make heroes of mere human beings.
You're definitely gonna want to see Pale Rider and The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Intense and cinematic. Clint Eastwood is just totally amazing.
Spaghetti westerns (that I watched as a kid) were always about the good guy and the bad guys having shootouts and the good guy always won. Mr. Eastwood was always the good guy even when he was the bad guy. This one shows a more realistic version of what the old west was probably like. The lighting was probably to imitate the candlelight back then or the old lightbulbs if they were around then. At the end of the show when he's leaving town it shows the way old westerns used to end as well, with the distortion in the film.
They came of the back of Hollywood westerns where the good guy always one, Randolph Scott and all that.
The Schofield Kid: [after killing a man for the first time] It don't seem real... how he ain't gonna never breathe again, ever... how he's dead. And the other one too. All on account of pulling a trigger.
Will Munny: It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.
The Schofield Kid: Yeah, well, I guess they had it coming.
Will Munny: We all got it coming, kid.
Not many people recognize that the madam here played Rose's mother in Titanic.
Movie suggestions: Disney The Love Bug 1969, Hoodwinked 2005, The Monkey 2023, Walking with Dinosaurs The Movie 2013, Gnomeo and Juliet 2011. Please
Clint Eastwood also directed a favorite, American Sniper. 🇺🇸
Kelly's Heroes.. Clint Eastwood, WW2, humor/lighter feel
Two things about William Mummy character he was reluctant to get back to his old ways but once he was,the final shot out In the bar he was so calm that why he was able to shot them all.
I think you would enjoy "A Perfect World" starring Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood. It's another one directed by Clint.
Was a great ending to the genre imho. Gran Tarino is another favourite of mine