Unforgiven (1992) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence.

a list of 22 titles created 01 Mar 2011 a list of 28 titles created 21 Mar 2011 a list of 45 titles created 10 Jun 2013 a list of 49 titles created 19 Oct 2013 a list of 25 titles created 5 months ago Search for " Unforgiven " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 4 Oscars. Another 36 wins & 29 nominations. See more awards » Videos Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino. Director: Clint Eastwood A young recruit in Vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man. Director: Oliver Stone Two bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a Western outlaw. Director: Sergio Leone A determined woman works with a hardened boxing trainer to become a professional.

Director: Clint Eastwood An in-depth examination of the ways in which the U.S. Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of people in a small industrial town in Pennsylvania. Director: Michael Cimino A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery. Director: Sergio Leone A group of professional bank robbers start to feel the heat from police when they unknowingly leave a clue at their latest heist. Director: Michael Mann As corruption grows in 1950s LA, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice. Director: Curtis Hanson Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande. Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin In Miami in 1980, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.

Director: Brian De Palma Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two best friends, a mafia underboss and a casino owner, for a trophy wife over a gambling empire. Director: Martin Scorsese Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer, gets a supremely rare chance to fight heavy-weight champion Apollo Creed in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect. Director: John G. Avildsen Edit Storyline The town of Big Whisky is full of normal people trying to lead quiet lives. Cowboys try to make a living. Sheriff 'Little Bill' tries to build a house and keep a heavy-handed order. The town whores just try to get by.Then a couple of cowboys cut up a whore. Dissatisfied with Bill's justice, the prostitutes put a bounty on the cowboys. The bounty attracts a young gun billing himself as 'The Schofield Kid', and aging killer William Munny. Munny reformed for his young wife, and has been raising crops and two children in peace. But his wife is gone. Farm life is hard. And Munny is no good at it.

So he calls his old partner Ned, saddles his ornery nag, and rides off to kill one more time, blurring the lines between heroism and villainy, man and myth. Written by Charlie Ness It's a hell of a thing, killing a man Genres: Rated R for language, and violence, and for a scene of sexuality | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 7 August 1992 (USA) See more » Also Known As: The Cut Whore Killings See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Clint Eastwood 's mother Ruth Wood toiled through an uncomfortable day (wearing a heavy dress) as an extra, filming a scene where she boards a train; but the scene was eventually cut, with her son apologizing that the film was "too long and something had to go." All was forgiven when he brought her to the Academy Awards and thanked her prominently in his acceptance speech. See more » Goofs In the scene where they are going to look for Munny, a cowboy states that they bought all for the 30-30 shells. The 30-30 cartridge did not come out until the mid 1890s.

See more » Quotes See more » Crazy Credits Instead of the usual Warner Bros. closing logo, it shows the Warner Bros. shield in black and white without a banner. See more » Connections An old man reconnects with his wicked past 10 December 2004 | by whstrock (Southeast Georgia) – See all my reviews I enjoy the transformation of Clint Eastwood's character throughout the movie. In the beginning he reluctantly becomes a gunfighter but as the movie progresses you see how he slides down the slippery slope of wickedness to become the cold-blooded killer needed for the task. Morgan Freeman's reaction to the transformation is well played also. Richard Harris' character is colorful as is his sidekick. Gene Hackman's sheriff is pleasantly atypical of the role. All these actors and their characters effectively leave the viewer with a myriad of directions from which the movie expertly entertains. If you are expecting anything like Clint's "spaghetti westerns" you will be disappointed. If you are looking for an excellent story with characters that all have varying degrees of wickedness, you will be satisfied when its all said and done. 119 of 162 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes Unforgiven, review - Telegraph Film Reviews Unforgiven, review Clint Eastwood deservedly won Oscars for his gritty revisionist western Unforgiven, which also starred Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman 5 By Martin Chilton , Culture Editor online 2:00PM GMT 21 Dec 2014 Unforgiven (1992) was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood with a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. Certificate 15; Running time: 131 minutes. The expression “instant classic” is overused but Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning western from 1992, Unforgiven, merits it. Unforgiven marked a turning point in Eastwood's career – a farewell to the tough cop roles of Dirty Harry Callahan from the Seventies and Eighties and a curtain-raiser to the complex, emotional storytelling of his future (such as 2004's Million Dollar Baby).

Eastwood said that it was in 1980 that he first read a script called The William Munney Killings (the working title of Unforgiven) and said: "I thought, gee, this would be a great western, but I think I should be a little bit older to do it. And so I bought the screenplay and put it in a drawer, and then, about 1990 or 1991, I thought: whatever happened to that? I read it and fell in love with it all over again, and I said that this is nice, and this should be my last western." Eastwood (who was 62 at the time) is superb in his portrayal of William Munny, a violence-weary killer forced out of retirement. "They call me the Schofield Kid," says his young partner. "Why? Do you come from Schofield?" replies the taciturn Munny.

Related Articles Richard Harris - Biography - IMDb Richard Harris Biography Showing all 106 items Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (4) | Trivia (60) | Personal Quotes (35) Overview (4) 6' 1" (1.85 m) Mini Bio (1) A genuine star of cinema on screen and a fiery hell raiser off screen, Richard St John Harris was born on October 1, 1930 in Limerick, Ireland, to a farming family. He was the son of Mildred Josephine (Harty) and Ivan John Harris, and was an excellent rugby player, with a strong passion for literature. Unfortunately, a bout of tuberculosis as a teenager ended his aspirations to a rugby career, but he became fascinated with the theater and skipped a local dance one night to attend a performance of "Henry IV". He was hooked and went on to learn his craft at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, then spent several years in stage productions.

He debuted on screen in Shake Hands with the Devil (1959) and quickly scored regular work in films, including The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959), The Night Fighters (1960) and a good role as a frustrated Australian bomber pilot in The Guns of Navarone (1961). However, his breakthrough performance was as the quintessential "angry young man" in the sensational drama This Sporting Life (1963), which scored him an Oscar nomination. He then appeared in the WW II commando tale The Heroes of Telemark (1965) and in the Sam Peckinpah -directed western Major Dundee (1965). He next showed up in Hawaii (1966) and played King Arthur in Camelot (1967), a lackluster adaptation of the famous Broadway play. Better performances followed, among them a role as a reluctant police informer in The Molly Maguires (1970) alongside Sir Sean Connery . Harris took the lead role in the violent western A Man Called Horse (1970), which became something of a cult film and spawned two sequels.

As the 1970s progressed, Harris continued to appear regularly on screen; however, the quality of the scripts varied from above average to woeful. His credits during this period included directing himself as an aging soccer player in the delightful The Hero (1971); the western The Deadly Trackers (1973); the big-budget "disaster" film Juggernaut (1974); the strangely-titled crime film 99 and 44/100% Dead (1974); with Connery again in Robin and Marian (1976); Gulliver's Travels (1977); a part in the Jaws (1975) ripoff Orca (1977) and a nice turn as an ill-fated mercenary with Richard Burton and Roger Moore in the popular action film The Wild Geese (1978). The 1980s kicked off with Harris appearing in the silly Bo Derek vanity production Tarzan the Ape Man (1981) and the remainder of the decade had him appearing in some very forgettable productions.

However, the luck of the Irish was once again to shine on Harris' career and he scored rave reviews (and another Oscar nomination) for The Field (1990). He then locked horns with Harrison Ford as an IRA sympathizer in Patriot Games (1992) and got one of his best roles as gunfighter English Bob in the Clint Eastwood western Unforgiven (1992). Harris was firmly back in vogue and rewarded his fans with more wonderful performances in Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993); Cry, the Beloved Country (1995); The Great Kandinsky (1995) and This Is the Sea (1997). Further fortune came his way with a strong performance in the blockbuster Gladiator (2000) and he became known to an entirely new generation of film fans as Albus Dumbledore in the mega-successful Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). His final screen role was as "Lucius Sulla" in Caesar (2002).

A diverse, vigorous and captivating actor, Richard Harris passed away from Hodgkin's Disease on October 25, 2002. - IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44@hotmail.com Spouse (2) ( 9 February 1957 - 1969) (divorced) (3 children) Trade Mark (4) A rebel in real life, a part he often portrayed on screen In his later years he often played characters that speak in raspy whispers Pale blue eyes Irish accent Trivia (60) Was a pretty good rugby player in his day, still remembered in Limerick City for his tackling ability. Father of director Damian Harris , as well as actors Jared Harris and Jamie Harris . He was a guest professor at the University of Scranton in the mid-1980s, teaching Theatre Arts courses. Received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Scranton in 1987. Joined the Knights of Malta (SMOM), despite his two divorces. Harris, Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton were drinking partners from the 1960s until O'Toole had to stop drinking in 1978..

Was knighted by Denmark in 1985. One of nine children born to Limerick farmer Ivan Harris and his wife, the former Mildred Harty. A bout with tuberculosis ended his ambition of becoming a professional rugby player. Only agreed to take the part of Albus Dumbledor in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) after his then 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he didn't. While still a student, he rented the tiny "off-West End" Irving Theatre in London and directed his own production of Clifford Odets ' "Winter Journey (The Country Girl)". The critics approved, but the production used up all his savings. Harris claimed that he was forced to sleep in a coal cellar for six weeks, but he actually stayed with some relatives in London. His younger brother, Dermot Harris , was married to actress Cassandra Harris and had two children, Charlotte Brosnan and Christopher Brosnan . After his death she married Pierce Brosnan and they became Brosnan's stepchildren. Died shortly before the U.S. premiere of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).

He was awarded the 1990 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in Henry IV. Following his death, many of his family members wanted friend Peter O'Toole to take the role of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). Was cremated and his ashes were scattered at his home in the Bahamas Both he and fellow Irish actor (and close friend) Peter O'Toole appeared in versions of "Gulliver's Travels": Harris played the title character in Gulliver's Travels (1977) and O'Toole played the Emperor of Lilliput in Gulliver's Travels (1996), in which Ted Danson played Gulliver. Associate member of LAMDA. Graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He was rejected by the Royal Adademy of Dramatic Art. Member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford Upon Avon, England, since the early 1960s. His last appearance on the Swan stage (RSC main) was in the mid-1990s.

Received the Laurence Olivier Award for his acclaimed performances at the Royal National Theatre, London, England. Once said in an interview that he had a great fascination with authority figures and their use of power. During his career he portrayed King Arthur in Camelot (1967); Oliver Cromwell in Cromwell (1970); King Richard the Lionheart in Robin and Marian (1976); Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000) and Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). An alcoholic, he gave up drinking completely in 1981 and returned to drinking Guinness a decade later. It was his lifelong ambition to play Hamlet. He never did, although he referred to This Sporting Life (1963) as his Hamlet and The Field (1990) as his Lear. He later had one final attempt at an updated version of Lear with My Kingdom (2001). He and Patrick Bergin were two of the only Irish actors to play Irishmen in Patriot Games (1992).

Is one of a few actors to appear in two Best Picture winners from the 1990s. He appeared in 1992's Best Picture, Unforgiven (1992), and 2000's Best Picture, Gladiator (2000). Others in the same category are Colin Firth , who appeared in The English Patient (1996) and Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Ralph Fiennes , who appeared in Schindler's List (1993) and The English Patient (1996). Fiennes later followed Harris into the Harry Potter films. Appears in Patriot Games (1992) with James Fox , whose niece is his daughter-in-law. Well known for being a "method actor", he was once told that he would play the role of a filthy character, and so he went for a long time without bathing to fit in to the character better, much to the chagrin of his co-stars, who claimed that they could smell him coming a long way away.

He won the role of King Arthur in Camelot (1967), the film version of Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe 's hit musical, after close friend and drinking buddy Richard Burton , who had played Arthur in the original 1960 Broadway production, turned it down. Burton had had a huge success with the, winning a 1961 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Harris replaced Burton in the roadshow of the 1980 revival of the musical when Burton was unable to continue due to bursitis, a tour that ended up back on Broadway, with Harris as Arthur, in 1981. Harris did not enjoy his first time in Hollywood making The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). Production had to be halted several times due to the frequent illnesses of star Gary Cooper . Harris turned down the role of Commodus in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and was 34 when he starred in his first Hollywood movie, Major Dundee (1965). He spent the last 12 years of his life living in Room 758 at the world-famous Savoy Hotel in London.

His room was located in the "Courtside" section of the hotel. It did have a view of the river, but not as fine a view as the "Hotel" section riverside rooms. He only had his room cleaned once a week and very rarely notified the hotel that he was out of his room, so they had to check his door ten times a day to see if his "Do Not Disturb" sign flipped around to say "Make Up My Room". After giving up drinking alcohol for a time in the 1970s, Harris put a bottle of vodka in every room in his house in London. The temptation was huge but he didn't touch a drop. Producers were initially reluctant to cast him as King Arthur in Camelot (1967) due to his limited singing ability. Harris was cast after Richard Burton , who had played the part on Broadway in 1961, demanded too much money. Harris insisted on doing his own singing live and later enjoyed a successful pop career, touring America in 1972. He enjoyed a friendly rivalry with English actor Oliver Reed during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Reed would often refer to himself as "Mr. England." When Harris would hear him saying that, he would then refer to himself as "Mr. Ireland.". In his youth he was a fan of Marlon Brando and could imitate or parody his performance in On the Waterfront (1954) at the drop of a hat. However, he did not get along with Brando while filming Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and blamed the American star's on-set behavior for the film going over budget and over schedule. During the 1960s he often criticized Brando's eccentric movie choices in interviews. In 1979 he was diagnosed with hyperglycemia, a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma. During the 1940s and early 1950s he went to see all the films of John Wayne and Gary Cooper . Later, however, he described both actors as "pantomime cowboys". The westerns he made, like A Man Called Horse (1970), were decidedly revisionist in tone. Befriended Russell Crowe while filming Gladiator (2000). Was dyslexic.

While living in England he popped out for milk one day and saw in a newspaper that Young Munster were playing in Thomond Park, County . Limerick, He got the next available flight to Ireland and spent the next three weeks on a drinking binge. All of this was unknown at the time to his wife, who had no idea where he was. When he finally returned to England he rang the doorbell of his house. His wife answered the door and before she had a chance to say anything, he said, "Well, why didn't you pay the ransom?". Ex-father-in-law of actress Emilia Fox and Annabel Brooks . Turned down the role of Commodus in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), then went on to play Commodus' father Marcus Aurelius (who dies at his son's hands) in Gladiator (2000). In an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), he told a story about when he was a young actor playing Seyton in a theatrical production of "Macbeth." The lead actor was a real jerk to him, making constant demeaning references to Harris' Irish heritage. On opening night Harris couldn't take it anymore.

In Act V, Macbeth turns to him and says, "Wherefore was that cry?" Harris was supposed to reply, "The queen, my lord, is dead," after which Macbeth goes into his famous soliloquy about "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow." Instead, Harris decided instead to say, "Oh, don't worry. She's fine. She'll be up and about in ten minutes." He ruined the performance and was promptly fired. He hated making Caprice (1967) with Doris Day so much that he never watched the film. By the time he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in August 2002, it was so advanced that there was no hope of recovery. Uncle of actress Annabelle Wallis . Mickey Rourke dedicated his 2009 BAFTA award for Best Actor to Harris, calling him "a good friend and great actor.". Despite his initial reluctance to accept the role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films (he only agreed to do so at the urging of his granddaughter) he was determined not to let his battle with Hodgkin's disease get in the way of him playing the role.

During post-production on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), producer David Heyman visited Harris in the hospital. By this point Harris' illness had progressed to the point where he had become very gaunt and could speak in barely more than a whisper, yet he begged the producer not to recast the role. Ultimately, however, the role had to be recast, and Harris passed away a few weeks later. He appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Guns of Navarone (1961), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), Unforgiven (1992) and Gladiator (2000). The latter two won in the category. He was replaced by Donald Sutherland as IRA terrorist Liam Devlin in The Eagle Has Landed (1976) after it was discovered that he had attended a fundraiser for the Provisional IRA in the US. He was a vocal supporter of the Provisional Irish Republican Army from 1973-84. In the late 1980s he was active in persuading Americans of Irish descent not to give money to terrorist groups.

Became a born-again Catholic after his brother Dermot Harris died from alcoholism in 1985. He had a longtime hatred of Michael Caine . Harris claimed to have turned down the role of Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File (1965). The first Harry Potter film series cast member to die. He nearly died from alcoholism in 1981, and a Roman Catholic priest was called to give him the last rites. As he was born in the Irish Free State he was entitled to a full knighthood. However, it is likely he would never have been offered one due to his vocal support for the IRA in the 1970s and early 1980s. He said he gave up drugs after almost overdosing on cocaine in 1978. Unforgiven definition by Babylon’s free dictionary Wikipedia Dictionaries English Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia Unforgiven is a 1992 American western film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the lead role. The film portrays William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had turned to farming.

A dark Western that deals frankly with the uglier aspects of violence and how complicated truths are distorted into simplistic myths about the Old West, it stars Eastwood in the lead role, with Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. Eastwood stated that the film would be his last Western for fear of repeating himself or imitating someone else's work. See more at Wikipedia.org... Unforgiven (1992) Cast and Crew, Trivia, Quotes, Photos, News and Videos - FamousFix Photo Credit: bakerboy Unforgiven is a 1992 American western film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood , who also starred in the lead role. The film portrays William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had turned to farming. A dark Western that deals frankly with the uglier aspects of violence and how complicated truths are distorted into simplistic myths about the Old West , it stars Eastwood in the lead role, with Gene Hackman , Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris . Eastwood stated that the film would be his last Western for fear of repeating himself or imitating someone else's work.

Wikipedia Contents From this profile you will find 7 photos , 54 quotes , 65 lists , 49 awards , 34 news stories , and key facts about Unforgiven! Related Lists Evolution of the Western Genre The Evolution of the Western Genre March 6, 2015 By C J Perry 1 Comment There is perhaps no other genre in film so geared towards American sensibilities as the western. While the elements within the western–the good vs. bad, the revenge scenario, or even the tortured loneliness of a hero—can all be translated through different categories of film and to different cultures, it is the setting that makes the western so unique. Beginning in the silent era, the western captured movie-goers’ imaginations. Quick drawing, white hat good guys battled the mustachioed black hats, all for the love of the swooning heroine and a chance to ride into the black and white sunset. Men like Tom Mix, Hoot Gibson and William S. Hart became icons, churning out quick pictures which all had the same basic plot. When sound came into play, men like Mix became obsolete.

Westerns of the 1930s continued on in much the same vein as the decade before; amiable stars like singing cowboy Roy Rogers starred in mostly forgettable films with titles like “Come on, Rangers.” As the world emerged from the physical and emotional carnage of World War II, the new middle class turned to actors like John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Gary Cooper as their western icons. Nobody fit the bill like Wayne, a towering presence both on and off his horse. Wayne, when teamed up with the likes of John Ford or Howard Hawks, delivered movie after movie, playing an idealized version of himself. Starting with the classic “Red River,” and continuing through 1956’s “The Searchers,” the expansive shots of sky and plains fit in lockstep with his performances in these mostly serious epics. While the Duke would play a variety of roles in different types of movies, it was the western for which he became an icon. In Hawks’ films like “Rio Bravo,” and “El Dorado,” Wayne feasted on the genre for decades, and as time wore on, the roles took on an air of humor as the movies became less serious.

Cooper starred in the seminal western of this period, 1952’s “High Noon.” Directed by Fred Zinnemann, “High Noon” played out as both an allegorical tale of the Red Scare at the time and as the ultimate story of a lone man standing up to a gang of criminals. Shot in real time, the movie dispensed with many conventions of the westerns of the time. Very few sweeping expanses and a minimalist score lent more gravity to Cooper’s performance as Will Kane. It was during the 1950s that the genre found its rhythm, as hard charging, hard living cowboys like Wayne, Cooper, Henry Fonda, and un-macho Jimmy Stewart rode their horses, fought Indians (usually played by white men in makeup) and had a very good time doing it. By the 1960s, though, it seemed that as a genre, the western had boxed itself into a corner. Television had proven that audiences no longer needed Technicolor and CinemaScope to enjoy cowboys and Indians. TV cowboys were of a slightly different breed; they had to be, as they were now coming into American living rooms on a weekly basis.

Family drama was a big winner on “Bonanza.” Gadgets and tricks were on display in “The Wild Wild West,” following the cloak and dagger trend of James Bond. James Garner, no stranger to playing a cowboy on the big screen, disarmed viewers with his cocky grin and charm in “Maverick.” Both “The Wild Wild West” and “Maverick” would see big-screen treatments during the great remake boom 30 years later by a generation that had virtually no idea where these titles came from. The studio system was dying a rapid death; the Hayes Code was gone, and old school filmmaking was being assaulted on all sides by changing technology, generational shifts in attitudes, and willingness from young filmmakers to push the envelope with different types of storytelling. If not for a few directors, such as Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, the western may have ceased to exist altogether. The westerns that Leone and Peckinpah made bore little resemblance to the feel-good, rousing epics of decades past.

Leone’s “Man with No Name” trilogy, starring Clint Eastwood (who had cut his teeth in the genre as Rowdy Yates in TV’s “Rawhide”) brought the term “Spaghetti Western” into our collective consciousness. Made on fairly small budgets and using foreign locales, these movies made Eastwood, playing an unlikable anti-hero, an international star. Everything about these movies changed the way audiences viewed westerns. Good and evil were now ambiguous states. Abandoning soundstages, Leone also changed the way the films looked and felt. Gritty, sand swept vistas left people dirty and sweaty. His shooting techniques always maximized tension. In 1968, Leone would craft what is considered his western masterpiece, “Once Upon a Time in the West,” starring Fonda in his first bad guy role. If the genre needed somebody like Leone to push it into new territory, then it also needed somebody like Peckinpah to set off a bomb to make sure that it could never go back.

Peckinpah delivered with 1969’s “The Wild Bunch,” using the time honored “one last score” scenario as an allegorical tale for the genre itself, and upping the ante several degrees in the process. The aging gunfighters in the film, led by a mesmerizing William Holden and Ernest Borgnine, can’t quite adapt as the Old West disappears around them. Peckinpah revels in the violence; there are plenty of scenes where people are gunned down in slow motion, throats are slashed, and explosions are set off—including one of the most famous in cinematic history involving a group of horsemen who are pursuing the bandits getting dumped into a river as the bridge gives way underneath. But “The Wild Bunch” isn’t merely about the violence. Peckinpah was a hyper-kinetic soul, a product of the dying frontier himself; he identified with his protagonists, and he gave the scarred, worn out outlaws a human voice. Holden, as Bunch leader Pike Bishop and Robert Ryan, as Deke Thornton, Bishop’s former friend and gang member who now leads the group tracking Bishop down, give their characters believability and gravitas.

As the 1970s dawned, it was clear that most filmmakers had little use for the western genre. The epicenter of filmmaking had shifted; directors were now being trained in theory, and using their suburban and urban upbringings in their storytelling. Fringe directors like Robert Altman were now satirizing Americana instead of taking it at face value with films like “MASH” and “Nashville.” Filmmakers such as George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg were beginning to set the tone that would last for another two decades. Wayne, forever indelible as a cowboy with his cockeyed gait and halting manner of speech, soldiered on, and even the Duke was willing to push himself with his later westerns. “True Grit,” “The Cowboys,” and his last film, “The Shootist,” show Wayne as no longer invincible, as themes of aging, skewed morality, and racism, (albeit mostly under the surface), crept into his later films. It was Eastwood, however, who was most responsible for keeping the western alive during the decade.

These films were decidedly different star making turns than the westerns of the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. While Eastwood’s protagonists mostly came out on top, there was emptiness in many of his victories. His epochal western of the decade was 1976’s “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” which he directed himself. As Wales, a farmer turned reluctant vigilante in post-Civil War America, Eastwood stars in a film that is at times a violent, singular revenge story as well as one of the first mainstream westerns to openly deal with the U.S. government’s treatment of American Indians during westward expansion. As the decade wore on, the western all but vanished. Steve McQueen’s last western was “Tom Horn,” released in 1980, the year he died. Eastwood wouldn’t make another until 1985’s “Pale Rider.” 1985 also saw “Silverado,” which was Lawrence Kasdan’s homage to the Old West.

Kasdan crafted a good movie, but as with most movies of its type, it is played that way, with a knowing wink from its cast, led by Kevin Kline, Kevin Costner, Scott Glen, and Danny Glover. It was with Eastwood’s last western, 1992’s “Unforgiven,” in which the genre had both its evolutionary coming-out party and its swan song. Winning an Oscar for Eastwood as best director, “Unforgiven” is an unflinching movie, as aging gunslinger William Munny, played by Eastwood, takes one last job as a hired killer. With Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Richard Harris in the cast, Eastwood made a movie as relentless as the rain falling in the final scene as Munny, who has completely devolved into the killer he once was, rides out into the night—a friendless widower who knows far more about death than life. It has been more than 20 years since “Unforgiven,” and the western has all but disappeared, and only on occasion is the genre dusted off.

The early 1990s saw two dueling variations of Wyatt Earp, the somber (and painfully slow) “Wyatt Earp” with Costner in the titular role and the much more rousing and entertaining (if not always historically accurate) “Tombstone,” starring Kurt Russell as the Kansas lawman. Costner’s devotion to the genre was on display again as he directed and starred in 2003’s “Open Range,” which paired him with Robert Duvall (who has been in his share of westerns) and Annette Bening. The gorgeous western vistas, courtesy of cinematographer James Muro, provide the backdrop to a familiar tale, but one that has excellent pace and is told well. Movies often repeat themselves, but there will always be an audience as long as the films themselves are well made. It is ironic then, that the medium that is sometimes credited with destroying the big screen western—TV—was responsible for breathing new life into the genre. But HBO’s “Deadwood” bears no resemblance to any 1960s cowboy shoot ‘em up show.

Profane, violent and sexualized, “Deadwood” was a fascinating character study of a small mining settlement in a territory that was heading for statehood. Taking the familiar theme of a population on the verge of being forced to accept change, this David Milch show did for the western what “The Sopranos” did for the mafia genre. It was updated, and uncut and without commercials, it allowed for fascinating story arcs and true character development. But “Deadwood” was cancelled eight years ago, and once again, the western has receded into the farthest corners of the filmmaking world. Eastwood once said that with “Unforgiven,” he wanted to bury the western. It seems those words have indeed come true. It's only fair to share... Related posts: Unforgiven Movie - Clint Eastwood | Western Classic Movies “Unforgiven” is Clint Eastwood’s Intense Ode to the Western Clint Eastwood is synonymous with the Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s and perfected the role of the grizzled loner. The movie “Unforgiven” revisits this classic western type in a darker tale that explores the nature of violence in the Old West.

Clint Eastwood stars as a retired and widowed gunfighter, William Munny, who has renounced violence and devoted himself to farming and supporting his children. Hopes for their financial security lead him to reluctantly agree to help a hotshot youngster, the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett), in tracking down a pair of ruffians who mutilated a prostitute (Anna Levine) in Big Whiskey, Wyoming. He enlists the help of an equally past-his-prime—and equally ambivalent—Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) for the venture, and the trio strikes out. The $1,000 reward for the offenders has been posted by Strawberry Alice (Frances Fisher) and the other prostitutes of Big Whiskey, who want the cowboys to pay for scarring their fellow prostitute. However, the quest for justice is strongly opposed by the sheriff, Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman), who had let the cowboys get away with the crime. Daggett quickly demonstrates his ruthless authority when gunfighter English Bob (Richard Harris), accompanied by an eager biographer named W.W. Beauchamp (Saul Rubinek), shows up in town.

Daggett’s ruthlessness will soon come to clash with Munny’s weary, but fiercely strong determination. Among the greatest Westerns ever made, Clint Eastwood’s dark, troubling “Unforgiven” (1992) functions as an ode to the genre and a turning of it on its head at the same time. “Unforgiven” was heavily celebrated at the Oscars, picking up awards for Best Picture, Best Director (for Clint Eastwood), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Gene Hackman). It is only one of three western movies to ever win the Best Picture Academy Award. • There are only three western movies that have ever won the Best Picture Academy Award and “Unforgiven” is one of them. The other two westerns that have won this award are “ Dances with Wolves ” and “Cimarron.” • In addition to being a celebrated actor, Clint Eastwood is also a very successful movie director. To date, he has directed 35 movies, with “Unforgiven” being the last western that he directed.

Other western movies that Clint Eastwood has directed are: High Plains Drifter • The boots that Clint Eastwood wore in “Unforgiven” are the same boots that he wore in the western television series “Rawhide.” Clint Eastwood starred in this western TV show from 1959 to 1965 and it was the program that helped to launch his stellar Hollywood career. “Rawhide” was about a cattle drive boss and his men who were herding cattle to Kansas and the interesting (oftentimes dangerous) people and situations they encountered along the way. Clint Eastwood starred as Rowdy Yates, the trail boss’s right hand man. • “Unforgiven” has won many film awards, including the “Best Picture” Academy Award. Additionally, it was added to the U.S. Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2004. • Clint Eastwood won numerous directorial awards for directing “Unforgiven” – Best Director Academy Award, Best Director Golden Globe Award, Best Director National Society of Film Critics and Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Award.

• The Western Heritage Association awarded the Bronze Wrangler Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture to “Unforgiven.” • Actor Gene Hackman won multiple Best Supporting Actor awards for his performance as Little Bill Daggett in “Unforgiven.” Academy Award National Society of Film Critics New York Film Critics Circle BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Boston Society of Film Critics Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

Question: Who directed himself in his last western film in 1992, which also starred Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris?
Answer: Clint Eastwood