Unforgiven (1992)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writer (WGA):

David Webb Peoples (written by)

Release Date:

7 August 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Prostitute | Sheriff | One Last Job | Gunslinger

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 30 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	William 'Bill' Munny
Gene Hackman	...	Little Bill Daggett
Morgan Freeman	...	Ned Logan
Richard Harris	...	English Bob
Jaimz Woolvett	...	The Schofield Kid
Saul Rubinek	...	W.W. Beauchamp
Frances Fisher	...	Strawberry Alice
Anna Levine	...	Delilah Fitzgerald (as Anna Thomson)
David Mucci	...	Quick Mike
Rob Campbell	...	Davey Bunting
Anthony James	...	Skinny Dubois
Tara Frederick	...	Little Sue (as Tara Dawn Frederick)
Beverley Elliott	...	Silky
Liisa Repo-Martell	...	Faith
Josie Smith	...	Crow Creek Kate
Shane Meier	...	Will Munny (Jr.)
Aline Levasseur	...	Penny Munny
Cherrilene Cardinal	...	Sally Two Trees
Robert Koons	...	Crocker
Ron White	...	Clyde Ledbetter
Mina E. Mina	...	Muddy Chandler
Henry Kope	...	German Joe Schultz
Jeremy Ratchford	...	Deputy Andy Russell
John Pyper-Ferguson	...	Charley Hecker
Jefferson Mappin	...	Fatty Rossiter
Walter Marsh	...	Barber
Garner Butler	...	Eggs Anderson
Larry Reese	...	Tom Luckinbill
Blair Haynes	...	Paddy McGee
Frank C. Turner	...	Fuzzy
Sam Karas	...	Thirsty Thurston
Lochlyn Munro	...	Texas Slim
Ben Cardinal	...	Johnny Foley
Phil Hayes	...	Lippy MacGregor (as Philip Hayes)
Michael Charrois	...	Wiggens
William Davidson	...	Buck Barthol (as Bill Davidson)
Paul McLean	...	Train person #1
James Herman	...	Train person #2
Michael Maurer	...	Train person #3
Larry Joshua	...	Bucky
George Orrison	...	The Shadow
Greg Goossen	...	Fighter (as Gregory Goossen)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Buddy Beavers	...	Extra

Directed by
Clint Eastwood

Writing credits (WGA)
David Webb Peoples		(written by)

Produced by
Clint Eastwood	....	producer
Julian Ludwig	....	associate producer
David Valdes	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Lennie Niehaus

Cinematography by
Jack N. Green		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joel Cox

Casting by
Phyllis Huffman

Production Design by
Henry Bumstead

Art Direction by
Adrian Gorton
Rick Roberts

Set Decoration by
Janice Blackie-Goodine

Makeup Department
Stan Edmonds	....	assistant makeup artist
Iloe Flewelling	....	head hair stylist
Michael Hancock	....	head makeup artist
Carol Pershing	....	hair stylist: Sonora unit

Production Management
Lynne Bespflug	....	unit manager
Bob Gray	....	production manager
David Valdes	....	production manager: Sonora unit

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bill Bannerman	....	second assistant director
Grant Lucibello	....	third assistant director
Scott Maitland	....	first assistant director
Tom Rooker	....	third assistant director
Jeffrey Wetzel	....	second assistant director: Sonora

Art Department
Edward Aiona	....	property master
Dean Goodine	....	assistant property master
George Griffiths	....	stand-by painter
Jan Kobylka	....	construction coordinator
Chuck McSorley	....	assistant property master: Sonora
James J. Murakami	....	set designer
Gary Clayton Ripley	....	head painter (as Gary Ripley)
Bruce Robinson	....	construction foreman
Michael Sexton	....	assistant property master
Ron Trost	....	construction coordinator: Sonora
Doug Wilson	....	head painter
Tim C Campbell	....	scenic painter (uncredited)
Bill Merrett	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Ken Wills	....	assistant set decorator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Rick Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dick Alexander)
Neil Burrow	....	sound editor
Gordon Davidson	....	sound editor
Michael Evje	....	sound mixer: Sonora
Les Fresholtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Devon Heffley Curry	....	adr supervisor (as Devon Curry)
James J. Isaacs	....	dialogue editor (as James Issacs)
Cindy Marty	....	sound editor
Michael Mirkovich	....	assistant sound editor
Alan Robert Murray	....	supervising sound editor
Walter Newman	....	supervising sound editor
Kim Nolan	....	assistant sound editor (as Kimberly Nolan)
Vern Poore	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael Ruiz	....	assistant sound editor
Karen Spangenberg	....	supervising dialogue editor
Karen G. Wilson	....	dialogue editor
Marshall Winn	....	sound editor
Butch Wolf	....	sound editor
Rob Young	....	sound mixer
Kelly Zombor	....	boom operator
Mary Jo Lang	....	foley mixer (uncredited)
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John Frazier	....	special effects coordinator
Maurice Routly	....	special effects foreman
Harold Selig	....	special effects best boy: Sonora unit (as Hal Selig)
Paul Healy	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)
Bill Merrett	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)

Stunts
Alex Green	....	stunts (uncredited)
George Orrison	....	stunt double: Clint Eastwood (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Akester	....	still photographer
Mark Anderson	....	second assistant camera: Sonora
Marco Ciccone	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Douglas Craik	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Peter N. Green	....	camera loader: Sonora (as Peter Green)
Jim Gregor	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Dan Heather	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Hal Nelson	....	best boy grip: Sonora
Víctor Pérez	....	assistant chief lighting technician: Sonora
Tony Rivetti	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (as Anthony J. Rivetti)
Charles Saldana	....	key grip
T. Daniel Scaringi	....	dolly grip: Sonora (as T.D. Scaringi)
Tom Stern	....	chief lighting technician
Stephen St. John	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Randy Swanson	....	best boy grip
Carey Toner	....	dolly grip
Roger Vernon	....	camera operator: "b" camera

Casting Department
Stuart Aikins	....	casting: Canada
William Haines	....	casting assistant
Nadene Katz	....	casting assistant
Lorelei Kuchera	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joanne Hansen	....	wardrobe supervisor: women
Carla Hetland	....	wardrobe supervisor: men
Valerie T. O'Brien	....	set costumer: Sonora
Glenn Wright	....	wardrobe department head

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Michael Cipriano	....	assistant film editor
Phil Downey	....	color timer

Music Department
Robert Fernandez	....	scoring mixer (as Bobby Fernandez)
Donald Harris	....	music editor
Laurindo Almeida	....	musician: guitar solo (uncredited)
Tommy Johnson	....	musician: tuba soloist (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Ray Breckenridge	....	transportation captain
Keith Dillin	....	transportation coordinator
Randy Luna	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Diane Anderson	....	first aid: Sonora
Sheila Aquiline	....	assistant production accountant
Marco Barla	....	unit publicist
Tom Bews	....	wrangler boss
Tom Eirikson	....	wrangler boss
Lynn Elston	....	production accountant
Penny Gibbs	....	production coordinator
Tom Glass	....	wrangler boss
Robert J. Groff	....	craft service: Sonora
Rose Johnson	....	craft service
Rose Johnson	....	first aid
Jeff Kloss	....	production accountant (as Jeffrey Kloss)
Anisa Lalani	....	assistant production coordinator
John Lind	....	production associate
Michael Maurer	....	production auditor
J.P. Moss	....	knives designer
Lloyd Nelson	....	script supervisor
Rino Pace	....	location manager
Matt Palmer	....	production associate
Melissa Rooker	....	assistant: Clint Eastwood
John Scott	....	head wrangler
Carol Trost	....	production coordinator: Sonora
Loranne Turgeon	....	production secretary
Buddy Van Horn	....	technical consultant
Cathy Yost	....	assistant production coordinator
Neale Joudrie	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)
Tony Kerum	....	caterer (uncredited)

Thanks
Sergio Leone	....	dedicatee (as Sergio)
Don Siegel	....	dedicatee (as Don)

Production Companies

• Malpaso Productions
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1992) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1992) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1992) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1992) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1992) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1995) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Argentina Video Home (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Hollydan Works (1998-????) (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) (DVD)
• Hollydan Works (2000-????) (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2002) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Varus Video (????) (Russia) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. (Argentina)
• Warner Bros. (Spain)
• Warner Home Video (1993) (Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Sweden) (DVD) (HD DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (HD DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Filmworks Catering  catering
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Reprise Records  soundtrack published by
• TAJ Soundworks  foley recorded at
• Tony's Food Service  catering

Also Known As:

The Cut Whore Killings (USA) (original script title)
The William Munny Killings (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, and violence, and for a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Spain:18 | USA:R (certificate #31757) | South Korea:15 | Ireland:18 | Brazil:12 | Philippines:R-18 | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | Israel:PG | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Alberta, Canada

Company:

Malpaso Productions

Trivia:

Richard Harris was watching High Plains Drifter (1973) on TV when Clint Eastwood phoned him to offer the part of English Bob.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the bar room shootout scene, many pistol shots are fired. The foley sound is correct. When Munny fires the rifle to kill Little Bill, the foley sound adds the classic "rifle shot" sound, with obvious echoes. In the enclosed barroom, there would be no echoes of the shot, just a loud bang.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Quick Mike: Dammit! Come a-running, lad!
Delilah Fitzgerald: Stop it!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Laserblast (#8.6)" (1996)

Amazingly Thought-Provoking on How Much a Life is Worth and the Inner Workings of a Man With a Regrettable Past

In 1992, Clint Eastwood created the last and greatest western; 'Unforgiven'. A tribute to the previous masters, Sergio Leone and Don Siegel, who died within a mere 3 years before this brutal masterpiece.

Eastwood stars as William Munny a retired gunslinger with a guilt-filled past. He lives alone with his two children and grave of his young wife outside. One day a young cowboy, The Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett), comes in need of his service to hunt down some men who cut up a whore. William reluctantly accepts and with the help of Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) they work together to track down the criminals. Meanwhile, the sheriff of the town, Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman) is also looking for them. This then leads to a bloody showdown climax, welcoming back a sort of 'Man With No Name' character to the genre.

William Munny is a cold-blooded killer. The Schofield Kid wants to be one. But, all the murders and sins Munny used to commit has affected him in an extraordinary way. He takes no hesitation in killing. In the climax he just walks past a man he shot who didn't die and shoots him dead. It may sound like nothing now, but he just took a life for no apparent reason. When the Kid kills his first man, of which deserved it, he hesitates. This is The Kid who is so eager to kill people as he thinks it will make him a man. But after the assassination, he breaks down. He realized what he had done. He had wiped another man of the earth. And Munny does it with ease. So does Little Bill. He is a violent and brutal cop who uses torture to get what he wants from the prisoners. Logan also finds it hard to take lives.

The film studies on how much a life is worth. Sometimes it is worthless (see Tarantino or Scorsese films) and sometimes it is a major feature. Usually a film only does one. Unforgiven does both. A life isn't worth the same amount to each person. When a life is taken, it is the killer who decides how much it is worth by how much it affects him. Whether he just lets it slide (Munny and Little Bill) or kills someone and calls it a day (Kid and Logan), because they can't bring themselves to forgetting it. This is the most thought-provoking thing for me personally, ever.

Unforgiven in my opinion is the greatest western. Actually, its the greatest film of all-time. It shows how violent it was back then, and the fact everybody was beaten. It is more realistic than any of Leone's 'Man With No Name' films (though I will admit they were set in a sort of fantasy land). But, Munny is not proud of his violent nature. He blames it on alcohol; which his wife persuaded him to quit to explain why he also gave up being a murderer. The film shows the cowboys as they really are, either cowards or killers. The choice of word 'coward' is to say that they should be killers, as that is apparently what a man is (an exaggeration) as most westerns glorify violence, but the men can't handle it.

Clint Eastwood did an amazing job as William Munny. He showed how he regretted his past very well by admitting to it in a shameful way; like when asked if he killed women and children he replied "I've killed just about anything that walked or crawled at one time or another, and I'm here to kill you…". He even admits that he will meet Little Bill in Hell. Gene Hackman delivers one of the greatest performances of the decade, the tension he makes is incredible. Woolvett and Freeman remain in solid above average performances throughout.

The script, written by David Webb Peoples, buzzed around Hollywood for nearly 20 years, even being rejected by some of the cast, before Eastwood picked it up. Clint Eastwood deserved his Oscar for best direction. The plot flowed fluently with some surprises and memorable lines. An instant classic. The cinematography is much different that of 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' or the others westerns Eastwood appeared in. It is a much cleaner and crisp view, yet also being extremely raw. The score, though not used often is very refreshing and moving.

'Unforgiven' is an unforgettable look on life, man and the real west. One of the most powerful films of the '90s. A true triumph exploring important morals. Do not miss it.

10/10