Unforgiven 1992

The Film:

This is one that I hadn't seen before, despite having several opportunities at the time. I think it's partly because I always claim that I don't like Westerns (except Butch and Sundance and True Grit!) and also because I'm really not that keen on Clint Eastwood.

I've read a bit more about it since - including the opinion of several critics that this is more of an "anti-Western" - and I'm looking forward to it a lot more now. It's also got Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman in it, both of which are good signs for me.

Given that the list of winners for the 90s is patchy at best, I'm hoping to be won over.....

The Ceremony:

March 29th 1993 - same place, same host and exactly the same running time. The ratings went up again, but the critics were getting bored of Billy Crystal. The theme this year "The Year of the Woman" was also criticised, including by several feminist groups - but it did produce the picture below, featuring 67 former winners:

Here's Billy's opening monologue:

Other Notable Winners That Night:

It's her Oscar and no one else is having it!

Unforgiven picked up four awards - including two for Clint's Producing/Directing role and a (very well deserved) Supporting Actor award for Gene Hackman. (One of Hackman's fellow nominees was Jaye Davidson for The Crying Game - completely spoiling the big "reveal" for anyone who had yet to see the film!)

Best Actor went to Al Pacino (finally) for the fairly average Scent of a Woman and Emma Thompson won Best Actress for Howard's End. Slightly more controversial was Marisa Tomei's Supporting Actress win for My Cousin Vinny. She beat four "serious" actresses (three Brits and an Aussie!) for her win, causing several critics to question if there had been a mistake in the voting - with one starting a rumour that the wrong name had been called out. Anyway, whatever people thought - she won the Oscar fair and square!


Best Song:

With two nominations each in this category, it was a fight between Aladdin and The Bodyguard. My preference would have been for "I Have Nothing" (my favourite Whitney song!) but it was the 90s, so the animation won. "A Whole New World" is a lovely song - as long as it's not Katie Price and Peter Andre singing it! (It's ok, this is the Peabo and Regina version!)

What We Could/Should Have Been Watching:

Helena Bonkers-Conkers in her demure pre-Burton days!

We are definitely entering my peak cinema-going years now. Unforgiven is the only one of the five nominees that I didn't go and see at the pictures when it came out.

I liked all of the others at the time, but haven't seen any of them for a while. The Crying Game was much more than just *that* scene, A Few Good Men was much more than just *that* line and Scent of a Woman was a bit more than just *that* dance. But Howard's End was more than all of them - so it get's my vote!


Our Verdict:

Oooops

Not being a big fan of Westerns (with a couple of notable exceptions) and definitely not a fan of Clint Eastwood (again, with a couple of exceptions - one that's coming up later in the challenge) I really wasn't expecting to like this. However, I was wrong. This film is now very firmly on the list, with Cimarron and The Last Emperor, of films that far exceeded my expectations.

Do ya feel lucky.....ooops, sorry, wrong film!

The claim that it is an "anti-Western" is probably an accurate one - at least, if I've understood it correctly. This isn't some rootin' shootin' how-the-west-was-won sort of film, it isn't a grand sweeping epic family saga, it isn't a good vs evil and good wins sort of film, it's not some allegory for communism or anti-communism and it's not really a buddy movie either (although there's some of that in the relationship between Clint and Morgan's characters - and not for the last time in this challenge!)

Two of the greats - acting the pants off everyone else!

What Unforgiven manages to do is to tell a very different story within the setting of a Western. There's still the familiar landscapes and buildings, the same basic characters - sharp-shooting gunmen, a sheriff, an out-of-towner and the residents of the local brothel (unfortunately the only women in the film - but playing a tough, key role in the story. 

The story is about guilt, regret, justice and redemption - but the main characters have very different ideas of what that means. The key characters are written brilliantly, and cast perfectly - Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman particularly, but also Richard Harris, Saul Rubinek (who made me forget he was Daphne Moon's spurned fiance after only about a minute of "oh look, it's him off Frasier!") and even Clint himself, who I generallt reckon can't act for toffee. 

There are some women in the film....in the whorehouse!

The story is deliberately morally ambiguous, which left me (deliberately) a bit uneasy but also kept me compelled through to the end. It doesn't shy away from violence and realism - and it includes some of the most violent scenes we've seen so far - but it never glorifies any of it. 

It's intelligent film-making with something to say. It's an acting masterclass, particularly from Freeman and Hackman. I will almost certainly watch it again. And, looking back at those other nominees, I'm happy to concede that this was the rightful Best Picture of that year. Fair play to you, Mr Eastwood!