Unforgiven Movie

Unforgiven, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1992, tells the story of notorious gunfighter William Munny, who comes out of retirement in 1881 to pull one last job on behalf of some victimized prostitutes. The film was directed by and stars Clint Eastwood, and is widely seen as Eastwood's commentary on the Western genre that made him a star in the 1960s.

Fast Facts

1. Director: Clint Eastwood
2. Writer: David Peoples
3. Released August 7, 1992
4. Starring: Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, Gene Hackman
5. Eastwood wrote the film's main theme music himself
6. Film is dedicated to Don Siegel and Sergio Leone, legendary directors with whom Eastwood worked as an actor
7. Third Western in history to win Best Picture

Background

David Webb Peoples' script for Unforgiven had floated around Hollywood, unproduced, for almost two decades. Eastwood finally agreed to make the project (after being told by his professional reader that the script was not good). It was filmed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, standing in for Big Whiskey, Wyoming in the 19th Century, in about a month and a half.

At the time, Eastwood had said Unforgiven would mark the last film in which he would act and direct, but he has gone on to do so several more times, most recently in Million Dollar Baby.

Reception

Unforgiven is one of the few Westerns in history to earn a place in the National Film Registry. It won four Oscars - for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Editing (for Joel Cox) and Best Supporting Actor for Gene Hackman. The film marked Eastwood's first Oscar wins - he'd later win Best Director a second time for Million Dollar Baby.

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