Unforgiven (1992) (Remastered)

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching the standard Blu-ray of the remastered Unforgiven from my 4K Blu-ray + Blu-ray package.

I've seen Unforgiven a great many times since my first viewing back in 1992, on the night of its release in theaters, and it's still one of the most tough-as-nails films that I've ever seen. I was taken off guard during my first viewing, because this movie comes across more as a classic western, as opposed to a "Clint Eastwood western", but, all the while, it still manages to be quintessentially Eastwood. Eastwood's best films have always deconstructed the mythos of male action heroes, and Unforgiven does so by presenting a western story that takes place at a time when the "Wild West" is coming to an end, and when the legendary frontier has become self-aware. Pulp paperback writers embellish and romanticize the stories of famous gunfighters, while young wannabe gunfighters give themselves brand names ("The Schofield Kid"). The frontier is becoming more civilized, but sometimes at the hands of overbearing lawmen, like Gene Hackman's Little Bill character. Eastwood's William Munny, one of the true legends, owns a small farm and is years removed from his former murderous self in an era that has come to pass, or so he believes.

I've always loved Little Bill's discussion about how the best gunfighters are the ones who keep their cool. Later, during this film's violent conclusion, the lawmen in the saloon are rattled and are hurriedly firing their pistols, but William Munny is cool, calm, and collected as he guns down his foes.

The final credits of Unforgiven read, "Dedicated to Sergio and Don", in honor of Sergio Leone and Don Siegel, both of whom directed Eastwood in westerns of the 1960s and early 1970s. With this movie, which is one of the most deserving Best Picture winners in the history of the Academy Awards, Eastwood did his mentors proud.

This newly remastered standard Blu-ray looks incredible, and it marks a noticeable improvement over the former high definition presentation. The film looks a tad brighter on this new Blu-ray, but the details jump out of the screen more, the black levels look better, and the overall effect is easier on the eyes. I look forward to the day when I'll have the equipment to watch the 4K disc.

I remember seeing this movie at the theater all those years ago and always being blinded during the sequence where the beaten Clint Eastwood is hallucinating in the darkened barn, but then the screen suddenly shows a bright snowy outdoor landscape. This new Blu-ray has the same effect during that sequence.

The extras are ported over from previous releases, but they're still worth revisiting. The "Eastwood on Eastwood" supplement is just brilliant.


(This review recycles some observations that I wrote in an earlier post in this thread, just in case people are wondering about deja vu.)