Description

Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman play retired, down-on-their-luck outlaws who pick up their guns one last time to collect a bounty offered by the vengeful prostitutes of the remote Wyoming town of Big Whiskey. Richard Harris is an ill-fated interloper, a colorful killer-for-hire called English Bob. And Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner Gene Hackman is the sly and brutal local sheriff whose brand of law enforcement ranges from unconventional to ruthless. ... Read more

Reviews (175)

Clint Eastwood delivers a masterpiece
This film won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Gene Hackman) and Best Editing. Garnering three of the "major" awards is impressive and they are what make the film a memorable and enjoyable experience. Eastwood the director is in top form. He has always displayed a steady hand in directing his stories and actors and he doesn't disappoint here. Nothing flashy but it is his understated direction that leads this film to it's climax. In less capable hands, a director may be apt to moralize or preach. Eastwood capably lets the story (overlooked as an original screenplay) tell itself. His turn as the lead character -- William Munny -- is also an underplayed, nuanced part. I think it is one of his best acting jobs. He carries a grim outlook and those set, steely eyes convey all of the emotions the character feels. In a movie with so much else that is good, his performance is not to be ignored. Gene Hackman is outstanding in his portrayal of Little Bill Daggett, the sheriff of Big Whiskey, WY. His performance is both blustery and low-keyed. It is a credit to Hackman to know how to pull if off effortlessly. The movie itself is the real star. It plays on so many levels and gives a lot of shades of gray that really blow off the Westerns of old. There is no good guy in the white hat. In fact, there is little good to be found in the movie. Most of the men and women are scoundrels or people of ill-repute. However the general theme of reality that Eastwood conveys is what you will have to look for. Things aren't what they seem and this "anti-Western" shrugs off the myths of the Old West.

The Darkest Film Ever To Win Best Picture
Unforgiven you realize, a few minutes in, is not your typical westen. Nor is it your typical Clint Eastwood movie. And it probably surely isn't your typical Best Picture Oscar winner. Telling the story of Willam Munny (Clint Eastwood), a retired bounty hunter who goes on one last job, to kill the men who slashed a prostitute's face. Now doesn't that sound like a fun movie! Whoppee! Errr... Not really. Actually it sound's downright depressing. And it is. Along the way Willam meets up with his longtime partner played by Morgon Freeman. Together they set out to kill those above mentioned men. About this time we switch over to the late Richard Harris's character. Who also is after the reward money offered up by the town prostitutes for the killing of those men I've mentioned twice already. He isn't after them long as he gets beaten and kicked by the towns people, mainly thier crooked sheriff, Little Bill (played suberbly by Gene Hackman).
He isn't the typical bad guy, either, in fact he's almost good in comparison with other bad guys in other movies. All of this leads up to a spectacular climax with a showdown between Willam Munny and Little Bill. Unforgiven also convienently managed to snag 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (For Clint Eastwood's terrific directing), Best Supporting Actor (For Gene Hackman's marvelous Little Bill). All should see Unforgiven, whether all would enjoy it is another matter. But who can forget Little Bill's words "I'm just trying to build a house!"

The "Western" Everyman.
The most important aspect of this "Western" is its philospical and spiritual message about the universal condition of man. It is almost biblical in nature like the first chapters of the book of Romans in the New Testament. Man is aware of both good and evil but finally is caught up in evil and unless he is redeemed by the forgivness of God he will die in his sins. The title is very appropriate as the characters in the end are unforgiving and unforgiven. It is a powerful film in that there are certain aspects in the various characters the show they have a sense of what is good but they are unable of themselves to overcome the innate evil of the human heart. There are several classic lines in the film such as the moment the young gunslinger says to Eastwood's character "He has it coming" and the reply is "We all have it coming" The conclusion at the end is that both the man representing the law and the man representing the lawless are both damned. It is not a pretty picture of mankind but a true one and is the reason why the Son of God had to die on the cross that we might be forgiven. There is Evil in man, but goodness in God if we will turn to Him. If this film would have only included the forgiveness of God I would have given it twice five stars.

Wow
This western directed by Clint Eastwood is truly one of the greats. The story develops slowly, the viewer learning in small bits about the main character William Munny. The subtlety of the movie is its greatest strength. Gene Hackman is incredible as the town Sheriff and won a well deserved Academy Award. Eastwood also won a much deserved Academy Award for best director.

If you like westerns this one is for you. Its a classic.

Rather good
This film is very good. As you can tell from the rave revies it has on this website and the 4 oscars it won in 1992 for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and something else i cant remember.

The plot is convential - the hitman comes out of retirement after personal tragedy, but the performances superb and the charcetrs fascinating you'll be hooked. It's a great film and shows the acting talents of Clint Eastwood amount to much more than simply facial expressions, although they are spot on again here.

Gene Hackman is probably the true star here and his oscar was well deserved. The performance he gives as Little Bill Daggett is so three dimensional and you wonder to start with just is he good or bad? Nothing is made too obvious and you only find out later you should root against him. Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris have smaller roles but do their best and it all works well.

It's well acted, directed and boasts great scenery. This is the intelligent western and portrays gritty real charcters and makes you think. It's very grim and shows real hardness without being brutal - and that's hard to achieve.

Watch - better yet buy - this, you certainly won't regret it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Winner of four Academy Awards, including best picture, director, supporting actor, and best editing, Clint Eastwood's 1992 masterpiece stands as one of the greatest and most thematically compelling Westerns ever made."The movie summarized everything I feel about the Western," said Eastwood at the time of the film's release. "The moral is the concern with gunplay." To illustrate that theme, Eastwood stars as a retired, once-ruthless killer-turned-gentle-widower and hog farmer. He accepts one last bounty-hunter mission--to find the men who brutalized a prostitute--to help support his two motherless children. Joined by his former partner (Morgan Freeman) and a cocky greenhorn (Jaimz Woolvett), he takes on a corrupt sheriff (Oscar winner Gene Hackman) in a showdown that makes the viewer feel the full impact of violence and its corruption of the soul. Dedicated to Eastwood's mentors Sergio Leone and Don Siegel and featuring a colorful role for Richard Harris, it's arguably Eastwood's crowning directorial achievement. The digital video disc offers standard and widescreen formats and a remastered soundtrack. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (175)

Clint Eastwood delivers a masterpiece
This film won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Gene Hackman) and Best Editing. Garnering three of the "major" awards is impressive and they are what make the film a memorable and enjoyable experience. Eastwood the director is in top form. He has always displayed a steady hand in directing his stories and actors and he doesn't disappoint here. Nothing flashy but it is his understated direction that leads this film to it's climax. In less capable hands, a director may be apt to moralize or preach. Eastwood capably lets the story (overlooked as an original screenplay) tell itself. His turn as the lead character -- William Munny -- is also an underplayed, nuanced part. I think it is one of his best acting jobs. He carries a grim outlook and those set, steely eyes convey all of the emotions the character feels. In a movie with so much else that is good, his performance is not to be ignored. Gene Hackman is outstanding in his portrayal of Little Bill Daggett, the sheriff of Big Whiskey, WY. His performance is both blustery and low-keyed. It is a credit to Hackman to know how to pull if off effortlessly. The movie itself is the real star. It plays on so many levels and gives a lot of shades of gray that really blow off the Westerns of old. There is no good guy in the white hat. In fact, there is little good to be found in the movie. Most of the men and women are scoundrels or people of ill-repute. However the general theme of reality that Eastwood conveys is what you will have to look for. Things aren't what they seem and this "anti-Western" shrugs off the myths of the Old West.

The Darkest Film Ever To Win Best Picture
Unforgiven you realize, a few minutes in, is not your typical westen. Nor is it your typical Clint Eastwood movie. And it probably surely isn't your typical Best Picture Oscar winner. Telling the story of Willam Munny (Clint Eastwood), a retired bounty hunter who goes on one last job, to kill the men who slashed a prostitute's face. Now doesn't that sound like a fun movie! Whoppee! Errr... Not really. Actually it sound's downright depressing. And it is. Along the way Willam meets up with his longtime partner played by Morgon Freeman. Together they set out to kill those above mentioned men. About this time we switch over to the late Richard Harris's character. Who also is after the reward money offered up by the town prostitutes for the killing of those men I've mentioned twice already. He isn't after them long as he gets beaten and kicked by the towns people, mainly thier crooked sheriff, Little Bill (played suberbly by Gene Hackman).
He isn't the typical bad guy, either, in fact he's almost good in comparison with other bad guys in other movies. All of this leads up to a spectacular climax with a showdown between Willam Munny and Little Bill. Unforgiven also convienently managed to snag 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (For Clint Eastwood's terrific directing), Best Supporting Actor (For Gene Hackman's marvelous Little Bill). All should see Unforgiven, whether all would enjoy it is another matter. But who can forget Little Bill's words "I'm just trying to build a house!"

The "Western" Everyman.
The most important aspect of this "Western" is its philospical and spiritual message about the universal condition of man. It is almost biblical in nature like the first chapters of the book of Romans in the New Testament. Man is aware of both good and evil but finally is caught up in evil and unless he is redeemed by the forgivness of God he will die in his sins. The title is very appropriate as the characters in the end are unforgiving and unforgiven. It is a powerful film in that there are certain aspects in the various characters the show they have a sense of what is good but they are unable of themselves to overcome the innate evil of the human heart. There are several classic lines in the film such as the moment the young gunslinger says to Eastwood's character "He has it coming" and the reply is "We all have it coming" The conclusion at the end is that both the man representing the law and the man representing the lawless are both damned. It is not a pretty picture of mankind but a true one and is the reason why the Son of God had to die on the cross that we might be forgiven. There is Evil in man, but goodness in God if we will turn to Him. If this film would have only included the forgiveness of God I would have given it twice five stars.

Wow
This western directed by Clint Eastwood is truly one of the greats. The story develops slowly, the viewer learning in small bits about the main character William Munny. The subtlety of the movie is its greatest strength. Gene Hackman is incredible as the town Sheriff and won a well deserved Academy Award. Eastwood also won a much deserved Academy Award for best director.

If you like westerns this one is for you. Its a classic.

Rather good
This film is very good. As you can tell from the rave revies it has on this website and the 4 oscars it won in 1992 for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and something else i cant remember.

The plot is convential - the hitman comes out of retirement after personal tragedy, but the performances superb and the charcetrs fascinating you'll be hooked. It's a great film and shows the acting talents of Clint Eastwood amount to much more than simply facial expressions, although they are spot on again here.

Gene Hackman is probably the true star here and his oscar was well deserved. The performance he gives as Little Bill Daggett is so three dimensional and you wonder to start with just is he good or bad? Nothing is made too obvious and you only find out later you should root against him. Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris have smaller roles but do their best and it all works well.

It's well acted, directed and boasts great scenery. This is the intelligent western and portrays gritty real charcters and makes you think. It's very grim and shows real hardness without being brutal - and that's hard to achieve.

Watch - better yet buy - this, you certainly won't regret it. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

a moving, human drama
Except for the terrible cover and a killer of a title, this is an excellent movie. But it's not for everyone. If you like action, explosions, car chases, etc., this is NOT the movie for you.

The death of her father has put a 5-year-old girl into such shock that she refers to herself in the third person. She believes her father doesn't come home because she has done something bad and he won't forgive her. (The portrayal of this child by the child actress is nothing short of amazing.) How she is cured and the kindness shown to her, not just by those around her and by a distant family, but by the public at large is one of the most moving sequences on film. If you're not into human kindness or refuse to believe it exists, stay away from this film. But if you believe there's still hope, this movie will show you, you're right.

mermaid
I thought that this film was very heartwarming. A young girl loses her father when she is four years old. Her mother obviously distraught was left to care for her alone, with the help of her mother and some friends. The little girl loved mermaids. Because the little girl didnt understand where her father had gone, her grandmother told her that she could write a letter to him, which they attached to a balloon. the balloon floated away and landed by a lake known as Mermaid lake in Mermaid City. A hunter found the letter and took it home, showed it to his family and decided to write back. The little girl recieved the letter later on and went to visit this family. They became firm friends. Meanwhile the mother became quite close to an old friend, whihc may have turned into a romance.
Overall i loved this film it was very sad but had a nice ending and was based on a true story.

Oh DEAR
This movie caused the tears to pour down my face. The reason for this display of emotion was the fact that I was laughing incredibly hard. Plus, my neighbour had just wet her pants, laughing right along with me. It is sappy, sentimental, to the point of being nauseating. Uuuuurgh. I'd better go see if my neighbour's alright, I think she just fell of the couch.
Yes, I'm a teenager. Did you guess?

A Powerful and Moving True Story...
I wasn't sure what to expect at first viewing of this, but I was hopeful considering that Ellen Burstyn has habit of being in rather excellent movies. This definately is another success.

It's a simple story about a Rhonda and her daughter who loses her husband and they both hold in their grief so deeply they become emotionally paralyzed. Rhonda's mother (Ellen Burstyn) comes up with the idea to send a letter to the little girl Desi's dad up in Heaven tied to a mermaid balloon which mysteriously ends up thousands of miles away in a town called Mermaid in Canada. This incredible event changes Desi and Rhonda's life forever.

Now mind you I am not a person who is prone to crying at movies but this one touched me so deeply I couldn't help myself. I never expected to be so profoundly moved by this little film, but it was just so beautiful and heartfelt. The fact that this is based on a true story only adds to it's impact. This is a great movie for anyone young or old. Just have some tissues nearby it's a real tear jerker.

A great and touching movie
The only mermaids in the TV-movie are the ones on the balloon and in the book, but the story is based on a real event.

Very loosely modeled on Hans Christian Andersen's original "The Little Mermaid" (not the Disney version), the film depicts in fanciful fashion the attempt of a small girl to communicate with her dead father in heaven by attaching a note to a balloon with a mermaid pictured on it. The balloon is carried on the wind from California to St. Edward's Island in Canada, and the people who find it respond to the girl's message. The cast is well-chosen and the film is touching without being mawkish.

It is pleasant to imagine that mermaids and angels exist in the light beyond death. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

It'll work...
You gotta love John Candy, but no matter what actor you have in mind, they have something in common: most of them have been in bad movies at some time or another. This is probably the closest John Candy ever got, at least until I watch Summer Rental. It seems like a lot of Candy's movies were made in 1989. Can you really cram all those films into one year and have them all be smash hits? In the words of Macaulay Culkin, "I don't think so."
Sure, John Candy was funny. He was amusing physically, because of his height, size, and his appealing face. And usually he was able to use his acting talent to flesh out badly written roles. Such as this one, in which he plays an incompetent private investigator named Harry Crumb. Let me give you my take on this personally: I almost think they made a really good version of this movie, and then did a really bad one, and then melted them down and mixed them together. The result is a faltering, almost mutated comedy featuring some good actors and some bad, as well as some good jokes and some bad. Harry Crumb is a guy who goes around getting into new and wacky predicaments, yet waters them down constantly with his tired, redundant dialogue.
Another problem is that there's nothing going on in this movie with Candy that you haven't seen before, except for maybe the time he's standing on the ceiling fan in a beachside restaurant. Crumb is also distracting because of his terrible hair, dyed just a little too red and styled just a little too badly. I really found some of the other characters just as interesting. Jennifer Downing (a rich girl who gets kidnapped), P.J. Downing (her incredibly dense father), Helen Downing (his wife, who constantly sleeps around), Detective Casey (pessimistic cop lady), and Vince Barnes (a "two-bit country club Romeo" who is the focus of Helen's current affair) are all very good. However, Nikki Downing (Jennifer's sister), who hangs around with Crumb a good deal in the movie, could have spent a little more time in acting school. Most of the time her performance comes off as unconvincing, especially when compared with Candy's considerable skill. Also weird is the head of Crumb's department, Eliot Draisen, played by Jeffrey Jones. That's right! The creepy-looking guy who got busted for child computer porn! Maybe they wanted an element of horror in the movie or something.
But this is still a fairly funny comedy. If you like John Candy, you can probably survive this. It's definitely not one of his better movies, but even Candy's worst stuff is worth a look. How many actors are that good? Not many.

John Candy is hilarious, as always
Like many of the movies in this genre(slapstick comdedy), "Who's Harry Crumb" has an absurd story line. But all of this is pretty much inconsequential with a person like John Candy as the star. People who have seen his other performances, know that he can turn the smallest role in to comedic masterpieces(such as "Tom Tuttle from Tacoma Washington" on Volunteers). And naturally, when he has a starring role, he can elevate a movie from mediocre to great, as evidenced by this particular movie. Without John Candy, I would rate this movie as one of the 5 worst ever, but since John Candy is in it, it's in the top 25(which is a pretty exclusive list!).

All I can say is, if you still havn't watched this movie, even though it's been out for almost a dozen years, you're missing out on a hilarious movie. The first time I watched it, I couldn't stop laughing, it's that funny.

Great movie for the collection
I was about seven or eight years old when I first saw This movie, but it was instantly my favorite. The only thing is that it's most physical comedy. Now that I'm older I realize that it's not his best movie, but it's still a great comedy classic.

John Candy Classic
This is simply John Candy at his best. I loved this movie and I think you will too. John Candy was at his prime when this movie premiered one year before his death. It's a shame we don't have more of his work. I highly recommend this movie! It is hilarious!

Better than the critics say
Most critics gave this movie a bad review, but if you're a fan of John Candy, there's no reason not to like this movie. This is one of his better movies. It's about a kidnapping that John's charactor is hired to solve...or not. He's hired because his boss is actually the kidnapper (don't worry, there's no suprise twist or anything like that) so he hires Harry Crumb because apparently he doesn't expect him to solve the case. All fans of John Candy should get this movie. It has a decent supporting cast as well, such as Jeffrey Jones, Annie Potts, Shawnee Smith, Tim Thomerson, Joe Flahrety and a few no-names. ... Read more

Description

A precocious and obsessive teenager develops a crush on a naive writer with harrowing consequences. Alicia Silverstone and Cary Elwes star in "a top-notch thriller. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Great Fun
Although there are blatant references to "Lolita" (dig Alicia Silverstone in her huge sunglasses and swimsuit gazing up at Cary Elwes), "The Crush" is a suitable thriller despite being very predictable.

The premise is simple: Silverstone plays a fourteen year old who develops a crush on Elwes, who is a 28 year old newspaper reporter and has just moved into an apartment on the grounds of her family home. Elwes is dating Jennifer Rubin, and she's aware of the vibes being sent by Silverstone. But Elwes is either naive or enjoys the attention (you decide!!!) and puts himself into several compromising situations with Silverstone. Silverstone, who's clearly unstable, tightens the noose from then on, and eventually attempts to kill Elwes. The ending, also predictable, is appropriate.

This certainly isn't going to be on anyone's list of all-time best films, but it's worth owning on DVD (despite the fact that there's little that separates the VHS from the DVD). You'll enjoy popping it in every once in a while for a good scare. If nothing else, guys, you'll be very careful who you flirt with after watching this one.

Scream Queen Of The 90's!
Similar to the role Glenn Close played in "Fatal Attraction", Alicia Silverstone is terrifying as an obsessive teen who is "crazy" about the 28 year old living in her parent's guest house. After being told several times that she's too young for him, and finding out that he already has a girlfriend, she goes on a methodical rampage against the two. Tearing both of their lives apart. Tension builds throughout the film with various scary parts and an exciting, violent ending. Way better than "Swimfan".

The Crush... True story
The movie is not only fun but a must see.. and the movie is now in my all time collection! well, I watched the movie years back but I had to recall the story of the movie and watch it again and again, as I am facing almost the same situation.. well I'm 25 and she is 15 and she has a crush on me 'no fun, trust me' and her mother (not father, like in the movie) is almost as same as Darian's father.. I've watched the movie thrice in last two days to understand few things about her moves.. I think you'd enjoy to understand the movie like i do (now) :)its fun and entertainment.

The Crush
Great Fun! If I hadn't seen it on t.v., I never would have seen it anywhere else. I saw it while flipping through channels and was late to a meeting because I couldn't stop watching it, I had to see what was going to happen in the end.

Watch Out!
Darian Forrester (Silverstone) is a 14 year-old Girl rapidly blossoming into a woman at a immense rate. Her IQ is above average and her eye for detail flawless. After earning himself a job working for a decidedly well thought-of magazine, Journalist Nick Eliot (Elwes) scans the neighbouring houses with a room to let. Shaken-up after practically knocking down Darian after she skated into the wheels of his arriving car, he notices that her residence has a guest house to let and after viewing the named house, snaps it up with no more then a few Ums and Errs. After a few days, Darian is smitten with the new lodger and things begin to lead themselves down the wrong path. After a kiss initiated by Darian, Nick backs off, and dismayed by his actions, warns off Darian. Skimpily clad in diminutive bikini's, provocative clothing and breath-taking body language, Darian refuses to take no for an answer and subsequent to attacking his lover, persists to abuse her welcome, with the police having to stand in within the concluding half hour.

Suffocating and thought-provoking, this a tall-tale that mirrors many a headline currently splashed on newspapers worldwide. Shapiro's direction is at times warped and the pacing does have its flaws, but yet it seems to work out and leaves you fulfilled with the end product. By far Silverstone's Best role yet, with only 'Clueless' to contend with, while Elwes's appeal is strong, and sporadically exasperating, is every now and then overruled by his 14 year-old counterpart.

A great movie with bright sets and a proficient script, this is in no way Cinema at its best, but yet a worthy edition to your home library. ... Read more