Reception
Unforgiven received near-universal acclaim. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes registers a "Certified Fresh" 97% approval rating among reviews. Many critics acclaimed the film for its noir-ish moral ambiguity and atmosphere. They also acclaimed it as a fitting eulogy to the western genre. Jack Methews of the Los Angeles Times described it as "The finest classical western to come along since perhaps John Ford's 1956 The Searchers." Richard Corliss in Time wrote that the film was "Eastwood's meditation on age, repute, courage, heroism – on all those burdens he has been carrying with such grace for decades."
However, the film was not without its naysayers, including Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert; though the latter still gave it a positive vote, both criticized the picture for being too long and having too many superfluous characters (such as Harris's English Bob, who enters and leaves without ever meeting the protagonists). Ebert did, however, eventually include the film in his "Great Movies" list.
Read more about this topic: Unforgiven
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