Clint Eastwood is a true legend in the world of cinema, not only for his acting but also for his directing. Of all his great films Unforgiven is still a fan favorite. And since it’s a Wild West movie, you might think it’s one of the most expensive movies of all time.

Interesting, Unforgiven was filmed at a time when technology was not as advanced as it is today. Evaluating older productions can be difficult for exactly this reason – not everyone appreciates a classic or recognizes it as a great work. But The film proves the opposite. It shows that with minimal investment, a tight schedule and a little careful planning, you can make film history.

How Unforgiven Was it a great success for Clint Eastwood?

Over the course of his nearly seventy-year career, Clint Eastwood has explored many different genres as an actor and director, but his name will probably always be associated with the Wild West.

Although he is widely celebrated for Texan Josey Walesthe really outstanding thing is UnforgivenThe film won him four Academy Awards in 1994, including Best Picture and Best Director, and has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of over 95%.

But why does the film deserve such recognition? It was shot with minimal investment and in just 39 days – which may seem unbelievable to many. And to top it all off, the story almost never saw the light of day. David Webb Peoples’ script initially caught the attention of Francis Ford Coppola, but ultimately didn’t go any further. (via Flickering Myth)

Eastwood almost dropped the project when his long-time collaborator Sonia Chernus advised him against it, calling the script “a shoddy piece of work.” Although he initially took her advice, Eastwood eventually decided to give the material a chance and was eager to make it happen.

With a budget of only $14 million, the film became a huge success, despite debuting at a time when the Western genre was losing appeal, audience interest was waning, and box office numbers were declining. Eastwood mentioned that this more economical approach to filmmaking was heavily inspired by Don Siegel, the director of the 1971 neo-noir film. DirtyHarry:

Don was a guy who could do a lot on film with a very small budget, and by watching him I tried to take advantage of that. I don’t shoot quite as economically as Don, but I plan things.

At an AFI event, the director also mentioned that this influence was probably the reason he didn’t even want to change the script. Siegel always said that people often take a project and rewrite it to improve on something that was already great, only to end up making the story worse and driving up the costs.

Unforgiven It took years to produce

Anyone who thinks that Eastwood’s careful planning made the film easier to make is mistaken. Despite the tight shooting schedule, it took a long time until Unforgiven to life.

When he became interested in the script, he knew he wanted to both direct and star in the film. To make sure he was the right age for the role, he decided to delay the film. Unforgiven until the timing was perfect. To give you an idea, the project left Coppola’s hands in 1985, but didn’t hit the screen until 1991.

There was another factor, however. According to NJ.com, in the early 1980s Eastwood was also eager to explore new avenues beyond the Wild West. He wanted a change of pace, as he had already worked on several Westerns, and felt it was time to tackle other projects first.

According to Cinephilia & Beyond, Eastwood was ultimately surprised by the film’s reception:

I was shocked because I never try to seduce the audience. You have to forget that there’s someone out there eating popcorn and Milk Duds. I thought if people want to see it, they’ll see it. If not, then screw it.

Filming took place on a remote ranch in Canada, where the director personally selected a production designer to recreate the town of Big Whiskey from scratch. To maintain the historical feel, motorized vehicles were banned on set and the actors and crew had to rely on horses.

The film grossed nearly $160 million worldwide.

From August 19, 2024 Unforgiven is available to stream on Apple TV+.