Unforgiven DVD

 lots of "issues"
Saw the film for first time today. Pondered who director was. At times semms like parody; other times, dialogue is clever, racy, engaging; camera work, gorgeous, intriguing. pay attention to Gish's silent film style and Lancaster's film noir style (usually) of acting. Themes and images borrowed and borrowed from (e.g. music "contest--here, the Kiowa flutes and Zulu/Welsh songs in "Zulu", lead soldiers-"The Patriot", nut case Wiseman here and nut case Donald Pleasance in "Will Penny"--maybe two nut cases in "The Searchers"(Mose and Ethan), the visual of the burning house looks like it inspired Peckinpah for opening of "Major Dundee", some of the issues dealt with in "The Searchers" and here( in this case the original taint of being Indian as opposed to being Indian by "injection" in "The Searchers", the mania to get "captive" back as theme or subtheme(Northwest Passage, Two Rode Together, Major Dundee, The Searchers, The Last of The Mohicans, The Plainsman, Unconquered, Rio Grande, etc. When you come right down to it, SEX has a lot to do with it(consider even the Lancaster/Hepburn "incest"). Sex and race, sex and race, sex and race--beat that drum as theme until it means nothing( at least for the boxoffice). One of the issues it explores is where one belongs or chooses to belong--consider "Little Big Man", "A Man Called Horse" "Dances With Wolves" "The Savage", "Arrowhead", "The Searchers", "Two Rode Together", "Northwest Passage", even "Broken Arrow", "last of The Mohicans", "Jeremiah Johnson"--that is, rejecting, in part or in whole, one's heritage. Perhaps the most interesting comparison could be made between "The Unforgiven" and "Arrowhead". In "U", the Indian girl by nurture rejects her "nature"; in "A", the Indian man rejects his nurture and reclaims his "nature". Presented somewhat racist conceptually, in real life some people have to make this choice. Another thing that occurs to me is that the 18th and 19th centuries abounded in captivity literature--whites captured by Indians--and what that means and what to do about it. I think by the time we get to the 20th century the Indian side gets or should have gotten more address. Missionary school, anyone? Do you see what I mean? Rape of a culture! Assumption was that all wanted to reject the Indian and return to whitehood unless the shock(especially of interracial sex) ruined the individual for re-admittance. Also consider how many of the films I mentioned allowed a white woman to love and happily live with an Indian man compared with the white stud and the indian "princess"(and often not even the latter, e.g. "Broken Arrow", "A Man Called Horse, "Little Big Man"). One final observation; Audrey Hepburn kills her brother to marry her "brother". She's even worse than Medea when you think of it. P.S. This is not just a racial/sexual "nightmare". It is about empire, too, the power to steal identity and not the ability or right to choose identity. An example that comes to mind is Anton Donchev's "A Time Of Parting". Just consider that. Watch "The Unforgiven"...and watch "The business Of Fancy Dancing", too.
Submitted by John (Glendale, WI)
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 Audie Murphy's Best
I saw this film about 25 years ago and it was one of the best westerns I'd viewed. I'm buying a copy now as I didn't realise until searching for Audie Murphy that it was still available. Burt Lancaster is always good Audie was patchy but this was his best acting.
Submitted by davidarthur27 (Ystrad Mynach,Wales,UK) 
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 classic
I thought the movie was intertaining until I got to the part where the woman called Audrey Hepburn a "red nigger". The movie was turned off instantly and placed on a shelf to collect dust. I felt ashamed and sad for the people of that day to feel that racist words play a part in the industry.
Submitted by a reviewer (Philadelphia, Pa, USA) 
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