Watching all the movies on the Warner Bros. 50-movie box set that I bought for cheap. This week the random number generator pulls the trigger on Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.

Here’s what happens: It’s the Old West. Bill Munny is a retired gunslinger who takes on last job, to enact revenge on a man who mutilated a prostitute. Unfortunately, the job puts Munny in the path of the sadistic “Little Bill” Daggett, who runs his town like a tyrant.

Why it’s famous: After decades of being famous for his Western roles, Eastwood directs and stars in what many describe as his final (to date) word on the Western genre.

Get your film degree: Unforgiven is often described as a “dark” Western. While that’s true at times, I’ve always felt that it’s more of a realist Western. The movie asks what it would be like to be an actual hired gun in the Old West. It then answers that it would have really sucked.

Movie geekishness: As a big Marvel Comics fan, I’ve always viewed Unforgiven as the best adaptation of the Punisher we’ve ever had. When Eastwood is marching through the rain at the end? That’s the Punisher all over.

Thoughts upon this viewing: Yes, there are a lot of slow parts and a lot of sad scenes, but the movie nonetheless plays, and it remains of the best modernist Westerns.

Next week: Not the parking meters!

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