A revisionist western film is a film that goes against the common beliefs of western films, in this way, Unforgiven is truly a revisionist western film. Unforgiven (1992), directed by Clint Eastwood, is a movie about two very unusual alpha male cowboys William Munny, played by Clint Eastwood, and Ned Logan, played by Morgan Freeman. The main reason why Unforgiven is a revisionist film is because it has an African American as the alpha male cowboy, Ned Logan. There are many westerns with characters that play significant roles who can be categorized as “the other,” like Pompey in The Man who Shot Liberty Valance, but none as the alpha male cowboy. Another contributing factor to this film being a revisionist western is the role that the other alpha male cowboy plays, William Munny. William Munny is very different from the traditional alpha male cowboy. He is not as tough as he should be, specifically in term of where he lives. He lives at home, and when he is camping with Ned, he says “I miss my bed,” something that no alpha male cowboy would ever say.
The reason why this film is a revisionist western is due to the director, Clint Eastwood. Clint Eastwood is known for being the star in the spaghetti western The Man with No Name trilogy. Spaghetti westerns in themselves are revisionist westerns, as they are so brutally violent. With a director that is the star of countless spaghetti western movies, the only thing that you can expect is something very different than the traditional western film.
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