Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

Who'd have thought the young Clint Eastwood, with his roles on "Maverick," "Rawhide" and other genre TV shows of the 1950s and 1960s would have evolved into the icon of the American Western? And for that matter, who would have predicted not one but two Oscars under his belt (so far), not for acting, but for directing, including Oscar #1 for this very film?

"Unforgiven" is the tale of a past-his-prime gunslinger-turned-farmer named William Munny (Eastwood) who has reformed his evil ways, thanks to the love of a good woman (now deceased). But Munny gets roped into the proverbial "one last job" by "The Schofield Kid" (Woolvett) - a young cowboy full of piss and vinegar. The Kid is looking to prove himself with a killing-for-hire (but don't worry - it's for a good cause), and enlists Munny's aid due to his reputation for doing wicked things, and doing them well. Munny drags along his old partner Ned Logan (Freeman) to help with the riflery duties. But are these old-timers (and the young pup) really up to the task of killing? And is it such a good cause after all is said and done?

The Picture

Movies like "Unforgiven" with their sweeping vistas of the wild untamed West, were made for high definition. It's wonderful to see tree-lined mountains, an authentically detailed and weathern-worn frontier town and untainted wilderness in all their glorious detail at 1920X1080 resolution.

But equally important in the video transfer are the moody, sparsely illuminated scenes such as the "billiards" hall at night, smoky campfires and late-night/early morning stakeouts. The brightly lit scenes will drop your jaw in their representation of detail and three-dimensional space. The darker scenes still offer huge improvements over earlier DVD releases of the film, though some details still remain obscured. But perhaps this is the intended effect, and is an accurate representation of the original film print.

I did have some trouble with my first HD-DVD sample of "Unforgiven" - the picture froze at the beginning of chapter 17, about 1:06:30 into the film. But a second sample of the disc exhibited no such problem.

The Sound

The Dolby Digital soundtrack (remixed internally by our Toshiba HD-XA1 player to DTS) does an excellent job of capturing spoken details even at a whisper while providing impact and power during the relatively few (but important) actual gunfight sequences. The desolate, foreboding sounds of a torrential rain permeate the last few scenes of the film, and the 5.1-channel surround mix makes you feel like you're right there, getting soaked to the bone with our hapless, yet unstoppable anti-hero.

The Extras

Unlike the "Full Metal Jacket" HD-DVD (which featured only a theaterical trailer), "Unforgiven" is packed with added-value content. Extras include a commentary track from film critic Richard Schickel (TIME Magazine), a trailer, multiple documentaries with interviews of cast and crew and even a full episode of the TV show "Maverick" where a wet-behind-the-ears Eastwood makes one of his earliest appearance on the screen.

These pieces were previously available in the earlier Special Edition 2-Disc DVD version of the film, but it's nice to see Warner include all of this content (some a bit redundant, but nevertheless interesting) on a single HD-DVD disc. The extras are produced in standard definition (480p), but for documentaries, interviews and behind-the-scenes content, the quality is perfectly acceptable.

In all, there are over 3 hours of running time in the extras. And don't forget the high definition widescreen video and audio transfer of the film (another 2 hours and 10 minutes of content), all on one little silver platter. Try that on a DVD!

Final Thoughts

Unlike Sony Pictures, whose initial Blu-ray Disc title line-up supporting the upcoming Blu-Ray launch leaves a bit to be desired, Warner has chosen some excellent films for the launch of HD-DVD, including "Unforgiven." I only hope that fans of Clint Eastwood, and fans of film in general get to see HD-DVD titles like this on large high-quality screens, where the difference between DVD and HD-DVD are immediately apparent. If they do, this fledgling format might just catch on. Highly recommended.

Technical Details

• Director: Clint Eastwood
  
• Actors: Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, Richard Harris, Jaimz Woolvett
  
• HD-DVD Release Date: May 16, 2006
  
• US Theatrical Release Date: August 7, 1992
• Feature Film video transfer: 1080p 16:9 HD transfer
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen, Original Aspect Ratio - 2.40:1
• Sound Format: Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French), Dolby Digital 2.0 (Spanish)
  
• Languages (audio): English, French, Spanish
  
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
  
• Number of discs: 1
  
• MPAA Rating: R
  
• Studio: Warner Home Video
  
• Extras:
  • Audio Commentary - Commentary by Richard Schickel
  • Documentary - Eastwood a Star
  • Featurette - All on a Counta Pulling a Trigger
  • Interviews - Eastwood on Eastwood, Eastwood & Co., Making of
  • TV Special - Maverick Episode "Duel in the Sun"
  • Theatrical Trailer