Unforgiven (1992)

Unforgiven (1992) is producer/director/star Clint Eastwood's own tribute to his legendary legacy in Sergio Leone's low-budget 'spaghetti' westerns, and a return to his most successful film genre - after seven years (following his Pale Rider (1985)). In this modern-day classic western shot on location (in Alberta, Canada and Sonora, California), Eastwood reprised his film origins - as a gritty and weathered Western character (e.g., The Man With No Name) and as his urbanized 'Dirty Harry' vigilante in Don Siegel's films - he even dedicated the film in the final credits to 'Sergio and Don,' his mentor directors.

Unforgiven (1992)

So when Costner was putting together his new film, "Open Range," he had two problems. First, there was his lack of recent box-office success. Second, the movie is a western, a once-popular genre that has fallen on hard times. Other than "Dances with Wolves" and Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" (1992), the few westerns that were made in the past decade haven't stirred much excitement. However, Costner is hardly the only filmmaker to head west this year. In addition to "Open Range," at least a half a dozen westerns will test the genre's endurance, including "The Missing," with Tommy Lee Jones, and "The Alamo." 041b061a72