It's hard to express all the great reasons I love this movie. Just as Silence of the Lambs was to horror, and Saving Private Ryan was to war movies, Unforgiven was to deconstructing the Western Myth Genre. Direction is purposeful and sparse, photography is beautiful, acting is perfect, writing is flawless, editing is excellent, set design is inspiring, and production is without measure. Like The Passion of the Christ, Unforgiven trancends it's makers and becomes a brilliant work that stands on it's own, not so much written and directed, but concieved and born.