

Look up any list of the best Westerns of all time and you might notice a bit of a theme. The overwhelming majority of the movies tend to be from before the mid-1960s, with a few sprinkled in from the 70s to spice things up. After all, by the late-20th century the golden age of Westerns was most definitely over.
Still, there have been some superb Westerns intermittently since then, with one of the most adored being Unforgiven, which cleaned up at the Oscars in 1993. If you've never seen this Clint Eastwood epic (like me until just a few days ago), head to Amazon Prime Video as soon as you can – it's a stunner and is a recent addition to the streamer's library.
Eastwood directs and stars in Unforgiven, making it all the more impressive that he excels in both roles. In fact, he got up on stage to accept both Best Director and Best Film at the Oscars (missing out on Best Actor), while Gene Hackman won Best Supporting Actor and the film also nabbed Best Film Editing.
That's quite a list of statues to take home, but the film easily merits that level of adulation. It tells the tale of a small frontier town caught in the crossfire as a group of brothel workers post a bounty on the ruffians who disfigured one of their colleagues.





With multiple posses out for the bounties and a local sheriff (Hackman) who's desperate to keep his town from imploding, it's a powder-keg that's made all the more special by a ridiculous cast. Alongside Eastwood and Hackman are names like Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris and Anna Thomson.
You don't get an ensemble like that every day of the week, but you can also expect some lovely sparse vistas and colours from the movie's cinematography. It does a great job of summoning up a time and a place, although it's up to you whether you feel the nostalgia for it or uneasy about how grim times used to be.
Either way, this sort of huge Oscar-winning title is just what makes Prime Video's back catalogue so persuasive. The jury may be out forever on exactly what the best streaming service is, but Unforgiven sure help's Amazon's case.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts

Max is T3's Staff Writer for the Tech section – with years of experience reporting on tech and entertainment. He's also a gaming expert, both with the games themselves and in testing accessories and consoles, having previously flexed that expertise at Pocket-lint as a features editor.
-
Apple TV+ does it again – its new sci-fi show is a hit
Murderbot might do really well
-
Apple TV+ is making Ted Lasso, but for golf – and it looks lovely
Stick seems like a potential hole-in-one
-
HBO's Max to rebrand as, wait for it, HBO Max (again)
It's a merry-go-round
-
Amazon's huge sci-fi sequel announcement makes sense, after seeing leaked Fallout 2 trailers
Massive Fallout Season 2 leak shows exactly why Amazon is so keen on a Season 3 already
-
I was right about this returning Prime Video series – it'll be seismic
Culpa Nuestra's teaser sets records
-
Sydney Sweeney returns to her Euphoria roots in Apple TV+'s new thriller
Echo Valley looks harrowing
-
Apple TV+ proves it's the streamer for auteurs with Highest 2 Lowest
A Spike Lee Joint approaches
-
Netflix's fantasy action blockbuster returns in July, five years after huge original
The Old Guard 2 is on the way