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It’s been hailed one of the greatest Westerns ever made(Image: Unforgiven)

It has been hailed as one of the greatest Western’s ever made and tonight the classic is being shown on the BBC.

The 1992 film, Unforgiven, starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, tells the story of a retired gunslinger in the Wild West embarking on one final job and to right what he sees as an injustice. When prostitute Delilah, played by Anna Thomson, is hurt by cowboys in the remote town of Big Whisky in Wyoming, a reward is posted for their murder.

The extreme reaction prompts ire from town sheriff, Little Bill Daggett, played by the late Gene Hackman, who has outlawed vigilantism in his town. But retired gunslinger William Munny (Eastwood) can’t let the issue lie and leads one group of gunslingers in the quest for justice. A rival group, let by English Bob, played by Bob Harris, are also chasing the reward.

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Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the film

The film was hailed a huge commercial and critical success. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and walked home with four, including for Best Picture and Best Director for Clint Eastwood. Gene Hackman also won Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film. At the time, Eastwood said this would be the final time he would star in a Western.

Critics couldn’t get enough of the movie and it is regularly praised as being one of the best films ever made. It holds an impressive 96 percent approval rating on the movie review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes. One critic said: “This unflinching drama definitively strips the West of its idealized romanticism and presents it as a savage hellhole in which there are no clear-cut heroes or villains, only morally ambiguous survivalists.”

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Unforgiven was a huge success

Another wrote: “It’s stunning cinematography by Jack N. Green is breathtaking, with the brilliant use of wide-shots and placing characters in the foreground in order to capture the epic scale and power of the wide-screen.” While a third added: “A better modern western has yet to be made.”

Eastwood’s powerful performance came in for specific praise with one critic saying: “Eloquent and expansive, Unforgiven is arguably the best film of Eastwood’s career-a movie that could well serve as the last word on the western.” While another added: “As great as the script and cinematography are (they are both unassailable), the real magic of Unforgiven is in the performances.”

Fans also loved the gritty Western, with one writing: “Arguably the greatest western of all time, with Eastwood, Freeman, Harris and Hackman at their best. Gritty and hard hitting. Munny releases his old demons in a great climax. I always want to see more of what happened to him after I watch this.”

Another said: “The best western I have ever seen as a fan of them. Well deserved Oscars and the great performances of all the actors, its truly a film.” While a third said: “Classic movie one of the best westerns.”

Unforgiven is on BBC2 at 9pm on December 27.