The film was commercially successful at the time of its release and its acting was universally praised - it helped to revive the reputation of Westerns, becoming only the third Western ever to win the Best Picture Academy Award - two years earlier, another Western film Dances With Wolves (1990) took the top honor.

The first Western to win the Best Picture Oscar was Cimarron (1930/1931).

Overall, the film was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won four of 1992’s Oscars: Best Picture (Clint Eastwood as producer), Best Supporting Actor (Gene Hackman - his second Oscar after winning for The French Connection (1971)), Best Director, and Best Film Editing. It won dozens of other Awards, among which 4 Golden Globes, also for Best Film, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor.

Eventually Clint Eastwood bought the script and waited until he thought he was old enough to play the lead character, William Munny.

I think the film is a powerful illustration of St. Paul's lament, in Romans, 7:19:

By stripping away the myths, it also disturbs us, and asks us: "Are we any better?"

Some topics in this essay:
Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood's, St Paul's, Schofield Kid, Webb Peoples, Academy Awards, Clint Eastwood, Harry Potter, Supporting Actor, Oscar Cimarron, supporting actor, director supporting actor, win picture, western win, director supporting, clint eastwood, william munny, film title, academy awards, gene hackman, western win picture,