The movie was written by David Webb Peoples and directed by Eastwood.
It won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Gene Hackman), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture. It was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Clint Eastwood), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
Unforgiven is commonly considered to be among the five best westerns ever produced.