The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Akira Kurosawa's rousing Seven Samurai was a natural for an American remake--after all, the codes and conventions of ancient Japan and the Wild West (at least the mythical movie West) are not so very far apart. Thus The Magnificent Seven effortlessly turns samurai into cowboys (the same trick worked more than once: Kurosawa's Yojimbo became Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars). The beleaguered denizens of a Mexican village, weary of attacks by banditos, hire seven gunslingers to repel the invaders once and for all. The gunmen are cool and capable, with most of the actors playing them just on the cusp of '60s stardom: Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn. The man who brings these warriors together is Yul Brynner, the baddest bald man in the West. There's nothing especially stylish about the approach of veteran director John Sturges (The Great Escape), but the storytelling is clear and strong, and the charisma of the young guns fairly flies off the screen. If that isn't enough to awaken the 12-year-old kid inside anyone, the unforgettable Elmer Bernstein music will do it: bum-bum-ba-bum, bum-ba-bum-ba-bum.... Followed by three inferior sequels, Return of the Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, and The Magnificent Seven Ride!--Robert Horton Amazon.com essential video

CORN, CORN, AND MORE CORN

This movie was made in the days before film-makers realized that people were sophisticated enough to recognize corn when they saw it. Horz Bucholz's impetuous kid act was just total corn. Talk about bad acting. Robert Vaughn deliberately affects some kind of bizarre weakling voice quality.

The whole premise of the movie was that the villagers were wothless cowards but Bronson goes off his head proclaiming how brave they are because they're dirt scratching farmers. The 40 banditos ride into the village and the hired guns(the seven) expose themselves in positions where they could easily be shot by less than half of 40 banditos.

The banditos get the drop on the seven when the seven return to the village and the ultimate in movie absurdity happens. The banditos let the seven go on their merry way AND give them their guns back. Any self respecting Mexican bandito would have slit their throats, but not in this fantasy universe. This is truly one of the worst westerns I've ever seen. I just don't understand why this movie has gotten the hype that it has. Probably simply because it had Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen in it. November 13, 2008

Seven Stars

Whilst this probably isn't the best western ever made its certainly up there amongst the top flight. It was fortunately made a few years before 'A Fistful of Dollars', which changed westerns and what was expected from them.

Take the classic Kurosawa film 'Seven Samurai' (which is given its due in the opening credits) and reinvent it in the American west. Then add the staggeringly good cast of Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach, James Coburn and Robert Vaughan and what you have is a near perfect piece of Cinema. Some of these guys (like McQueen) were not the bigshots they would later become, but they are incredibly cool. Just a look is enough for these actors. For example, James Coburn hardly says a word throughout the film, and he has arguably the best scene - the knife vs gun moment.

Sure its not a great film in the way 'The Searchers' is, but for straightforward entertainment this is hard to beat. And for those who criticise it as being dated and slow, I'm afraid you've been watching too many modern Hollywood blockbusters. What makes The Magnificent Seven substantially better than a lot of modern films, is that its a simple morality tale, and in the end you do care about the villagers and the Seven.

As a simple comparison the film I watched prior to this one was 'Swordfish' a 2001 film starring John Travolta and Hugh Jackman. Not a bad film. It has a great start. But its not in the same league as The Magnificent Seven. After the start it becomes an exercise in CGI, explosions, car chases and computer screens. Its worth seeing, just, but its a largely souless, depressing piece of filmmaking. Saying that of course there are much worse films than Swordfish out there...

A final word on The Magnificent Seven, listen to the wonderful music score by Elmer Bernstein. There haven't been many more evocative soundtracks than this one. September 20, 2008

My favorite Western of all time

My all time favorite Western. I first saw it as a little kid and have watched it a number of times since. It's the values that it portrays and the character that it inspires that makes it such an enduring classic for me. The fact that these seven hired guns knew (most of them) that they're doing a dirty job and that there is so much better out there and they admired it more then their own glory is simply great. In a way they went to save the village from the bandits as a way of their own redemption. Wonderful movie. September 6, 2008

Definetly in my Top 10

This is the movie that made me fall in love with Westerns. I must have seen it over a dozen times, but I still enjoy it. It's easily forgotten that this was a mold-breaking movie in its day and it paved the way for Sergio Leone. Roy Rogers and Gene Autry could never gain membership in the Seven. For that matter, this club would probably reject every John Wayne character that preceded the film. (However, either J. B. Brooks or Rooster Cogburn could have made this the Magnificent Eight.)

The Special Edition DVD includes a new making of documentary with some interesting insights into the chemistry that worked to make this ensemble movie great. A trivia question: How many times does Yul Brynner take off his hat in the movie?

The Shut Mouth Society
The Shopkeeper August 19, 2008

Great movie!

I just received this movie and haven't had a chance to watch this version yet, but no matter what the quality, it is still a great movie with a great cast and great music! July 18, 2008

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