Return of the Magnificent Seven (1966)

A Sequel With Virtues Of Its Own!

No, Burt Kennedy's "Return of the Seven" doesn't surpass the John Sturges classic western "The Magnificent Seven." Remember, however, the Sturges film itself was a remake of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's "The Seventh Samurai." First, I contend that "The Magnificent Seven" is one of the top ten best westerns. Second, I get a kick out of watching "Return of the Seven" for its own modest virtues. This sagebrusher came about as a result of the sequel craze in the 1960s. After the tension on the set of "The Magnificent Seven" with Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen refused to play second fiddle again to 'the King.' Anyway, McQueen's star was rising, while Brynner's stardom was becoming eclipsed.

It is important to remember the theatrical title, too, because it is "Return of the Seven" with the omission of the adjective "Magnificent." Indeed, Brynner is the only one who made it back for the sequel. McQueen refused to and Horst Buchholz had disappeared in Europe making other movies.

Mind you, around this time, the Europeans had spawned the so-called 'Spaghetti' western craze. Moreover, the Franco government in Spain subsidized filmmakers, and the rough-hewn Spanish scenery substituted more than adequately for the frontier American Southwest. When the scenery is more interesting to look at, the music stands out by itself, and the corpses outnumber the horses ten-to-one, you know that you're watching a 'Spaghetti' western. Oh, yeah, if the dialogue isn't lip-synched, you know you're watching a 'Spaghetti' western. Consequently, the Mirish Production company must have felt that they could knock out a sequel very inexpensively in Spain. Reportedly, the Alicante location where they filmed "Return of the Seven" had not been used in a picture. Unquestionably, "Return of the Seven" looks like an epic western, and Paul Vogel's cinematography is a feast for the eyes. Everybody looks really picturesque when they shoot their guns in this western. Burt Kennedy's "Seven" surpasses Sturges' "Seven" only in terms of its rugged, breath-taking scenery, Vogel's ace cinematography, and the lavish production values. Burt Kennedy stages some exception gunfights, but he cannot top the vintage Sturges shoot-outs.

"Return of the Seven" picks up years after the Sturges epic. An insane rancher decides to honor the memory of his two dead sons by abducting the farmers of several villages and having them build a shrine--a church--to commemorate his sons. Right off, "Return of the Seven" differs from "The Magnificent Seven." Francisco Lorca (Emilio Fernández of "The Wild Bunch") looms above all as a law unto himself, whereas Calvera (Eli Wallach) was a cunning, ruthless bandit that lived outside the law. These films have different villains. One of the villages that Lorca's men raid and enslave is Chico's village. Julian Mateos takes over the role that Horst Buchholz created.

The worst scene is the first between Chris (Yul Brynner) and Vin (Robert Fuller of "Laramie") at a bullfighting arena. Vin sidles up to Chris during a bullfight and makes up a story that he is looking to collect bounty on Chris. Scenarist Larry Cohen of the "It's Alive" trilogy could have contrived a better reunion scene. Although Cohen received credit for writing the screenplay, all the dialogue sounds like something that Burt Kennedy would have written for Randolph Scott on those Budd Boetticher westerns of the 1950s. My favorite line is when Chris and Vin meet again during a cockfighting tournament and talk about their luck rounding up candidates. Vin asks, "Are they any good?" Chris retors, "They're alive." Staying alive is what "Return of the Seven" is all about. Meanwhile, Cohen replays themes from the original. The villagers huddle in a rainy church and admit their fear of anything.

The cast differs obviously and so do the characters. Burt Kennedy's "Seven" is harsh, definitely less sentimental than the Sturges "Seven." Some of these guys don't get along. Chris averts a gunfight between the loquacious Colbee (Warren Oates of "In The Heat of the Night") and the tight-lipped Frank (Claude Atkins of "A Man Called Sledge") in one scene. "Is he faster than you, Chris," Frank asks. "I'd hate to have the live on the difference," Chris observes. I'd heard this line in "Rio Bravo," but it fares better here. Another great scene occurs earlier when Chris buys Frank out of jail. "He killed five men in a gunfight," complains the jailer about the amount of Chris' bribe. "I could make it six," growls Frank. The bargain is sealed. The dialogue in this scene compares with the dialogue in the Charles Bronson scene in the original "Seven." This time the Seven face at least fifty gunmen, twenty or so more than in the first picture. Interestingly, Chris gets not only Frank but also Luis Emilio Delgado (Vergílio Teixeira of "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad") from the local jail. This anticipates the classic Lee Marvin war movie "The Dirty Dozen." Another scene that matched the original is the initial hero and the villains confrontation. Chris rides boldly into the construction site and demands the release of Chico and everybody else to the incredulity of Lorca's second-in-command Lopez (Rodolfo Acosta of "Rio Conchos") who replies, "I could have you shot like that." Lopez snaps. "There are six Winchesters pointed at your head." Chris is far more audacious here than he ever was in "The Magnificent Seven." Emilio Fernández is a splendid foll0w-up to Eli Wallach. In real life, Wallach was gentle, whereas Fernández was violent, handy with a gun, a gangsta of sorts. He looks like he means business as the villain in "Return of the Seven." Like Yul Brynner, Elmer Bernstein encores his original Oscar nominated orchestral soundtrack and amazingly he received another nomination for it. If you haven't seen the first "Seven," you could swear that Bernstein created the score for the sequel!

Too bad MGM/UA didn't put an audio commentary track on this one.

November 3, 2008

Return of the Magnificent Seven

Not a good a the origional but a very good movie
arrived in good shape and in a timely manner January 14, 2008

There Are Seven, But Not So Magnificent This Time

The Magnificent Seven is a classic. Yeah, we all know it's good and you certainly don't need me to try and sell you on that. But what about the sequel? Nobody talks about it, and many more don't even know it exists. Is it worth watching? Well, yeah I suppose. Don't go expecting anything terrific, but it's a harmless way to kill an hour and a half. Yul is the only actor who returns as Chris. The two other surviving characters played by Steve McQueen and Horst Buchholz are played by different actors, so it just doesn't feel the same and they had might as well be totally new characters. Add to that, four of the seven died in the first film, so you can kind of look at this movie more like The Magnificent One. Chris is called upon again to help out the same village who now has had their men captured by some lunatic and forced into slave labor(he wants to rebuild his church and his town). Chris rounds up another group of gunfighters, who all come along for their own reasons, to save the day. There are minor differences in the overall plot, but it all feels like a rehashing, but with less "ooomph". The coolness factor of James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen and Robert Vaughn just isn't there, and admittedly a very hard thing to top. Yul still looks cool as hell in his black getup, but he more or less has the responsibility of carrying the entire film, and since it isn't the best performance on his part(more the scriptwriter's fault than his I'm sure), there isn't alot going for it. It does pick up and get more interesting as it goes on however, especially in the last half hour. So, is it worth seeing? Sure, it's painless and does have some good moments. I certainly wouldn't buy it without seeing it first though. Peace out, Homeboyyyyyz. November 28, 2007

Shades of WWII and Vietnam

As I watched this rather unusual western, it occured to me that the main characters and plot bore a striking resemblance to that of the European theater of WWII. For example, like Hitler, Lorca is a madman, willing to sacrifice his fortune, the lives of many of his employees and even his own life to accomplish his obsessive goal: in this case,to build a monument to his supposedly cherished slain sons. But,like Hitler, his obsession really has more to do with salvaging his own bruised ego than about his offficial justification for his evil acts. Like the Nazis, Lorca uses slave labor to help accomplish his goal. In this case, it is the unarmed peons of several villages whom he kidnaps. The peons are analogous to the seemingly helpless Jews and Slavs. The hastilly organized "Gang of Seven"(really 6) American gunslingers represent the Western Allies. In trying to free these slave villagers, they put themselves at great risk. However, as in the case of the USSR, the
peons unexpectedly play the major part in the final defeat of Lorca's "army". However, they need the help of the Gang, just as the USSR needed the help of the Western Allies to crush the Nazis.... As has been pointed out by another, there are also certain parallels with our then increasing involvement in Vietnam. At one point, there is a plea by the slaves that everyone would be better off if the Gang left, as Lorca threatens to kill them as well as the Gang if they continue to resist.If they don't resist, Lorca promises to return them to their homes unharmed after they finish his project. The Gang must then decide whether it is likely in the interests of the villagers as well as themselves to stay and fight against seemingly impossible odds...
Toward the end of the film, Brynner reveals that he has a complex past relationship with Lorca and his sons. In the end, he fulfills his interrupted obligation to Lorca's deceased sons(see the film, to find out what this is). In fact, toward the end, I think this is his chief motivation for doing what he his doing....
If you can stomach all the many implausibilities in this story, it is a reasonably entertaining film with a complex set of personal stories to tell, if you take the effort to absorb them all. Given all the gunplay, both the Mexicans and Americans must have been incredibly bad shots and incredibly foolhardy in openly exposing themselves to gunfire that should have killed them several times over. At times, Lorca is standing so vulnerable that he seems to be asking to be killed. One gets the impression that the chief antagonists would much rather have settled their differences with swordplay than with bullets.
May 16, 2007

sequels usually suck-and this is no exception to that rule

In the original film the seven were played by seven top-notch actors..even
Brad Dexter,the most colorless of the original seven was head and shoulders above this new bunch...Oh,yeah,Yul Brynner replays his role as the leader,but the other two surviving members from the original film are played by new,and inferior actors.."Vin"the role that helpled make actor Steve McQueen's reputation,is taken over by Robert Fuller,the scout on the old"Wagon Train" teevee show..While McQueen started out on teevee himself(In "Wanted-Dead or Alive"),he had that "something" which Fuller lacks.."Chico"the half-breed mexican,who also survived the first film's shoot-out was played in that film by Horst Buchholtz..in this film the charismatic Buchholtz has been replaced by the colorless Julian Mateos..Claude Akins and Warren Oates try to fill out roles played better by James Coburn and Charles Bronson...Another thing that first film had going for it was Eli Wallach as the bad guy.. ,the bad guy in this film is about as menacing as a housefly,which tends to make the whole film seem a total waste of time... March 29, 2007

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