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1960
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THE
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
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STARRING:YUL
BRYNNER,STEVE MCQUEEN,ELI WALLACH,CHARLES BRONSON,ROBERT VAUGHN,BRAD
DEXTER,JAMES COBURN,HORST BUCHHOLZ,JORGE MARTINEZ DE HOYAS,ROSENDA
MONTEROS
BASED
ON THE MOVIE "SEVEN SAMURAI" WRIITEN BY AKIRA
HUROSAWA,SHINOBU HASHIMOTO & HIDEO OGUNI
SCREENPLAY
BY WILLIAM ROBERTS
PRODUCED
BY JOHN STURGES
DIRECTED
BY JOHN STURGES
GENRE:ADVENTURE/DRAMA/WESTERN
RATED:AUSTRALIA:PG/UK:PG/USA:APPROVED
RUNNING
TIME:128 MIN
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A
small Mexican village made up of peasant farmers are hounded by the
cold and deadly bandit Calvera (Eli Wallach) and his group of 30 strong
men, taking their food and possessions on a constant basis. Sick and
tired of the mistreatment, a group of villages decide to venture into
the United States and hire help to defend them upon Calvera's return.
Arriving in a town on the outskirts of the Mexican border, the villages
come across Chris Adams (Yul Bryner), a gun slinging drifter with
nerves of steel looking for action. With only a minimal amount of
money at there disposal they ask Chris if he will help them. Chris
agrees recruiting six more men for the job; Harry Luck (Brad Dexter);
O'Reilly (Charles Bronson); Britt (James Coburn); Lee (Robert Vaughn);
Chico (Horst Buchholz); and Vin (Steve McQueen), who earlier helped
Chris defy a bunch of locals who objected to their burying of a Native
American in a 'whites only' cemetery. Together the seven of them must
prepare the village for the upcoming battle against Calvera and his
men.
A monumental remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic Seven Samurai,
The Magnificent Seven is a great western which successfully
adapts the samurai's of the East into the cowboys of the West, is
full of strong characters and contains solid direction by John Sturges.
The performances are good. Yul Brynner as always turns in an unfailing
performance, his baritone voice and solid posture making him a strong
screen presence. But it is Steve McQueen in his break through role
who steals the show, the archetype of cool displaying a range of ticks
and tricks (shaking his shotgun shells, leaning off his horse to dip
his hat in the river, etc.) stealing every shot from a displeased
Brynner leading to an on set feud between the two. Eli Wallach thankfully
does not overact in the role of the villain, coming across more like
a mafia don in his business like approach to his cruelty instead of
a wild eyed bandit
I found myself feeling for these men, vagabonds each and all who are
moved by the people they are protecting. Screenwriter William Roberts
fleshes out every character giving them size and scope. O'Reilly at
heart is a big softie who receives the affections of three village
children sworn to avenge him if he dies; Lee has lost his nerve and
suffers from disturbing nightmares (as shown in a quite hammy scene);
Britt possesses Zen like qualities and is quick with a knife; and
Harry is possessed with Aztec treasure supposedly located within the
mountains surrounding the village. Life as a gunslinger does not appear
to be an ideal existence for every man in the group. Chris relishes
life as a nomad since he has no one to answer to. Vin on the other
hand longs for a wife and children, while Chico's over anxiousness
for the lifestyle (which does not explain the over the top theatrics)
more than likely comes from his embarrassment of he himself being
a Mexican peasant farmer.
Elmer Bernstein provides a memorable score that adds to and does not
take away from the movie, which I find to be a common and annoying
trend amongst many composers during this era of film making (especially
in regards to westerns). The shoot outs are also great with Bernstein's
driving score adding extra momentum to the battles between the seven
and Calvera's men.
I currently place this in the top 10 of my favourite westerns. It
is a great film full of many memorable moments and performances, and
a perfect example as to how to remake a classic. |
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