LoginThe Magnificent Seven has everything going for it, a near-perfect cast, a truly magnificent score and the fact it is very exciting as a western. Maybe not as good as Seven Samurai, but boy it is by far one of the better remakes out there. If you want a bad remake, see Psycho, starring Vince Vaughan or The Wicker Man, starring Nicolas Cage, in my opinion they should never have been made. The Magnificent Seven is an example of how a remake should be made, it was one of those pleasant surprises for me of as soon as the first note of the score blared I knew hey this is great stuff.
The plot is simple, but I like simplicity, sometimes simplicity is good, but it is a great concept and very well constructed. It really helps as well that the action sequences are tremendously exciting, and that the landscapes are truly dazzling. Elmer Bernstein's score has a lot to do with The Magnificent Seven's success I think as well, it is rousing, triumphant and bombastic and very like the score for Lawrence of Arabia it sticks in the mind for a long time afterwards. If I were to choose to which score I preferred over this and the Great Escape, I think this score, The Great Escape was great but I have always found that whenever I hum both tunes people are less annoyed by The Magnificent Seven.
The screenplay is focused, humorous and wise, maybe a little stilted on occasions but it develops the characters well and has heart. And the actors are wonderful. Yul Brynner is the epitome of coolness here, I do think he was better in The King and I, where he was absolutely magnificent, but he does a great job here. Eli Wallach is suitably slimy as the villainous Calvera, who is more than a cardboard cut-out, and Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson and Robert Vaughn are all great. Overall, this is a great film, very exciting, great to look at and has a magnificent score. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox
The Magnificent Seven Reviews
The Magnificent Seven review
Posted : 2 years ago on 9 April 2022 05:16
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Review of The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Posted : 9 years, 8 months ago on 14 August 2014 10:33
1960's The Magnificent Seven is considered to be one of the great Westerns. Obviously it has inspired numerous sequels and remakes, and its influence in film and American culture is undeniably great. But taken on its own merits, is there anything truly magnificent about The Magnificent Seven? By all standards, it's competently made, but it surprisingly lacks in two key areas: character development and exciting action sequences.
The Magnificent Seven (itself a Western remake of the 1954 film, Seven Samurai) is about a team of seven Americans that are hired to defend a small Mexican town from bandits, who have repeatedly returned to pillage the town over the years. The seven Americans quickly realize they are outnumbered, so they must also train the town to fight.
As previously mentioned, there are two major problems with The Magnificent Seven. The first of which is character development. The film has seven primary characters, and while some are faithfully developed (primarily Chico, a hot-headed youngster), most of the other characters are given little defining traits or dimensions. I would argue that only two or three of the seven protagonists are given personalities with any kind of depth. The other four are given a single notable feature (one is on the run, one is good with a knife) to support their presence. If nothing else, the villain, Calvera, is entertaining to watch, even if he is drawn equally thin.
The other big problem is the ineffectiveness of the action sequences. They fail to raise one's pulse, and though the finale does seem to have genuine stakes (and actually follows through on its risks), it lacks any element of fun. Given the serious circumstances, one could forgive the lack of joy involved, but there is little tension or even thrill to compensate for this.
There are a small number of other issues as well. After the first 80 minutes of the film, The Magnificent Seven begins to drag, and it never really picks back up. As a result, the last 45 minutes seem incredibly long. Also, an unnecessary love story has been shoe-horned in, but isn't developed at all, and finds itself swaying closer to comedy than touching poignancy.
While not without memorable moments, there is little of outstanding notability in The Magnificent Seven, excepting its massive legacy. It takes surprising risks with an ending that's more somber and less triumphant than most modern Hollywood endings, and though the characters themselves are lacking in identification, the performances are great.
Many of the poorly written characters are saved by strong performances. Admittedly, some do fall prey to melodrama, but they still hold up reasonably well. The standout performance belongs to Horst Buchholz who makes the most of an annoying character, and incidentally, the one that's the most developed. Yul Brynner, who portrays Chris Adams (arguably the leader of the seven) is an intimidating screen presence, despite the fact that he plays a protagonist. The same could be said of James Coburn. The villain portrayed by Eli Wallach is enjoyable to watch, and is certainly the most entertaining cast member.
Elmer Bernstein's score is easily the most magnificent element of the film. The main theme is proudly performed in the opening titles (perhaps the best part of the film) and is given several reprises throughout the film. The Mexican influence seeps into the score, allowing for a bit of color in the form of guitar and castanets. The only real problem with the music is the absurd overuse of one particular guitar chord is played on its own at least a dozen times (or more) throughout the film. It's a tad distracting, but it is only a small blemish on an otherwise, highly entertaining score.
The Magnificent Seven is a perfectly watchable movie, but it's a long ways off from great, and even a recommendation would feel generous. Had its characters been stronger, and the action sequences more thrilling, The Magnificent Seven could have been something great. Alas, its flaws and slow third act keep this legendary Western from living up to its legacy. It's not bad by any stretch of imagination, but it's a disappointment nonetheless.
The Magnificent Seven (itself a Western remake of the 1954 film, Seven Samurai) is about a team of seven Americans that are hired to defend a small Mexican town from bandits, who have repeatedly returned to pillage the town over the years. The seven Americans quickly realize they are outnumbered, so they must also train the town to fight.
As previously mentioned, there are two major problems with The Magnificent Seven. The first of which is character development. The film has seven primary characters, and while some are faithfully developed (primarily Chico, a hot-headed youngster), most of the other characters are given little defining traits or dimensions. I would argue that only two or three of the seven protagonists are given personalities with any kind of depth. The other four are given a single notable feature (one is on the run, one is good with a knife) to support their presence. If nothing else, the villain, Calvera, is entertaining to watch, even if he is drawn equally thin.
The other big problem is the ineffectiveness of the action sequences. They fail to raise one's pulse, and though the finale does seem to have genuine stakes (and actually follows through on its risks), it lacks any element of fun. Given the serious circumstances, one could forgive the lack of joy involved, but there is little tension or even thrill to compensate for this.
There are a small number of other issues as well. After the first 80 minutes of the film, The Magnificent Seven begins to drag, and it never really picks back up. As a result, the last 45 minutes seem incredibly long. Also, an unnecessary love story has been shoe-horned in, but isn't developed at all, and finds itself swaying closer to comedy than touching poignancy.
While not without memorable moments, there is little of outstanding notability in The Magnificent Seven, excepting its massive legacy. It takes surprising risks with an ending that's more somber and less triumphant than most modern Hollywood endings, and though the characters themselves are lacking in identification, the performances are great.
Many of the poorly written characters are saved by strong performances. Admittedly, some do fall prey to melodrama, but they still hold up reasonably well. The standout performance belongs to Horst Buchholz who makes the most of an annoying character, and incidentally, the one that's the most developed. Yul Brynner, who portrays Chris Adams (arguably the leader of the seven) is an intimidating screen presence, despite the fact that he plays a protagonist. The same could be said of James Coburn. The villain portrayed by Eli Wallach is enjoyable to watch, and is certainly the most entertaining cast member.
Elmer Bernstein's score is easily the most magnificent element of the film. The main theme is proudly performed in the opening titles (perhaps the best part of the film) and is given several reprises throughout the film. The Mexican influence seeps into the score, allowing for a bit of color in the form of guitar and castanets. The only real problem with the music is the absurd overuse of one particular guitar chord is played on its own at least a dozen times (or more) throughout the film. It's a tad distracting, but it is only a small blemish on an otherwise, highly entertaining score.
The Magnificent Seven is a perfectly watchable movie, but it's a long ways off from great, and even a recommendation would feel generous. Had its characters been stronger, and the action sequences more thrilling, The Magnificent Seven could have been something great. Alas, its flaws and slow third act keep this legendary Western from living up to its legacy. It's not bad by any stretch of imagination, but it's a disappointment nonetheless.
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the magnificent seven
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 28 November 2011 04:02
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, MGM, 1960.
Dir. John Sturges. Perf. Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Brad Dexter, Horst Buchholz.
Review by Samu Rahn
It is uncommon for a film to succeed when it tries to be many different things at once. In The Magnificent Seven, classic Western vistas and iconic heroes are melded with a Japanese plot structure and underlying ideology, whimsical humor is tempered by abrupt violence, and a charming moral of altruism is shot down, literally, by the realistic misgiving of selfishness.
The cast is a dream team of 60s real men, led by Eli Wallach as the bandito Calvera and Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner as the gunslingers who head up the resistance party. With a supporting cast that includes James Coburn, Charles Bronson, and Robert Vaughn, it would have been frightfully easy (and no doubt more lucrative at first) if the direction had simply made each character a poster-boy cutout of the actor who played him. Even though a number of these actors, McQueen included, had yet to leave a serious mark on cinema history, their personalities and faces were striking enough for the poster-boy approach to have been viable. But then, The Magnificent Seven might just have been a lesser presage of Ocean’s Eleven (2001) or Ocean’s Twelve (2004), more specifically: rich characters whose development is ignored in favor of the actors’ own egoism and panache. Such a film would have been banal, and the climactic gunfight, where most of the seven meet their ends, would have seemed like coy theater antics.
Instead, director John Sturges uses a trenchant script, largely written by the uncredited Walter Newman, to unearth each character’s heart with a few swift lines. These nuggets of discovery, either of the self or of each other, are embedded within the plot, allowing the characters to grow into the narrative rather than alongside of it. In this way, the climax of the film is justifiable to the audience and compelling, as each character becomes fully defined. Some by how they embrace their survival, others by how they meet their death.
Through its first few acts, though, The Magnificent Seven progresses in an almost lackadaisical manner, as if the imminent gunfight with Calvera is nothing more than a backyard scuffle between cowboys and Indians before supper. Elmer Bernstein’s iconic score is largely responsible for supporting the uplifting mood that carries the majority of the film, giving each character’s story a flavour of high adventure and entertainment. The scenes of weapons training, scouting missions, and occasional scenes of pure dialogue are mostly upbeat, recalling another McQueen film yet to be made, The Great Escape (1963), in how dire circumstances can be lightly cast. This, aside from making The Magnificent Seven simply more fun to watch, also preserves an audience’s energy for the unexpectedly cutting climax and a final note of poignant stoicism.
After all, this Western is neither drama nor comedy, but rather at a lonely point in between where the humor is wry, the pathos swift, and the icons everlasting. While The Magnificent Seven is not the most groundbreaking or influential Western ever made, its qualities may certainly make it the most timeless.
Dir. John Sturges. Perf. Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Brad Dexter, Horst Buchholz.
Review by Samu Rahn
It is uncommon for a film to succeed when it tries to be many different things at once. In The Magnificent Seven, classic Western vistas and iconic heroes are melded with a Japanese plot structure and underlying ideology, whimsical humor is tempered by abrupt violence, and a charming moral of altruism is shot down, literally, by the realistic misgiving of selfishness.
The cast is a dream team of 60s real men, led by Eli Wallach as the bandito Calvera and Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner as the gunslingers who head up the resistance party. With a supporting cast that includes James Coburn, Charles Bronson, and Robert Vaughn, it would have been frightfully easy (and no doubt more lucrative at first) if the direction had simply made each character a poster-boy cutout of the actor who played him. Even though a number of these actors, McQueen included, had yet to leave a serious mark on cinema history, their personalities and faces were striking enough for the poster-boy approach to have been viable. But then, The Magnificent Seven might just have been a lesser presage of Ocean’s Eleven (2001) or Ocean’s Twelve (2004), more specifically: rich characters whose development is ignored in favor of the actors’ own egoism and panache. Such a film would have been banal, and the climactic gunfight, where most of the seven meet their ends, would have seemed like coy theater antics.
Instead, director John Sturges uses a trenchant script, largely written by the uncredited Walter Newman, to unearth each character’s heart with a few swift lines. These nuggets of discovery, either of the self or of each other, are embedded within the plot, allowing the characters to grow into the narrative rather than alongside of it. In this way, the climax of the film is justifiable to the audience and compelling, as each character becomes fully defined. Some by how they embrace their survival, others by how they meet their death.
Through its first few acts, though, The Magnificent Seven progresses in an almost lackadaisical manner, as if the imminent gunfight with Calvera is nothing more than a backyard scuffle between cowboys and Indians before supper. Elmer Bernstein’s iconic score is largely responsible for supporting the uplifting mood that carries the majority of the film, giving each character’s story a flavour of high adventure and entertainment. The scenes of weapons training, scouting missions, and occasional scenes of pure dialogue are mostly upbeat, recalling another McQueen film yet to be made, The Great Escape (1963), in how dire circumstances can be lightly cast. This, aside from making The Magnificent Seven simply more fun to watch, also preserves an audience’s energy for the unexpectedly cutting climax and a final note of poignant stoicism.
After all, this Western is neither drama nor comedy, but rather at a lonely point in between where the humor is wry, the pathos swift, and the icons everlasting. While The Magnificent Seven is not the most groundbreaking or influential Western ever made, its qualities may certainly make it the most timeless.
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A classic
Posted : 13 years, 8 months ago on 28 August 2010 06:58
Since this movie is quite a classic, obviously, I was really eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for Yul Brynner and even more for Steve McQueen. James Coburn and Charles Bronson were also some fine actors so with such a cast, I really had to see this flick at some point. Eventually, it was pretty good but I still think the original directed by Akira Kurosawa (the amazing 'Seven samurai') was actually better. It didn’t help that I saw 'Seven samurai' before so the whole thing didn’t feel really ‘fresh’. Still, it was definitely entertaining and it was above all rather fun to see Steve McQueen, originally just a supporting part, trying to upstage Yul Brynner who was at the time a bigger star. Anyway, in 2016, Antoine Fuqua would come back with a remake and even though the cast sounds pretty bad-ass (Chris Pratt, Denzel Washington, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ethan Hawke, Cam Gigandet, Peter Sarsgaard), I can’t help thinking that the whole thing is rather misguided but we’ll see. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though it didn’t really blow me away, it is still a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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A magnificent remake!
Posted : 13 years, 11 months ago on 7 June 2010 11:41
Back in the 60s, many thought that The Magnificent Seven wasn't a very good idea because of how famous The Seven Samurai so expectations were very high for this film back then and still are now who love The Seven Samurai but haven't seen The Magnificent Seven. After its grand success, it has become one of the best remakes of all time and I have to agree with that! It may have been perhaps clearer and easier to understand than The Seven Samurai but did prefer that one.
Well, I don't really need to explain the plot of the film seeing as it's a remake. The cast in this film was another reason why The Magnificent Seven was a great success! Yul Brynner portrays Chris Adams who is a Cajun and is the leader of the seven gunmen to defend the village. They all wear black, smoke cigars and shoots sharp. Eli Wallach was awesome as Calvera who is the leader of the Mexican bandits. Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn and others deliver great performances as well.
The Magnificent Seven has both its similarities and differences with The Seven Samurai. The most obvious one is that it set in a western background and lifestyle. Other differences are that the villagers in The Seven Samurai are sent to town to hire swordsmen whereas in the remake, the villagers are sent to town to buy guns, In Seven Samurai, the village is fortified to keep the bandits out until the climactic battle. In the remake, Chris states that the new walls were built to trap the bandits inside the village and a couple of others. The Seven Samurai director Akira Kurosawa sort of shocked me when he said he absolutely loved The Magnificent Seven. Now, THAT is saying something! Despite, The Magnificent Seven's critical success, it wasn't so successful regarding awards. The only nominated in earned at the Oscars in 1961 was for Best Original Score.
Overall, The Magnificent Seven is indeed a magnificent remake that has proved itself to be one of the best westerns as one of the best remakes of all time.
Well, I don't really need to explain the plot of the film seeing as it's a remake. The cast in this film was another reason why The Magnificent Seven was a great success! Yul Brynner portrays Chris Adams who is a Cajun and is the leader of the seven gunmen to defend the village. They all wear black, smoke cigars and shoots sharp. Eli Wallach was awesome as Calvera who is the leader of the Mexican bandits. Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn and others deliver great performances as well.
The Magnificent Seven has both its similarities and differences with The Seven Samurai. The most obvious one is that it set in a western background and lifestyle. Other differences are that the villagers in The Seven Samurai are sent to town to hire swordsmen whereas in the remake, the villagers are sent to town to buy guns, In Seven Samurai, the village is fortified to keep the bandits out until the climactic battle. In the remake, Chris states that the new walls were built to trap the bandits inside the village and a couple of others. The Seven Samurai director Akira Kurosawa sort of shocked me when he said he absolutely loved The Magnificent Seven. Now, THAT is saying something! Despite, The Magnificent Seven's critical success, it wasn't so successful regarding awards. The only nominated in earned at the Oscars in 1961 was for Best Original Score.
Overall, The Magnificent Seven is indeed a magnificent remake that has proved itself to be one of the best westerns as one of the best remakes of all time.
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Magnificent American Western
Posted : 14 years, 4 months ago on 23 December 2009 01:53
"We deal in lead, friend."
It's strangely appropriate that John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven is a Western remake of Akira Kurosawa's Japanese epic Seven Samurai. After all, Kurosawa has repeatedly said that his work is inspired by American Westerns. While The Magnificent Seven cannot compete with Seven Samurai in terms of visual dexterity or profound thematic complexity, John Sturges' Western-ised adaptation holds up as a rousing action-adventure story as well as a fascinating turning point in the history of films about the Old West. Not only does The Magnificent Seven contain a pitch-perfect cast and a satisfying amount of exciting, gun-slinging action, but it additionally finds time to explore deep contradictions of the mythic noble outlaws which proved so endemic to the American Western genre.
The plot is a simple one, and follows the template established by Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. A small Mexican village is repeatedly raided by a bandit gang led by the menacing Calvera (Eli Wallach) who constantly leaves the villagers destitute. Desperate and fed up with living under Calvera's thumb, several of the villagers travel to a nearby border town in the hope of purchasing guns to defend themselves, but end up simply hiring professional gunmen instead. A total of seven men are recruited, who travel back to the village to confront Calvera and his gang of bandits. Each of the seven men has their own reasons for being involved, but all are united under the common goal of removing fear from the village and overthrowing the evil marauders.
The Magnificent Seven is divided into two distinct halves. The first chronicles the rounding up of the seven gunmen, while the second half recounts the epic battle fought between the gunslingers and Calvera's gang of bandits. Taken at face value, this is standard good vs. evil stuff. But if scrutinised further, one will uncover something much deeper. Sure, the good guys fight off the bad guys heroically, but each character is imbued with a finely-drawn, distinct and interesting personality. The gunmen are masterfully humanised; they're tough guys who have regrets and fears, but manage to do a commendable job of hiding them. Things steadily intensify during the lead-up to the final showdown which displays no mercy even towards the film's most likeable characters. The Magnificent Seven also remains vital and interesting due to departures from the genre norms it opted to take. This was probably the first Hollywood Western in history to delve into the emptiness of the life of a gunfighter; they're confident in their profession, but are unable to hold down a stable home and family life. In a wonderfully judged scene, the seven men discuss the pros and cons of the life they've chosen, and it's apparent this life hasn't greatly rewarded them since they were poor enough to accept this job for which they'll receive little pay.
Of course, The Magnificent Seven wouldn't be considered such a success on characters alone; there are rousing action sequences here as well. In this respect, much of the credit belongs to director John Sturges, an 'outdoor' director who keeps the pacing efficient and has an eye for action set-pieces. Prior to The Magnificent Seven, Sturges was experienced in directing both action films and Westerns with such titles as Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Bad Day at Black Rock. It's due to the director's extensive experience that when the action happens, it's taut, motivated and convincing, with a strong sense of urgency and a clear notion of what's at stake. The expansive vistas of Western scenery, the codes of honour among the gunslingers, the camaraderie they find in each other, as well as the shootouts so common in Hollywood Westerns are all included here in spades. This fusion of so many irresistible elements raises the film several notches above more typical tales of simplistic cowboy heroes.
Yul Brynner was initially suggested to direct this movie, but Sturges ended up getting the job. Instead, Brynner settled for one of the protagonists - an excellent alternative, because Brynner's performance is outstanding. Another inspired casting choice is Steve McQueen as a member of the titular team. McQueen, who eventually went on to star in Bullitt and The Great Escape, imbues his performance with cool and intensity. He was the ultra-cool male film star of the 1960s, after all. The other five champions of the film are James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter and European film star Horst Buchholz. It's easy to see why these men were cast: all have unique, memorable faces that convey both conviction and desolation. A number of actors got their big breaks in this film, including Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Charles Bronson. It's funny to imagine these actors being relatively unknown at the time. It's also interesting to note that there was a tremendous rivalry between the actors, in particular between Brynner and McQueen. Meanwhile, Eli Wallach is superb playing the menacing, no-nonsense villain. Too many movies allow the lead villain to remain two-dimensional, but this is not the case here.
Upon close examination, there are no real flaws to point out within The Magnificent Seven - it's just flawed in the sense that it feels like an abridged reiteration of Seven Samurai. Other than that, the film is top drawer. It offers drama, strong characterisations, clever writing, action and suspense. It's exciting, witty, smart and sometimes even sweet. Added to this, it's a Western actioner that crosses the line to appeal to movie-lovers of all sorts. Deep down, you know it's not as brilliant as Kurosawa's Seven Samurai...but very few films are.
9.0/10
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The Magnificent Seven review
Posted : 14 years, 7 months ago on 11 September 2009 05:06
Y'know, there may be cowboy movies that are better filmed, with stories that are better written, that capture the western history more accurately, that have an impact that is more poignant or even have characters that are more iconic.
But very few other cowboy flicks (those being a couple of them that were made with a dash of spaghetti sauce on 'em) were more bad-ass than this one.
But very few other cowboy flicks (those being a couple of them that were made with a dash of spaghetti sauce on 'em) were more bad-ass than this one.
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