The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Runtime: 128 minutes

Directed by: John Sturges

Starring: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, etc.

From: MGM

My apologies for this being a few hours late. I was busy today.

Here is a movie in a genre I haven’t really talked about before, the western. The only serious western I’ve talked about so far is The War Wagon, starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. This movie, though, is one that I’ve seen a few times before, as it’s great stuff. I just now need to see the movie it’s a remake of, Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 movie The Seven Samurai. I have it on a VHS tape, taped off of a Turner Classic Movies broadcast taped months ago, but as it’s a 3 ½ hour movie, I need a free afternoon and the motivation to watch it.

This movie can be found online but the version on Google Video appears to be a few minutes short; besides, you’re better off viewing it on a nice TV, between the nice Mexican scenery and the great score from Elmer Bernstein.

The plot is pretty simple but there’s more to it than meets the eye. People in a small Mexican town are harassed by Calvera (Wallach) and his bandits for supplies such as food; this happens a good amount of times throughout the years. Finally, the people of the town get fed up and some of the guys volunteer to go up north to the United States for help. They meet up with a cowboy named Chris (Brynner) and their plan is for Chris to get six other men to go down to Mexico to protect them from the bandits and to train the citizens to fight. He recruits a manly bunch of men, including Vin (McQueen), Bernardo (Bronson), Britt (Coburn), and a few others.

All of them have their own issues and problems and you get to experience that throughout. Sure, there’s fun and well-done action but a lot of it is getting to know the characters and their problems and why they are in the position they are. They don’t find the position of “gunslinger” being as honorable or cool as it may sound. Can they get it together to fight off against the bandits in a struggle that turns out to be more of a hassle than they first expected?

The movie is great stuff. It’s great old-fashioned entertainment with a lot of cool lines and snappy dialogue throughout, with enough time given to all of the seven to show off that while they’re cool, they also have foibles and difficulties. A few of the people in the cast ended up becoming big stars, and for good reason. What an awesome cast of many men… guys that you can idolize. Many of the big stars of today just don’t compare. They’d get their asses kicked in a brawl, I swear!

If you enjoy movies with manly men, westerns, and/or want to see some famous names from the past early in their careers, this is a must-see. I’ll be back Friday night with a new review.