The Magnificent Seven (1960)

This is, of course, is an Americanized version of "The Seven Samurai" from Japan. Yul Brynner is a gunfighter looking for work who encounters a pair of poor Mexican farmers who have had their village attacked and pillaged by a bad guy played by Eli Wallach. In a strange bit of casting, the native New Yorker is the Mexican bandit. Brynner gathers a crew including Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Steve McQueen and Robert Vaughn to help him in his quest to defend the village. The scenery of Mexico is beautiful and the cast is excellent. The remake stars Denzel Washington as the leader and the story is moved to the United States. I prefer the clearer story in the original version, although both are very good movies. I write this in 2017 and all the stars are now dead. I watched the new version first and the 1960 version a day later. I can highly recommend both.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is an adventurous western and a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film Seven Samurai. Unfortunately, this is a pale reflection of the Japanese original, which has become very popular representative of the genre. A poor village in Mexico is periodically raided for food and supplies by local bandits. An old man, who lives outside the village, has recommended that peasants have to fight for their village and food against the bandits. Taking what meager objects of value the village has, a delegation rides to a town just inside the United States border hoping to barter for weapons to defend themselves with. However, they have returned to the village in the company of six gunfighters and an "outlaw"....Mexican landscape is very impressive. The suspense and human drama are flaws in this story. Mr. Sturges has made an entertaining film. Some serious life situations are not presented in the right way. Rhythm and direction are quite slow for a fun western in combination with a trashy comedy. This is not a big problem, but the story is filled with a certain philosophical reviews, that in such situations lose all meaning. The main protagonists are not typical gunfighters.Yul Brynner as Chris Adams is mysterious and perhaps too intelligent for a cowboy. His past and reasons are unknown, but he becomes the leader of seven. Steve McQueen (Vin Tanner) as a drifter and James Coburn (Britt) as a knife expert did not get a lot of space. Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly is a "mercenary" who loves children. Horst Buchholz as Chico is a hothead and peasant, who wants to become a gunfighter. I hope that Mr. Toshiro Mifune did not see this performance.Seven Samurai is a very serious movie. This western is a good commercial entertainment, which should not be taken too seriously.

Having to endure the continuous pillaging of their village by a gang of bandits led by a notorious outlaw named "Calvera" (Eli Wallach), three Mexican peasants go north to a town on the American side of the border to obtain some weapons to defend their village against him. However, upon talking to a gunman named "Chris Adams" (Yul Brynner) they are convinced to hire gunmen instead. Although they cannot afford to pay much Chris accepts the job and offers to recruit others as well. Soon he winds up with 6 good men and together they all toward the Mexican village and a confrontation with Calvera and his men. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film was a fine Westernized adaptation of "The Seven Samurai" produced back in 1954. Although all of the actors were highly competent, I especially liked the casting of Eli Wallach who used a good sense of humor to highlight a masterful performance. Be that as it may, I enjoyed this movie and have rated it accordingly. Above average.

When I grew up it was sci-fi that took hold, with the advent of Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, etc. and new, good westerns were few and far between. However, this was a western that slipped through the filter and struck me as such a good movie. Excellent acting from an all-star cast, an iconic score and archetypal script all contributed to being wonderful entertainment as well as a top-notch production.Having seen literally over a thousand movies, one of the highest praises I can give is to say I still vividly remember scenes decades later. The Magnificent Seven has quite a few scenes that fall under that category.