Image Courtesy of Amazon.com
Director:
John Sturges
Cast:
Yul Brynner …. Chris Adams
Eli Wallach …. Calvera
Steve McQueen …. Vin
Brad Dexter …. Harry Luck
Charles Bronson …. Fernardo O’Reilly
Robert Vaughn …. Lee
Horst Buchholz …. Chico
James Coburn …. Britt
Rosenda Monteros …. Petra
Vladimir Sokoloff …. Old man
Jorge MartÃÂnez de Hoyos …. Tomas
Rico Alaniz …. Sotero
The Movie
There are only a couple films that are considered to the very best of the Western genre. While it has all but disappeared from the modern cinematic landscape, 40 years ago Westerns were some of the best films of the era. And only a handful of films are ever considered to be the best Western ever created; one of those is The Magnificent Seven.
Adapted from Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven is the same film set in the American west as opposed to medieval Japan. But it’s the same story: a village is being raided by bandits and hires out for seven gunmen to protect them. The bandits start to attack the village, led by the evil Calvera (Eli Wallach), and find their attacks turned away by the hired gunmen. Leading into an incredibly violent and deadly final confrontation, The Magnificent Seven isn’t about the action nor is it about the battle between good and evil.
The Magnificent Seven is a character study in men as they prepare to die. Calvera isn’t a good man by any stretch, but the seven hired to fight him aren’t either. This is a group of men without qualms of killing other men or dying themselves; they face death in the eye with vigor. If there was a way to transpose Kurosawa’s samurai, the mythic western gunman is an appropriate forum.
This is a timeless film about human beings and their relationships with one another. It doesn’t hurt that the film has one of the best scores ever committed to print and a sense of fun that isn’t found in a lot of films.
Score : 10 / 10
The Video
Presented in a widescreen format with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, the film has been cleaned up since its prior release and looks much improved.
The Audio
Presented in a Dolby Digital sound, the film also sounds a lot better than before as the score resonates much more solidly and the sound separation is much more defined as well.
The Extras
Disc One
Audio Commentary with Film Historian Christopher Frayling
Audio Commentary by James Coburn, Eli Wallach, Walter Mirisch (Producer) and Robert Relyea (Assistant Director)
Disc Two
Guns for Hire: The Making of The Magnificent Seven is a retrospective on the making of the film, from the securing of the rights to remake Seven Samurai through the film’s volatile pre-production, production and ends on its legacy as a western. There are lots of little interesting side-notes about the film; Steve McQueen faked a car accident to do the film (as he loved the script). Robert Vaughn and James Coburn were friends from college and Vaughn convinced Coburn to go after the part (as he was a huge fan of Seven Samurai). With many concerns from the Mexican people about the portrayal of the people, the addition of a censor to monitor the proceedings to prevent the Mexican peasantry from being portrayed in a negative light was necessary. Another insight is that Brynner and McQueen disliked one another, as Brynner hated McQueen trying to steal the spotlight from Brynner (at that time the established star of the film). This feature, running around 46 minutes, is perhaps one of the most comprehensive and detailed looks at the film ever made as it goes through the film with no punches pulled. While many of the principles have long since been deceased (Bronson, McQueen and Brynner), everyone still living makes a contribution to it (as well as family members of the deceased).
Christopher Frayling on The Magnificent Seven focuses on Frayling, a historian, and his viewpoint on the film. The film’s importance, according to Frayling, is about how the film gave a new direction to the genre. Running around 20 minutes, it focuses no how the film was such a redefinition to the genre in both of its villains as well as its heroes. Frayling knows film exceeding well as this is a very fascinating look at the film, he delves into a lot of insights and parallels with other films and genres that make for an interesting feature.
Elmer Berstein and The Magnificent Seven is a 15 minute featurette that focuses on the composer of the film’s legendary score. Nominated for an Academy Award 14 times to go with one win, Bernstein’s score for this film established him as a composer and have led to a career that spanned more than five decades. This feature focuses a lot on how his score helps to highlight and accentuate certain characters, themes and moments from the film.
The Linen Book: Lost Images from The Magnificent Seven is a 14 minute featurette that focuses on the film’s images as years after the film was made they found a collection of images in a linen book from the film. Preserved magnificently, they go through some of the images as well as scenes from the film and talk about the film, and its images, some more.
There is also a Photo Gallery with all sorts of stills from the film, both in front of and behind the camera.
Score : 9 / 10
