The Magnificent Seven
| The Magnificent Seven | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | John Sturges |
| Written by | William Roberts Uncredited: Walter Newman Walter Bernstein |
| Based on | Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa Shinobu Hashimoto Hideo Oguni (all uncredited) |
| Produced by | John Sturges |
| Starring | Yul Brynner Eli Wallach Steve McQueen Charles Bronson James Coburn Brad Dexter Robert Vaughn Horst Buchholz |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Edited by | Ferris Webster |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 128 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million[1] |
| Box office | $2,250,000 (rentals)[2] |
The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 American Western movie directed by John Sturges. It is a Western-style version of Akira Kurosawa's classic Japanese-language movie Seven Samurai, made in 1954. The film stars Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Brad Dexter, Robert Vaughn, and Horst Buchholz. The music was composed by Elmer Bernstein, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score in 1960.
The plot concerns a remote Mexican village which keeps being raided for food and supplies by a bandit called Calvera (Wallach) and his gang. The seven are a group of gunfighters hired to protect the village. The movie was made on location in Mexico. One of the towns used for the village is Durango.
In 2013, the movie was picked by the Library of Congress to be kept in the National Film Registry because it is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3] This means the movie will be protected from damage that happens to older film that was used to make movies.
Cast
[change | change source]- Yul Brynner as Chris Adams
- Eli Wallach as Calvera
- Steve McQueen as Vin
- Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly
- James Coburn as Britt
- Brad Dexter as Harry Luck
- Robert Vaughn as Lee
- Horst Buchholz as Chico
- Vladimir Sokoloff as the old man of the village
- Jorge Martínez de Hoyos as Hilario
- Rosenda Monteros as Petra
- Rico Alaniz as Sotero
- Pepe Hern as Tomás
- Natividad Vacío as Salvador
- Robert J. Wilke as Wallace
- John A. Alonzo as Miguel
- Roberto Contreras as Luis
- Whit Bissell as Chamlee, the undertaker
- Val Avery as Henry, the corset salesman
- Bing Russell as Robert, Henry's traveling companion
- Valentin de Vargas as Santos, a Calvera henchman
- Joseph Ruskin as Flynn
Reception
[change | change source]
When it was released, the movie did not get many good reviews. Howard Thompson of The New York Times, said the movie was a "pallid, pretentious and overlong reflection of the Japanese original". He also said: "don't expect anything like the ice-cold suspense, the superb juxtaposition of revealing human vignettes and especially the pile-driver tempo of the first Seven."[4]
Variety magazine said, "Until the women and children arrive on the scene about two-thirds of the way through, The Magnificent Seven is a rip-roaring rootin' tootin' western with lots of bite and tang and old-fashioned abandon. The last third is downhill, a long and cluttered anti-climax in which The Magnificent Seven grow slightly too magnificent for comfort."[5]
However, Akira Kurosawa liked the movie so much that he gave John Sturges a sword.[6]
Over the years, the movie has become more liked and gets modern praise. Bronson, Coburn, and McQueen became big name stars in other movies and on television. The Magnificent Seven itself is shown on TV and can be seen on DVD. In 2015, it had a freshness rating of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Of movie viewers, 88 percent said they liked it.[7] The film was also ranked No. 79 on American Film Institute's: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills list.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Glenn Lovell, Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges, University of Wisconsin Press, 2008 page 194
- ↑ "Rental Potentials of 1960", Variety, 4 January 1961 page 47.
- ↑ "Library of Congress announces 2013 National Film Registry selections" (Press release). Washington Post. December 18, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
- ↑ Thompson, Howard (November 24, 1960). "On Japanese Idea: Magnificent Seven, a U.S. Western, Opens". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ↑ "Magnificent Seven". Variety. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ↑ Costanzo WV (2013). "Close Up: The Magnificent Seven". World Cinema through Global Genres. John Wiley & Sons. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-118-71310-5.
- ↑ "The Magnificent Seven (1960)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 May 2015.