HNC Photography, Introduction to Film Culture Blog, Movies watched, Part one - Heroes & Villians "re-made", Project 2 - Same story, different director, Research & Reflection IFC
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Dir: John Sturges
Cast: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughan, James Coburn, Horst Buchholz.
Plot Summary
Feudal Japan transported to the Old West. Seven old gunfighters are hired by a Mexican Village to protect them from a group of bandits. In John Sturges remake of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai
Plot Synopsis.
After repeated raids from a group of bandits, a Mexican village sends elders to a town on the border with the US to barter for guns to defend themselves. Here they encounter Chris, a veteran gunslinger who suggested they men as the are cheaper than guns.
Chris help the villages by recruiting six other gunmen to defend the village, including a drifter, a desperate profession, a knife specialist, a treasure hunter, a wanted man and young hot head. The gunmen all have differing motivations for helping the villagers, but they train the villagers to fight and defend themselves and set a trap for the returning bandits.
Review
It is hard to write an objective review of the film made me appreciate westerns. I grew up in the 70’s when the western genre was on the wane, I didn’t aways enjoy the standard John Wayne movies that would be on TV on a Sunday afternoon.
The film is set in the later day of the old west, the days of the gunslinger appear to be numbered and is director John Sturges set this in the vivid backdrop of beautiful filmed Mexican scenery and as the world knows a retelling of the classic Kurosawa film “The Seven Samurai.”
Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen turn in credible performances as gunslingers with a conscience and are ably supported by the supporting cast of including James Coburn, Robert Vaughan and Charles Bronson, who all went on to superstardom over the following decade.
John Sturges directions, however, is a little too precise, while the scenes are all beautiful to the eye the story enjoyable it is slow in its preamble. The movie has a running time over 128min, and it takes over 100 of those minutes to set up a final gunfight. Admittedly with that 100min the film tries to fill in the back story of the seven and their motivation and demons, and there are also quite stand out set pieces – particularly the funeral scene; ultimately it comes up a little short in explaining these certainly complicated men and leaves you wanting a bit more.
Overall is this a movie I would recommend? Of course yes, the visuals are great, the performances are strong and despite the shortcoming discussed the story is credible and of course there is that score. For that score draws you in like no other in film history whenever the excitement drops or action is about to start Elmer Bernstein’s magnificent score kicks in a holds your attention to the screen just as a toddler is captivated by an ice-cream.
Overall is this a movie I would recommend? Of course yes, the visuals are great, the performances are strong and despite the shortcoming discussed the story is credible and of course there is that score. For that score draws you in like no other in film history whenever the excitement drops or action is about to start Elmer Bernstein’s magnificent score kicks in a holds your attention to the screen just as a toddler is captivated by an ice-cream.