This week I'm reviewing
The Magnificent Seven (1960) to tie in with the release of it's reboot
The Magnificent Seven (2016). Next week I will continue my series of
Harry Potter reviews leading up to
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them with my review of
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the meantime look forward to reviews of
The Magnificent Seven (2016),
Storks, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and
Deepwater Horizon all within the next two weeks.
'The Magnificent Seven' (1960) Review
Nominated For: Best Original Score.
The 1960 version of
The Magnificent Seven is actually a remake of
Seven Samurai but translated into the Western genre, which will actually be getting a remake itself this weekend.
The Magnificent Seven is about seven guns for hire that are tasked with defending a Mexican village from some bandits.
John Sturges directed the shoot 'em up and he did a wonderful job in mapping out and executing his vision for action sequences along with the stunt department at his disposal. In particular the horse stunts were quite impressive and for the most part the film's action held up remarkably well if you excuse the painfully fake and cheesy death scenes where you hear a sound effect and the actors clench their chest and fall over, I can't deny that those moments weren't guilty pleasures though.
Another high mark of
The Magnificent Seven is the screenplay penned by William Roberts as the script prioritizes character. While a few of the seven are underdeveloped, I found that it worked well for the narrative considering the characters are so mysterious and why it was such a delight to learn more about each character in small moments or loud actions. Every moment of the film is deeply rooted in the characters onscreen and I find that to be a triumph. The score composed by Elmer Bernstein was a delight with a wide variety of compositions and I noticed a few chords that could have possibly inspired John Williams'
Star Wars score.
The main cast doesn't slouch either as Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, Horst Buchholz and James Coburn
each bring interesting personas to the members of the Magnificent Seven. Eli Wallach's Calvera is a bandit that's bad for the sake of being
bad with some motivation but not enough to come across as a truly compelling antagonist.
The Magnificent Seven held up surprisingly well thanks to terrific writing, an incredible score, some great stunt work, and a charming cast.
Film Assessment: B+
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