Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Must-See Movie: The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven (1960)
I've been holding back on presenting this review, because this is my absolute, number one, ultimate favorite movie of all time. Not only does it star Steve McQueen, but the film is chock-full of more tough guys of the time period: Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, and Eli Wallach. And they're all presented with the score that has been acclaimed as one of the finest in the industry, composed by Elmer Bernstein.

The premise is simple: A small town in Mexico is being bullied by a group of banderos, led by Calvera (Wallach), and the villagers hire seven gunman (led by Yul Brynner) to help them fight back. Sound familiar? Maybe because this movie has been parodied by many other movies: Three Amigos and A Bug's Life to name two.

And although this is a remake itself of the Akira Kurosawa film Seven Samurai [Shichinin no samurai (1954)], it is the quintessential western movie. It has everything: gunfights, a little bit of wit and comedy, heroism, amazing knife-throwing, fabulous horse riding stunts, key dramatic moments, a small romantic subplot...and did I mention Steve McQueen?

1 comment:

Sweepea said...

Ha! I made Dyno watch it. It was a requirement. "You have to like this movie or this relationship is over!"