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Isn´t it fascinating how our brains work? I´m not a fan of Westerns as you know now, not even a film freak, yet I´ve stored away images, info and trivia collected randomly and to no purpose; when I saw that The Magnificent Seven would be shown on German TV I remembered that that was one ... Read review
In the blistering heat of the Mexican sierra, a village trembles in fear - waiting for the ... more
savage onslaught from Calvera and his bandidos. Terrorised, robbed, humiliated, the villagers are desperate to hit back and set off for the American border to bu...
Akira Kurosawa's rousingSeven Samuraiwas a natural for an American remake--after all, the ... more
codes and conventions of ancient Japan and the Wild West (at least the mythical movie West) are not so very far apart. ThusThe Magnificent Seveneffortlessly turns...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Akira Kurosawa's rousingSeven Samuraiwas a natural for an American remake--after all, the ... more
codes and conventions of ancient Japan and the Wild West (at least the mythical movie West) are not so very far apart. ThusThe Magnificent Seveneffortlessly turns...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Yul Brynner stars as one of seven master gunmen who aid the helpless farmers of an ... more
isolated village pitted against an army of marauding bandits in this rousing action tale based on Akira Kurosawa's classic 'Seven Samurai'. Released in 1960 John Stur...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
In a time of outlaws, seven young heroes, each with unique talents and abilities, band ... more
together to help tame the wild west and protect the citizens of a small frontier town from lawlessness, vigilantism, corruption and injustice. The Magnificent Seven are back, riding, shooting, loving and fighting as only they can! Season 2 is full of action, passion, and some startling revelations, including the series' stunning final episode in which Chris comes face-to-face with his wife's killer. Saddle up for western style adventure and excitement, and hang on for the wildest ride of your life! Disc 1:The New Law.Sins Of The Past.Love And Honour.Disc 2:Vendetta.Wagon Train Part 1.Wagon Train Part 2.Disc 3:The Trial.China Town.Achilles.Disc 4:Penance.Lady Killers.Serpents.Obsession.
Production Year: 1959 - Westerns - Director: Howard Hawks - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Ward Bond, Claude Akins, Walter Brennan, John Russell
(+) Riveting, four main stars, the score, the direction, where shall I stop? (-) None for me, although it's long and slow, which may not be your cup of tea
Advantages: a classic Disadvantages: If you don't like Westerns you can't enjoy it.
...purpose; when I saw that The Magnificent Seven would be shown on German TV I remembered that that was one of THE cult films of the 20th century and thought it was now or never (having waited for 42 years already!).
As my German TV mag didn´t give the names of all actors, I had to take a look at the net for this op. When I saw the number of entries, I nearly fell off my swivel-chair: 385 000! (King Lear by comparison reaches meagre ... ...
So what is the film about, what makes it outstanding, why is its fame ever increasing?
The shortest synopsis I´ve found is the following: ´A group of seven tough gunslingers are hired by a Mexican village to put a stop to the vicious bandit and his gang who have been pillaging it for years´.
An Indian has been killed in an accident and the people of the village don´t allow the undertaker to bury him on the local ... more
I know what a Western is, believe me, I´ve seen approximately five during my not so short lifetime. Heehee, of course I know that you expected to see a bigger number, but there you are.
As if this weren´t enough to disqualify me, I´ve never written a film review so far - do I see your fingertip moving down to click yourself away from this site? Wait, ciao is all about opinions, isn´t it? An opinion I have, and I´d burst if I couldn´t share it with you.
Isn´t it fascinating how our brains work? I´m not a fan of Westerns as you know now, not even a film freak, yet I´ve stored away images, info and trivia collected randomly and to no purpose; when I saw that The Magnificent Seven would be shown on German TV I remembered that that was one of THE cult films of the 20th century and thought it was now or never (having waited for 42 years already!).
As my German TV mag didn´t give the names of all actors, I had to take a look at the net for this op. When I saw the number of entries, I nearly fell off my swivel-chair: 385 000! (King Lear by comparison reaches meagre 199 000 (I had to look that up the day before)).
So what is the film about, what makes it outstanding, why is its fame ever increasing?
The shortest synopsis I´ve found is the following: ´A group of seven tough gunslingers are hired by a Mexican village to put a stop to the vicious bandit and his gang who have been pillaging it for years´.
An Indian has been killed in an accident and the people of the village don´t allow the undertaker to bury him on the local graveyard. In steps Chris (Yul Brynner), who takes the reins of the hearse and sets off; Vin, an onlooker, (Steve McQueen) grabs a rifle and accompanies him.
Why do they do that? The people of the village are racists, but I don´t see Chris and Vin as making an antiracist statement, they don´t care who´s in the coffin. For Chris it´s the unjust deed which gets him going, evil as such must be fought (who was it who declared war on the Empire Of Evil many years later, wasn´t it someone who knew a lot about Westerns?!). Vin might have similar feelings, but he´s also hooked by the danger implied.
Although the Mexican villagers who hire Chris can only offer him the ridiculous sum of 20 dollars, he accepts. Why? Same reason as above, methinks
Nearly an hour of the film passes (runtime: 126 minutes) until he´s recruited the other six fighters. Apart from Yul Brynner, who was already an established star, the cast featured half a dozen actors who were either on the edge of stardom, such as Eli Wallach and Steve McQueen, or who would become major stars in coming years, including James Coburn, Charles Bronson and Robert Vaughn, this ´once-in-a-lifetime cast´ is one of the reasons for the film´s long-lasting success (director: John Sturges). Each of the actors has his scene, if you´re a fan of one or the other, you must be overjoyed.
In case you´re waiting for the name of a famous American actress now, you´ve waited in vain, it´s a men´s film, the only women are the Mexicans´ wives and daughters who we get to know only in the second half.
In Germany all films without exception are dubbed, a deplorable fact. I suffer, sometimes more, sometimes less. In the case of The Magnificent Seven, less. When Chris is asked where he´s come from, he points his thumb backward over his shoulder, when asked where he wants to go, he points his index finger forward. None of the men suffers from logorrhea; Britt (James Coburn) has about ten sentences. I simply love that guy! I have to think of the sharp-tongued American author Dorothy Parker who once said of an actress, ´She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B.´ Britt/Coburn never leaves A!
They are all chopped off the same block, tough loners, hireable killers, (killing off only the baddies, of course), have no enemies (at least none alive), but no friends, either, no family, no roots, no homes. Are they happy or unhappy? They accept their fate, happiness is not a subject. They do what a man must do. We all know that sentence, but what is it that tells a man what to do, which authority? Certainly not a worldly one; you can dig deep if you like and come up with Kant´s duty-oriented morality or the Ten Commandments (the leader´s name is CHRIS!), if you do so, the film indeed transcends the simple Western.
So that is what American goodies look like! Aha! Interestingly they´re all Anglos, no Hispanics, Asians or AfroAmericans among them. The only concession to the fact that the Americans are descendants of immigrants from all over the world is the character Charles Bronson plays, he´s of mixed Irish-Mexican descent. Hollywood/America wasn´t politically correct yet in 1960 when the film was made.
For me the most interesting thing about the film is that it has become more and more famous over the years. Let me write it down again: it was made in 1960. It´s one of the last feel-good films about American adventurism abroad.
The way the Mexicans are shown strikes me as condescending and patronizing, they´re friendly and a little daft, not capable of a logistic operation on a grand scale even if their own independence is at stake. And they´re so grateful when help comes from the white Americans!
Things were different when America got involved in Vietnam and have never been so clear-cut and in a way innocent as in this film. Seen on the background of the history of the USA during the second half of the 20th century the film grows from a simple, albeit well-made, Western into a zeitgeisty document of a paradise lost. No wonder that the Americans can´t get enough of that film.
In case you are against analysing everything, you can forget all I´ve said, sit back on your sofa, put your cowboy boots on the table in front of you and just watch the film as a thrilling Western, enjoy good acting, a laconic script and the famous film music. I certainly enjoyed the German Horst Buchholz playing the Kid, he´s one of the actors young women of my generation used to have a crush on.
I´m glad I watched that film.
______
P.S. I know that the film is a remake of the film The Seven Samurai, it's not necessary to point this out, but as I don't know the original and this review is not a comparison of the two films I haven't included it in the op proper.
Advantages: Takes me back to my youth. Disadvantages: It's over 40 years old...therefore so am I! Do I need to be reminded of such things?
...can be dragged up from the depths now and then, dusted off and given a bit of a polish. Maybe a first pantomime, or a favourite food.
I was brought up in Edinburgh in the 60’s, playing endless games of ‘headers’ out in the street behind our house, or ‘three and in’…another footie game. And going to the cinema. Walking the mile or so to the Dominion to watch whatever was on. Sometimes with my parents, but more often than not with my two elder brothers.
... ...Nowadays everyone goes in at the start of the movie, and watches through to the end.
The Dominion always had shows which ran continuously. The programme started at about noon, and ran through a double feature, a Pearl & Dean moment, a few trailers and a short pee-break, then went on again…and again…and again!
What this meant to us callow types was that we could go whenever we fancied, sit down half way through the second feature, or even the main ...
stevethesleeve 19.02.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Magnificent Seven (DVD)
Advantages: Refreshingly different Disadvantages: Slow at times
...and Hollywood is no different. The western may once have been the preserve of Alan Ladd and Gary Cooper but their time had passed and even John Wayne was looking stilted. The spaghetti western with it's ultra violence was still in the future and Hollywood's love affair with the dusty trail was starting to wane. Cinema audiences demanded realism and the western had kind of lost it's way with it's 'How' Indians and blonde haired blue eyed heroes. Oh ... ...seven of them...
When the inhabitants of a tiny Mexican village eventually grow tired of the never ending bandit raids, they send three of their men folk to the US border to buy guns. With the guns they can defend themselves and restore peace to the village. They return with not guns but men. Seven gunslingers prepared to do battle for a hand full of old. In fact the money is unimportant and each of the men has his own reasons for joining mercenary ...
TheNeil 06.03.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Magnificent Seven (DVD)
Advantages: The actors, the music, the scenery, the direction Disadvantages: A remake of the Seven Samurai
The Magnificent Seven
Why am I writing a review on the Magnificent Seven? The answer is I don’t really know. I watched the Last Samurai last night and it made me think of the Seven Samurai, which made me think of the Magnificent Seven. Also, I watched the 100 best actors screened on channel four recently that featured most of the actors from the film. Also when I looked there had been no reviews written on the film, which surprised me. So . . . ... ...18th November 2002.
Introduction
The film was originally released in 1960 as a Western style remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954). The DVD of the film released on 8th May 2001 certificate PG. The DVD retails at £19.99 but can be picked up from as little as £7.
Synopsis
The inhabitants of a Mexican village are constantly attacked by a group of bandits lad by Clavera. Frustrated and angry, they villages gather every thing they have of ...
MAFARRIMOND 26.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Magnificent Seven (DVD)
Advantages: Classic western, High Quota of Stars Disadvantages: Might seem daft by today's standards
...have seen Magnificent Seven in the TV way too many times. I own the VHS version (which like a good wine, has aged wonderfully) and recently indulged myself to the DVD version as well. I really enjoyed watching the movie one more time with my friends and thought it would only be fitting to write a quick review of this classic film.
Possibly the most famous Western ever made, director Sturges' energetic, elegantly composed remaking of Akira Kurosawa's ... ...you have managed to avoid the movie for your whole life, you should lie back and watch a splendid tale of seven hired guns defending a tiny Mexican village from Eli Wallach and his gang. The best of it is in Brynner's hiring of the amoral shooters and the powerful and fast-paced action that ensues, featuring the finest in shooting, riding and shooting-while-riding. Inevitably, the existence of so many characters in one film, boils the characterization ...
Mazanostra 06.08.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Magnificent Seven (DVD)
Advantages: Possibly The Greatest Film of All Time Disadvantages: None
...is surely a candidate for the greatest film ever made. Based on Akira Kurosawa's "Shichinin no samurai" (The Seven Samurai) it is the story of an oppressed Mexican village who in desperation hire a group of gunmen to save them from a group of bandits.
When the the bandits led by Calvera (Eli Wallach), raid the village they ask the wise old man what they should do. He tells them to fight, when they say they cannot he tells the to "Learn or Die". ... ...Vin (Steve McQueen) ensure that the burial of an indian takes place. They offer Chris the whole wealth of the village to help them fight off Calvera. Five more members are recruited, the half irish / half mexican Bernardo O' Reilly (Charles Bronson), gold digger Harry Luck (Brad Dexter), knife throwing Britt (James Coburn), the law dodging Lee (Robert Vaughn) , and farmer turned gunslinger Chico (Horst Bucholz).
The seven train the villager to fight ...
mikeydred 19.02.2001 (16.06.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Magnificent Seven (DVD)
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Advantages: Good acting, great music, No John Wayne! Disadvantages: Still a western!
include:-
Digitally Remastered Picture
Remastered Audio track
Exclusive Audio Documentary
Feature Length Audio Commentary with members of the cast and crew
Theatrical Trailer
Theatrical Trailer No 2
Extensive Stills Gallery
Return of the MagnificentSeven Trailer
Guns of the MagnificentSeven Trailer
The MagnificentSeven Ride! Trailer
Collectable 8 page Trailer
Personally I have no interest in any of these features but hubby has seen a few and says that they are worth a watch if you have them but not to go out and buy this special DVD just to watch them if you are not particularly interested in behind the scenes information.
The running time of this film is 2 hours and 5 minutes which I feel is just slightly too long and this would have been much better if it was condensed down to around1 hour and 30/40 minutes. The film ...
Advantages: Have a great fun night Disadvantages: N/A
Last night we had the family round for a Christmas party, and we were looking for a game to play in the weeks running up to it. We finally settled on Frankie Dettori's race night DVD Game.
The game revolves around the classic race night. It explains the course and gives some info on the horses, including odds, draw etc. For those not knowing about racing, Frankie explains how to bet, how to play the game, and there are a couple of extras, though nothing special, about his "MagnificentSeven".
We've never bought a DVD game before, but I was very impressed with this one. For £15, you got the DVD, an odds board and Betting Slips. The game itself has 30 races from 10 different courses.
Firstly you select your course, then it goes through the 8 horses in each race, giving weight, draw, colours, information etc. The race then begins ...
Advantages: Don't lose at the Bookies ( Real Money ) Disadvantages: Once played it's useless
the game 30 times and run every race the only use for the DVD is to watch the racing coverage of the Historic Frankies MagnificentSeven. This covers a race day at Ascot when the charming Mr Dettori rode the winner of every race.A feat never before accomplished by any other jockey, and probably never going to be repeated.
Every race lasts about 2-3 mins in running and the object is that everyone has a bet and the wionner is the one who wins the most money. Pretend money of course. It's great fun and something different if you do not normally watch horse racing or participate in betting.
There are various menus to take you through the basics of Form Jockeys, Trainers and Betting, and all about the Horses themselves.Frankie Dettori guides you through all aspects of the game and there is comentary on every race you you know exactly where ...
Based on the Japanese story 'Seven Samurai'. A small Mexican village calls upon the services of seven American gunmen to provide protection against bandits.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
MGM ENTERTAINMENT; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
25/06/2001
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
16023 DVD
Barcode
5050070006605
Production Designer
Edward Fitzgerald
Screenwriter
Akira Kurosawa, Walter Newman, Walter Bernstein, William Roberts
New Documentary, Feature Length Audio Commentary With Members Of The Cast And Crew, Theatrical Trailer, Stills Gallery, Return Of The Magnificent Seven Trailer, Guns Of The Magnificent Seven Trailer, The Magnificent Seven Ride Trailer, 8 Page Booklet
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
DVD Description
John Sturges's remake of Akira Kurosawa's classic THE SEVEN SAMURAI has become an influential film in its own right. A small farming Mexican village that makes involuntary donations of its harvest to a gang of bandits led by Calvera (Eli Wallach) decides to hire a group of professional gunmen, headed by gunslinger-for-hire Chris (Yul Brynner), to protect them. Despite the meager pay, Chris and Vin (Steve McQueen) sign on after the Mexicans see them face down some racist thugs. Chris begins to pick up other gunmen, including Bernardo (Charles Bronson), Lee (Robert Vaughan), Britt (James Coburn), Harry (Brad Dexter), and aspiring gunslinger Chico (Horst Buchholz), as they ride back to the village.The Mexicans, who are at first ambivalent about having gunmen hanging around their town, finally let down their guard and allow their visitors to teach them how to shoot and how to best reconfigure the town to defend against Calvera. When the bandits return, they find harvesting the crops a little more challenging. This rousing, perfectly cast action film launched the careers of Bronson, McQueen, and Coburn. It also benefits tremendously from the unforgettably polyrhythmic score by Elmer Bernstein, among the most famous in film history. So popular was the film's theme that it was used to sell Marlboro cigarettes for years afterward.
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