The Magnificent Seven

John Chard

December 22, 2018

8/10

I have been offered a lot for my work, but never everything A vile bandit constantly raids a small Mexican village and pilfers what he so wants. Finally having enough, and not wanting to relocate, the villagers set about recruiting some hired guns to finally rid themselves of the dastardly Calvera. As most people now know, The Magnificent Seven is of course a remake of Akira Kurosawa's immense and hugely influential picture, Shichinin no samurai. Adhering closely to Kurosawa's themes, dire…

CinemaSerf

December 28, 2022

7/10

From the opening bars of Elmer Bernstein's superb score you just know that this is going to be a good film... Add the ensemble of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Yul Brynner and a superb Eli Wallach and it is a certainty. This version of Kurosawa's 1954 story tells of a group of put-upon villagers who set out to recruit some hired guns to help them fend off a gang of murderous marauders. There is some fairly grand cinematography; strong performances from all including Robert Vaughn…

Filipe Manuel Neto

January 11, 2023

9/10

**A classic western in its own right.** When I decided to see this film, I did so because of its enormous popularity in European lands, and not because of its particularly good reputation. For example, I knew that my father had seen this film in a theater in Luanda, Angola, in the years when it was released in theaters (back when Angola was not an independent country). Only later, when I read a little about it, did I discover that the film is a remake, an adaptation for a western of the famou…