The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven is an American western movie. It was made in 1960. The music composer was Elmer Bernstein. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score in 1960.
| The Magnificent Seven | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | John Sturges |
| Written by | William Roberts Uncredited: Walter Newman Walter Bernstein |
| Based on | Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa Shinobu Hashimoto Hideo Oguni (all uncredited) |
| Produced by | John Sturges |
| Starring | Yul Brynner Eli Wallach Steve McQueen Charles Bronson Robert Vaughn James Coburn Horst Buchholz Bing Russell |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Edited by | Ferris Webster |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 128 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million[1] |
| Box office | $2,250,000 (rentals)[2] |
The movie stars Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach and Steve McQueen. The movie is a western style version of Akira Kurosawa's Japanese-language movie Seven Samurai, made in 1954. Other actors are Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Brad Dexter, Horst Buchholz and Bing Russell.
A Mexican village keeps on getting raided for food and supplies by a bandit (Eli Wallach) and his gang. The seven are a group of gunfighters hired to protect the village. The movie was made on location in Mexico. One of the towns used for the village is Durango.
In 2013, the movie was picked by the Library of Congress to be kept in the National Film Registry because it is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3] This means the movie will be protected from damage that happens to older film that was used to make movies.
Cast
change- Yul Brynner as Chris Adams
- Eli Wallach as Calvera
- Steve McQueen as Vin
- Horst Buchholz as Chico
- Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly
- Robert Vaughn as Lee
- James Coburn as Britt
- Brad Dexter as Harry Luck
- Val Avery as Henry the Corset Salesman
- Bing Russell as Robert, Henry's Traveling Companion
Reception
changeWhen it was released, the movie did not get many good reviews. Howard Thompson of The New York Times, said the movie was a "pallid, pretentious and overlong reflection of the Japanese original". He also said: "don't expect anything like the ice-cold suspense, the superb juxtaposition of revealing human vignettes and especially the pile-driver tempo of the first Seven."[4]
Variety magazine said, "Until the women and children arrive on the scene about two-thirds of the way through, The Magnificent Seven is a rip-roaring rootin' tootin' western with lots of bite and tang and old-fashioned abandon. The last third is downhill, a long and cluttered anti-climax in which The Magnificent Seven grow slightly too magnificent for comfort."[5]
But one reviewer, Akira Kurosawa, liked the movie so well that he gave the producer, John Sturges, a sword.[6]
Over the years, the movie has become more liked and gets modern praise. Many of the actors became movie stars. They have been seen in other movies and on television. The movie itself also is shown on TV and can be seen on DVD. As of 2015, it has a freshness rating of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Of movie viewers, 88 percent said they liked it.[7] The film is also ranked No. 79 on American Film Institute's: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills list.
References
change- ↑ Glenn Lovell, Escape Artist: The Life and Films of John Sturges, University of Wisconsin Press, 2008 page 194
- ↑ "Rental Potentials of 1960", Variety, 4 January 1961 page 47.
- ↑ "Library of Congress announces 2013 National Film Registry selections" (Press release). Washington Post. December 18, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
- ↑ Thompson, Howard (November 24, 1960). "On Japanese Idea: Magnificent Seven, a U.S. Western, Opens". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ↑ "Magnificent Seven". Variety. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ↑ Costanzo WV (2013). "Close Up: The Magnificent Seven". World Cinema through Global Genres. John Wiley & Sons. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-118-71310-5.
- ↑ "The Magnificent Seven (1960)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 May 2015.