The Magnificent Seven (1960)

A small village in Mexico is being harassed by the ruthless thug Calvera (Wallach) and his gang. Three members of the village head out to find some weapons so they can defend themselves. Instead, they find Chris (Brynner) who suggests they hire gunmen. Chris helps assemble six additional gunmen to fill in the roster for this 1960 western adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s film, Seven Samurai.

The Rest of the Seven

Chris takes on the role of the leader and sets out to find a band of experienced and reliable gunfighters that are both good enough for the job and willing to do it for only $20. He ends up finding six companions to join the mission. The first is Harry (Dexter), an old friend of Chris’ that believes that there must be a secret fortune waiting in the village. Next is Vin (McQueen), a drifter that has proven himself to Chris after helping fight off some local racists, guarding a graveyard from a dead Native American. They then recruit Bernardo (Bronson), a mercenary that is used to fetching large sums for his skills. Desperately in need for money, he accepts. Britt (Coburn), a skilled fighter that is better with a knife and gun than any one. He joins for the challenge, a skilled fighter that only competes with himself. Lee (Vaughn) is a veteran gunfighter on the run. His crippling PTSD from battles haunts him and makes him gun shy once they make it to the village.

Together, the seven make up a confident cast of gunslingers that exude a relaxed and cool vibe. Their dialogue made up, almost, exclusively of memorable one-liners. The character’s left me wanting to go chop wood, ride a horse, and play cowboy. There is an essence that is created by the cast, the music, and the story that immerses you and feels exciting throughout the film.

The Seven’s Development

Each character has a unique background, although they are not that much different from one another. This is much different than a film like Stagecoach, where the cast of characters have much different backgrounds, moral compasses, and motives. In The Magnificent Seven, the characters are more similar than different. They are all gunman and, almost, all of them are well-intentioned and good a heart. The two outliers here are Lee and Harry. Both of these characters have selfish motives and only Lee comes around in the end.

The Seven almost seem like a single exceptional gunfighter that has been forked into different characters to show different motives to help. They could be ranked on a scale of virtue, but ultimately they are all very similar characters. Chris on one side of the spectrum is willing to do the job because he knows it is the right thing to do. Vin is conflicted on wanting a stable profession, but lured by the excitement of being a gunfighter. Chico is the other side of Vin, wanting to be a gunfighter and leaving the stable life. Bernardo has been successful as a gunslinger yet finds himself chopping wood to pay for breakfast. He shows that even when a gunslinger is successful, it doesn’t last. Britt has mastered his weapons and yet is still left with no future in site. Harry is consumed by seeking financial security and Lee is now haunted by the demons from being a gunslinger.

In the end, the Seven do not have a lot of character development. Many of them are portrayed as too far gone in their profession to make a change, Bernardo, Britt, Harry, and Lee. While the others, Chris, Vin, and Chico, are more conflicted and open to a change. Chico is the only character to truly have a character arc. One that begins with him desperate to prove himself as a gunslinger and be a hero, like how he sees Chris and Vin. By the end, he has proven himself to be a real asset to the team and a hero like the rest. However, he still makes the decision to stay in the village and choose the domesticated life over that of the gunslinger.

The Town’s Development

The Seven do not have a ton of development because the film isn’t actually about them. The story is about the town and how the townsfolk need to stand up for themselves. They also need to adapt to the modern, “more civilized” era that is coming their way. Gunslingers and Calvera are going to become a thing of the past and the town needs to work together to be strong enough to overcome the last hurdle of the wild west.

The townsfolk are split and resistant to fight against Calvera from the start, and even up until the end. They need the Seven, not only for their gunslinging skills, but to push them to be brave enough to take on Calvera as a unit. If they can’t all work together, then they don’t stand a chance.

Courage and bravery come up a lot in the film. As a Father, one scene in particular stood out to me. It was the conversation between Bernardo and some of the kids in the town. The kids mention to Bernardo that their fathers are cowards because they could not fight on their own. Bernardo responds sharply to them and comments on how hard it is to raise a family and that he couldn’t do what they do everyday.

Bernardo (Bronson) on Courage

Production & Score

Breakout Actors

The Magnificent Seven had a cast of many soon to break out actors. Yul Brynner was already a star off of his role in The King and I (1956) and The Ten Commandments (1956). Some soon-to-be big actors were starting to gain some attention though, namely: Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Eli Wallach. Each would go on to have influential film careers.

A common story I came across is how Steve McQueen “worked the camera” during his scenes due to the lack of lines his character had. This resulted in him using his hands and props to steal the attention from other actors, primarily Brynner. Whether is true or not doesn’t matter, however his active character certain adds to the scenes.

Chris and Vin setting off for the graveyard.

Incredible Score

Elmer Bernstein crafted one of the greatest scores in film. The main title song is memorable and compliments the atmosphere of the film perfectly. The song moves in and out of slower paced melody and fast staccato. A juxtaposition that flows smoothly throughout the film.

The Magnificent Seven – Main Title by Elmer Bernstein

Seven Samurai

Akira Kurosawa wrote the 1954 film, Seven Samurai, with long-time collaborators Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. A groundbreaking film that is considered one of the best and most influential films of all time. So, it is not surprising that a film would come along and transform the Ronin from Sengoku period Japan into western gunslingers of the old west.

The Magnificent Seven mimics Seven Samurai in its form, but does not fully capture the greatness of Kurosawa’s film. The depth of the characters, the story’s deeper examination of social changes of the period, and Kurosawa’s overall aesthetic style of film making is all hard to compete against.

Three Amigos

On the other side of the spectrum, there is John Landis’ 1986 comedy film, Three Amigos, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chevy Chase. Three Amigos takes elements created in The Magnificent Seven and turns them into fodder for comedic antics.

Steve martin, Lorne Michaels, and Randy Newman, wrote Three Amigos, and used a lot of the same structure as The Magnificent Seven. A town is being harassed by the villain, El Guapo, and they need help. The Amigo’s come in and help them work up the courage to defend themselves as they ride off into the sunset. They even got Elmer Bernstein to do the score. Three Amigos was a childhood classic and it is funny how it now works itself back into my life while thinking about films like Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven

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Directed by: John Sturges

Cinematography: Charles Lang

Screenplay by: William Roberts

Based on the film, Seven Samurai, by: Akira Kurosawa

Editing By: Ferris Webster

Starring: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Horst Buchholz, Brad Dexter, & Vladimir Sokoloff.

Runtime: 2h 8m

Genre: Action, Adventure, Western, Drama.

Distributed by: United Artists