With the new Magnificent Seven remake being released this weekend, I thought it would be fitting to review The Magnificent Seven (1960), the film that that this new film is being remade from. So without further ado...
A Mexican village is at the mercy of Calvera (played by Eli Wallach), the leader of a band of outlaws. The townspeople, too afraid to fight for themselves, hire seven American gunslingers to free them from the bandits' raids. The professional gunmen train the villagers to defend themselves, then plan a trap for the evil Calvera.
This film is absolutely brilliant. If any film had a harder time living up to the original film, it was this film. Having been a remake of Seven Samurai, this film had a lot of pressure and with the help of director John Sturges and several talented actors, they were able to pull it off. It's a nice new setting changing it from a Japanese village to a small Mexican village. It has every element you want in a Western film such as wide shots and just gorgeous moving scenery that let you take in the landscape and make you feel like you are in the film. The performances are are fantastic and when you have a combination like James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson on screen together, you know you are going to get a great film. Everything just works so well, even the very subtle comedy relieves a lot of built up tension within the film and it makes it flow so much smoother. When comparing this film to Seven Samurai, the one place in which this film fails is the action scenes and even the last 30 minutes. In this film they all feel so cliched and just don't hit home like they should and it makes for a pretty boring film at times. Overall this film did an outstanding job of making a great film based off one of the greatest films ever, but it doesn't hit all of the points that it could've to make for a better film. I give The Magnificent Seven (1960) an 8.5 out of 10.
So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of The Magnificent Seven (1960), what would you rate it, are you excited for The Magnificent Seven (2016) and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
A Mexican village is at the mercy of Calvera (played by Eli Wallach), the leader of a band of outlaws. The townspeople, too afraid to fight for themselves, hire seven American gunslingers to free them from the bandits' raids. The professional gunmen train the villagers to defend themselves, then plan a trap for the evil Calvera.
This film is absolutely brilliant. If any film had a harder time living up to the original film, it was this film. Having been a remake of Seven Samurai, this film had a lot of pressure and with the help of director John Sturges and several talented actors, they were able to pull it off. It's a nice new setting changing it from a Japanese village to a small Mexican village. It has every element you want in a Western film such as wide shots and just gorgeous moving scenery that let you take in the landscape and make you feel like you are in the film. The performances are are fantastic and when you have a combination like James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson on screen together, you know you are going to get a great film. Everything just works so well, even the very subtle comedy relieves a lot of built up tension within the film and it makes it flow so much smoother. When comparing this film to Seven Samurai, the one place in which this film fails is the action scenes and even the last 30 minutes. In this film they all feel so cliched and just don't hit home like they should and it makes for a pretty boring film at times. Overall this film did an outstanding job of making a great film based off one of the greatest films ever, but it doesn't hit all of the points that it could've to make for a better film. I give The Magnificent Seven (1960) an 8.5 out of 10.
So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of The Magnificent Seven (1960), what would you rate it, are you excited for The Magnificent Seven (2016) and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
No comments:
Post a Comment