Van Roberts (zardoz3)

Director John Sturges' remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese epic "Seven Samurai" ranks as one of the greatest westerns ever made. Along with Robert Aldritch's 1953 shoot'em saga "Vera Cruz," "The Magnificent Seven" exerted considerable influence the look and subject matter of many Spaghetti westerns. Sturges had gained an impressive reputation in the genre with two contemporary westerns "The Walking Hills" and "Bad Day at Black Rock" as well as his frontier oaters "Backlash," "Escape from Fort Bravo," "The Law and Jake Wade," "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral," and "Last Train from Gun Hill." Sturges specialized in all-male ensemble actioneers with tough guys in the life and death situations. Visually, he relied on low-angle photography to give his pictures a larger-than-life look, and he staged his gunfight sequences as if they were football game strategies. Sturges began a long association with "The Ten Commandants" composer Elmer Bernstein on "The Magnificent Seven." Not only did Bernstein receive an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score for his music on "The Magnificent Seven," but he also got an Oscar nod when he reprised his score in Burt Kennedy's 1966 sequel "Return of the Seven." Aside from Sturges' masterful direction, "The Magnificent Seven" boasts a top-notch cast. Sturges was largely responsible for these brilliant casting choices. Many of them, including Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, and Charles Bronson, later achieved superstar prominence during the 1960s. "The Magnificent Seven" was lensed on location by Charles Lang in Durango, Mexico, and on some rather obvious sets at Churubusco Studios, Mexico City. A campfire scene and the scene where they have their firearms thrown down in front of them are the two offending scenes. Lang had filmed "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" as well as "Last Train from Gun Hill" with Sturges and would go on to shoot the unlikeliest Sturges movie "A Girl Named Tamiko." "The Magnificent Seven" takes place in the late 19th century. The first scene occurs in a small, anonymous Mexican village as a ruthless bandit, Calvera (Eli Wallach of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"), and his 40 gunmen steal enough food to feed themselves. Nevertheless, they always leave behind enough so the villagers aren't entirely destitute. After Calvera and his gang depart, the campesinos convene in the square to formulate a plan of defense. "If he takes our crop, we might as well cut our throats and be done with it," laments one farmer. They visit the Old Man (Russian character actor Vladimir Sokoloff of "Cloak and Dagger") and solicit his advice. "Fight," the old man urges them. "Go to the border and buy guns." The frontier west has settled down and our heroes are roaming the land in search of work. Chris (Oscar winning actor Yul Brynner of "The King and I") and Vin cross paths in a dusty little hamlet when the local citizens refuse to let an Indian named Old Sam be buried in a predominantly white cemetery. "How long has this been going on?" inquires a traveling salesman. "Since the town got civilized," remarks the undertaker, Chamlee (Whit Bissell) and tries to give corset salesman Henry (Val Avery of "The Anderson Tapes") his twenty dollars back. Three of the villagers arrive in town as Chris and Vin (Steve McQueen of "The Blob") decide to drive the hearse up to Boot Hill. The hearse contains the body of an old Indian named Sam and certain townspeople don't want to see Sam buried alongside their friends and relatives. "Never ridden shotgun on a hearse," quips Vin as he settles in next to Chris and rattles the shotgun shells before inserting them into the barrels. The entire town creeps along behind them as they ascend Boot Hill and find a reception of armed men awaiting them. Chris wounds two men trying to block their way and the townspeople unload the coffin and bury it. Chris puts slugs in one man's shoulder and in another man's hand so that he throws down his revolver. Later, the three villagers approach Chris and ask him to help them buy guns. "Men are cheaper than guns," Chris advises them, and they assemble six men. The pay is a double eagle for four to six weeks with food and board thrown into the bargain. So moved is Chris by their earnestness that he decides to help them. "I've been offered a lot for my work," he assures the Mexicans, "but never everything." Initially, Vin is reluctant about joining up. When he learns the job pays twenty dollars, he shrugs, "Wouldn't pay for my bullets." The third man to join up is gold-seeking Harry Luck (Brad Dexter) who believes that there must be more to it if the Cajun-speaking Chris has decided to him the villagers. Bernando O'Reilly (Charles Bronson) is chopping wood for his breakfast when Chris offers him twenty dollars. "Right now that's a lot of money," he agrees. Britt (James Coburn) and Lee (Robert Vaughn) and a Mexican farmer turned gunfighter, Chico (German born actor Horst Buchholz), follow. At first, Chico doesn't make the grade, but later he proves his worthiness. Chico's first encounter with Chris doesn't bode well for their later association. Chris has devised a method to determine how fast a man is with his six-gun. He steps in close and claps his hands together. He grabs Chico's gun between his hands. Chico melts with fear and humiliation and retreats in shame because he cannot beat Chris on the draw. The seven teach the villagers to defend themselves with rifles they obtain from Calvera's men sent to spy on them. During the annual founding day celebration, three outlaws come to look over the village, but they don't leave alive. Britt calls on Lee to join him, and they settle down by the outlaws' horses and await their return. Chico sneaks after them. The bandits surprise Chico. He kills one and Britt kills the other two. One of them he knocks off his horse as the bandit is riding over a crest. Chico marvels at the accuracy. Britt explains that he wanted to shoot the horse, so they could take the man back alive. The seven also toil to erect new walls in the village. "They won't keep me out," Calvera surveys them on his return to the village with his forty gunmen. Chris explains, "They were made to keep you in." A gunfight erupts. All seven survive the first foray, but the triumphant villagers are caught off-guard when Calvera's men hang around. When combat breaks out again, the villagers split into fractions. Half decide hiring the seven constituted a mistake. Chris and company change tactics, mount an offensive against Calvera, but find his camp empty. When they arrive back in the village, the seven discover that one fraction has sold them out, but Calvera refuses to kill them. He fears that their friends from up north might retaliate so he takes their guns and lets his men escort them to the border. "The Magnificent Seven" brims with irony. The Old Man advises the villagers to buy guns, but Chris tells them that men with guns are cheaper. Although the hiring price of twenty dollars is low, the high-priced O'Reilly joins because "right now twenty dollars is a lot." Similarly, Chris signs on because nobody has ever paid him everything. Lee suffers from paranoia so he decides to hide out in the worst place imaginable. "The final supreme idiocy," he confesses, "a deserter hiding out on a battlefield." The performances are memorable as is William Roberts' dialogue. In one scene, Vin observes, "It took me a long time to learn my elbow from a hot rock." "The Magnificent Seven" qualifies as my favorite western.