Not to be confused with the Famous Five (The Magnificent Seven (DVD))

Name: hobo

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Product:	The Magnificent Seven (DVD)
Date:	28/03/01 (179 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The Daddy of all Westerns

Disadvantages: Can't get that damn theme song out of my head

This film has been a favourite of mine for years. I can remember it magically appearing on telly on several rain soaked afternoons throughout my childhood. It still happens every once in a while. I'll be channel surfing and suddenly I'll come upon that unmistakable theme tune. The screen will be made golden by some fantastic Mexican vista and I’m off, lost into a world of gun-fighting and gallantry for the afternoon.

The film itself is actually based on Akira Kurasawa’s 1954 film the Seven Samurai. Pursuing my interest in all things seven I’ve got hold of a copy of this film, which also makes compulsive viewing. Very few elements of the plot actually change in the shift from medieval Japan to Wild West. The story is relatively simple. A group of villages that are sick of being raided by bandits seek to hire a group of mercenaries to defeat the bandits and defend the village. They find one man who is willing to help and a group gradually forms around him, until we reach the magic number, seven. The seven then journey to the village, face hostility from the villagers and the bandits alike, engage in a prolonged battle and eventually come out victorious, although their numbers are whittled to a magnificent three or four.

There is also nothing overly complicated about the way this film is shot. It’s a fairly standard western format. That in itself is nice, that beautiful golden light which shines from the screen between the two black boxes just blows me away. There are no complicated camera angles or shifts, just straight shots, either taking in a scene, panning the landscape or framing a face. Nothing too fancy or beyond the means of cinema at the time.

The one thing that everyone will remember about the magnificent seven, even if they have only seen the first five minutes (especially if they have only seen the first five minutes) is the score. The soundtrack to this movie is brilliant. T
he theme in particular is one of those tracks that just fills me with energy, often sending me bouncing round the room. The man responsible for this piece of music was Elmer Bernstein, who, believe it or not, is still composing movie scores to this day.

This brings me to the cast. It’s not often I actual mention the cast in a movie review. I’ll comment on anyone I thought acted well or badly, but I very seldom actually comment on whether they were right for the role. The Magnificent Seven comprised Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Horst Buchholz, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn and Brad Dexter. Not one of these men was wrong for the part he played. Looking back this seems like an impressive line up. But this film actually came fairly early in the meteoric careers of most of it’s stars. This was pre-Great Escape Steve McQueen, Pre-Man from U.N.C.L.E Robert Vaughn and Pre-Death Wish Charles Bronson. This might not have been the film that built these actors careers, but in everyone of them you can see the potential for greatness in The Magnificent Seven.

The thing about the Magnificent Seven is that, for a child of the eighties like myself, it has a kind of A-team feel. The group is gradually assembled from soldiers of fortune, men who live slightly out side the real world. This brings me to my next point. In both the Magnificent Seven and the Seven Samurai there is a sensation that you are watching the end of an era. Each of the gun fighters in the magnificent seven is happy to take this badly paid job, because it offers excitement and an opportunity to use his skills. Skills that are becoming less and less relevant to society, as civilisation gradually creeps westwards. The same is true in the Seven Samurai, were the samurai are happy to take the work because not only does it offer food, but also an opportunity for honourable combat that would not otherwise present itself.

This theme is further
reinforced by the treatment of the warriors by the villagers they are defending. These men are shunned, and feared. In both films, the women of the village are hidden prior to their arrival for fear they will be stolen away. In short, the warriors are depicted as being removed from society, as something to be feared and mistrusted, rather than being acknowledged as the men of honour they are.

This is also ties in neatly to a speech by Yul Brynner about the fact that it takes far more courage to be a farmer than a gun fighter. As the battle continues, we begin to see the gun fighters start to long for the village life they are immersed in. They can see that their usefulness is limited and that the time to hang up the guns is fast approaching. This theme of the man out of place is used as effectively as it has been throughout the years, from Shakespeare’s Prospero

This detachment is gradually exorcised through the course of the film, as the mercenaries train the villages to defend themselves, before leading them into battle against the bandits. At the end of the movie however, the gun men and the Samurai both feel the fear starting to return and know that they can’t settle down.

In conclusion, The Magnificent Seven is a prince amongst westerns. Although simply put together, this movie contains many more deeply embedded themes than I can try to cover in this review. If you like Westerns, or even if you don’t, this movie is a must see so far as I’m concerned.

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