The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jens S

  
  Shocking, that one of the great, classic Western films is actually a remake of Kurosawa's Samurai film. That doesn't take anything away from this humorous, tragic, enthralling gunslinger drama, where men are still men and women need protection. In this case it's a whole… More
  Shocking, that one of the great, classic Western films is actually a remake of Kurosawa's Samurai film. That doesn't take anything away from this humorous, tragic, enthralling gunslinger drama, where men are still men and women need protection. In this case it's a whole village that finds a bunch of heroes to fight back against regularly invading bandits. Great characters you love to cheer for, shootouts, a fantastic soundtrack. This film leaves little to desire and is re-watchable over and over.

• Dean M

  
  A brilliant classic, beautifully shot and acted. Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's <i>The Seven Samurai</i> served as the inspiration for this enjoyable Western, directed by John Sturges. Much is made here of the difference between fighting for money, fighting for… More
  A brilliant classic, beautifully shot and acted. Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's <i>The Seven Samurai</i> served as the inspiration for this enjoyable Western, directed by John Sturges. Much is made here of the difference between fighting for money, fighting for justice, or fighting for a future. Yul Brynner is solid in the lead role. Brynner, Steve McQueen and James Coburn define the word cool as they go about their various exploits before and after they join forces. McQueen and Coburn are men of few words, but of fierce action when necessary. Charles Bronson does his best with a pretty mushy storyline involving the youth of the village. Horst Buchholz overacts feverishly as a determined, but inexperienced youth. Vaughn seems a tad out of place and has one major ham moment during a nightmare.

• Aaron N

  
  Vin: You know the first time I took a job as a hired gun, fellow told me, "Vin, you can't afford to care." There's your problem. Chris: One thing I don't need is somebody telling me my problem. Vin: Like I said before, that's your problem. You got… More
  Vin: You know the first time I took a job as a hired gun, fellow told me, "Vin, you can't afford to care." There's your problem. Chris: One thing I don't need is somebody telling me my problem. Vin: Like I said before, that's your problem. You got involved in this village and the people in it. Chris: Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk? A solid Western remake of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. It takes, for its time, a big name cast and put them all together for a movie about codes of honor, reflection, as well as gunfights and macho coolness. Strong chemistry from within the cast, some solid gunplay, and a good amount of fun. A bandit, played by Eli Wallach, terrorizes a small Mexican farming village each year. Several of the village elders send three of the farmers into the United States to search for gunmen to defend them. They end up with seven, each of whom comes for a different reason. They must prepare the town to repulse an army of over 100 bandits who will arrive wanting food. The seven includes: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, Brad Dexter, Charles Bronson, and a new kid who really wants to be a good cowboy. The film does a good job at taking on the challenge of competing with a film as legendary as Seven Samurai and making it its own. While it follows most of the same beats, this is still a good western take on that story. It helps that the cast is great. Brynner and McQueen fighting for lead status. James Coburn being incredibly cool. And particular notice from me goes to Charles Bronson, who is really effective at imbuing his character with pathos. As this is a Hollywood western, there's no Ennio Morricone to be found this time around, but the legendary score by Elmer Bernstein is more than enough to satisfy me. It all goes really well with a lot of very good filmmaking at play here. Great film all around. Calvera: What I don't understand is why a man like you took the job in the first place, hmm? Why, huh? Chris: I wonder myself. Calvera: No, come on, come on, tell me why. Vin: It's like a fellow I once knew in El Paso. One day, he just took all his clothes off and jumped in a mess of cactus. I asked him that same question, "Why?" Calvera: And? Vin: He said, "It seemed to be a good idea at the time."

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"They were seven - And they fought like seven hundred!"</i> An oppressed Mexican peasant village assembles seven gunfighters to help defend their homes. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"They were seven - And they fought like seven hundred!"</i> An oppressed Mexican peasant village assembles seven gunfighters to help defend their homes. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> You cannot consider "The Magnficent Seven" to be an entirely original production on account of the fact that it's simply a remake of Akira Kurosawa's epic "Seven Samurai" just set in 19th century North America. But you cannot consider it to be a rip-off either, for it is it's own film in its own right. Yul Brynner was definitely not the first choice of any Western film producer, and in this case, he was a very unique choice for the leading role. This does not make him ill-suited for the part, though. He's cast along with other famous names such as Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn. "The Magnificent Seven" is also noteworthy for its unusually intense, and sometimes bloody, battle sequences. All Westerns feature gunfights to some degree, but "Seven" has fights that are grittier, more unpredictable, and more violent. And they still hold out well today as entertaining to state the very least.

• Mark H

  
  Gripping epic western of mercenaries hired for protection by a Mexican village terrorized by a gang of outlaws. Despite being "merely" a remake of Akira Kurosawa's <I>Seven Samurai</I> and borrowing themes from the westerns of John Ford, this action film… More
  Gripping epic western of mercenaries hired for protection by a Mexican village terrorized by a gang of outlaws. Despite being "merely" a remake of Akira Kurosawa's <I>Seven Samurai</I> and borrowing themes from the westerns of John Ford, this action film remains one of the most riveting of all time. Director John Sturges has a remarkable rapport with his actors. Indeed he would successfully reteam with Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Charles Bronson 3 years later in <I>The Great Escape</I>. Creative casting also includes Yul Brynner off his success in <I>The King and I</I> and Jewish actor Eli Wallach as Mexican bandit, Calvera. This brilliant ensemble cast highlight a perfectly realized tale of good vs. evil.

• Tim S

  
  I know people love this movie, but I'm not all that crazy about it. I prefer Kurosawa's original.

• xGary X

  
  Based on a story by Akira Kurosawa, starring Yul Brinner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn and Eli Wallach, directed by John (The Gunfight At The OK Corral/The Great Escape) Sturges and accompanied by one of the best musical scores ever written, and you have… More
  Based on a story by Akira Kurosawa, starring Yul Brinner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn and Eli Wallach, directed by John (The Gunfight At The OK Corral/The Great Escape) Sturges and accompanied by one of the best musical scores ever written, and you have the ingredients for possibly the perfect old school western. Poor old Brad Dexter didn't stand much of a chance up against an ensemble cast of this quality, but he makes a decent fist of a character who is essentially an amalgam of two characters from Seven Samurai, which makes way for Vaughn's gunslinger who has lost his nerve and slots seamlessly into the action. It does take a more popular culture slant on the original's more arthouse sensibilities, but it works perfectly. Brinner and McQueen make a brilliant double act and it even adds a more upbeat ending without failing to retain the spirit of the source material. One of the very few examples of a remake that is almost as worthwhile as the original.

• Conner R

  
  While it isn't the masterpiece that Seven Samurai is, it's still a great western and a well translated story. Somehow it manages to relate gunslingers to Samurai quite easily. The characters are all there, even though they are a little different. Kikuchiyo's character… More
  While it isn't the masterpiece that Seven Samurai is, it's still a great western and a well translated story. Somehow it manages to relate gunslingers to Samurai quite easily. The characters are all there, even though they are a little different. Kikuchiyo's character was essentially split up into three chatacter's: Vin, Bernardo and Chico. I find it amazing that such a rich character had to be taken down in order to make the movie work as well as it did. My only real complaint with the film is Yul Brynner who just never seemed to fit. He expresses almost none of the wisdom that Kambei had, but it doesn't ruin the overall experience. I actually find it to be a very different movie than Seven Samurai, especially when you compare them side by side. The same basic concept is there, but it really is a completely different feeling and tone.

• Wahida K

  
  They were seven - And they fought like seven hundred!

• Dean !

  
  One of the best older westerns. Has an impressive cast as the best guns of the west come to the aid of a Mexican village.

• Chris G

  
  Classic western remake of the Seven Samurai featuring Yul Brynner and a very young cast featuring Charles, Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, and Steve McQueen. This is the story of seven gunfighters hired by a Mexican village to protect and teach them to fight against a gang of… More
  Classic western remake of the Seven Samurai featuring Yul Brynner and a very young cast featuring Charles, Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, and Steve McQueen. This is the story of seven gunfighters hired by a Mexican village to protect and teach them to fight against a gang of bandits led by the superb Eli Wallach. Even though thetitle calls these men "magnificent" you soon learn that they are far from it. They are all flaws characters, some almost as flawed as Wallach. That's what makes this film so interesting.

• Chris W

  
  A brilliant western. I have yet to see the source materiual, but I hear that is as equally brilliant, if not more so. The music, cinematography, performances, and direction are flawless.

• William S

  
  Totally over-rated! See The Seven Samurai instead!

• Cindy I

  
  This could very well be my favorite western (High Plains Drifter running a close 2nd). Based on Seven Samurai (another fave), a gunman is hired by the residents of a Mexican village to protect them against bandits. He in turn hires six others to help him. At every showing I can sense… More
  This could very well be my favorite western (High Plains Drifter running a close 2nd). Based on Seven Samurai (another fave), a gunman is hired by the residents of a Mexican village to protect them against bandits. He in turn hires six others to help him. At every showing I can sense men all over the country hanging their heads in shame that they will never be as cool or as badass as the cumulative star power of this film. And they'd be right! I mean...Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Charles Bronson in the same film?!?! Please! If Robert Mitchum had been added to this mix, your TV would just turn to liquid nitrogen. It would be THAT cool.

• danny d

  
  one of the top 5 westerns of all time, if you like this watch seven samurai

• Khris N

  
  Magnificent! All guns and knife) blazing! - Yul Brynner and Steve Mcqueen form a posse of 7 to protect a vilage from pludering bandits - and do so with courage and honor which makes this movie a hero's tale. - best remake of a international movie - Seven Samurai.

• Dillon L

  
  Beautiful cinematography, lovely musical score, talented cast, equals up to a decent western. I love the idea of taking a Kurosawa film and turning it into an American story.

• Byron B

  
  I enjoyed watching the Magnificent Seven TV show from the 90s. With the medium of television I think character development has more of a chance over many weekly episodes. Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is an excellent work of art, yet even in that movie some of the samurai… More
  I enjoyed watching the Magnificent Seven TV show from the 90s. With the medium of television I think character development has more of a chance over many weekly episodes. Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is an excellent work of art, yet even in that movie some of the samurai aren't so distinguished from each other. On first viewing of this movie I thought the filmmakers had done a very good job of translating a story of bandits harassing Japanese farmers who in turn seek the help of samurai to protect them. On second viewing I noticed the difference in focus and some flaws with the adaptation. Eli Wallach, as the leader of the Mexican bandits, is given more focus in this version and he shows he can handle it. The young Horst Buchholz is no match for Toshiro Mifune. It appears that he is trying too hard to step into James Dean's shoes. The way in which Yul Brynner's and Steve McQueen's characters prove to the observing Mexican peasants that they are good just men now seems completely anticlimactic to me. Of the other four gunslingers, Charles Bronson, with his storyline mentoring the boys of the village, is the only one who stands out. The old man who refuses to move across the river so he can be protected within the boundaries of the village is let off the hook too easily. The simplification that this western went through by cutting out subplots and removing much of the strategy that the samurai show in defending the villagers hurts the picture overall. It also struck me that fighting with guns instead of hand to hand with swords took a lot of the excitement and suspense out of the movie. There are many noisy gun battles where both sides seem to have a never ending supply of bullets and either most of the shots fired miss everything in sight, or horses and men fall with no apparent clear shot. It looks more artificial to me now. Still it is a theme that I really enjoy. A group of people who are not all clearly good guys who stand up for what is right and protect the underdogs of society. There are many good scenes where the seven wrestle with taking on this job and seeing it through. And the theme song triumphantly gets the blood pumping while we are given the chance to gaze at the wide open spaces.

• Will T

  
  A great old Western that doesn't mess around, and the samurai elements really do show. Nothing is quite like this movie really.

• Cameron J

  
  The original "The Expendables". Man, was there any action movie it didn't rip-off. No but seriosusly though, like "The Expendables", this isn't that complex nor unpredictable and doesn't set itself too far from its genre. Other flaws include a mild… More
  The original "The Expendables". Man, was there any action movie it didn't rip-off. No but seriosusly though, like "The Expendables", this isn't that complex nor unpredictable and doesn't set itself too far from its genre. Other flaws include a mild lack of development, overdrawn points, slow spots and a deal of poorly-aged performances. Still, through all of its faults, the film remains generally compelling and with its offbeat elements. Other strengths include a good score, fine production designs and decent dialogue. As for the action-star-studded cast, they work very well. They all have their own distinctive attributes, but fit together and all have their time in the spotlight. Their chemistry is charming and up the film's entertainment value. Of course, that's not to say that they don't bring their trademark: action, which is... about as good as they good get in 1960. Hey, it's no climax to "Open Range", but the action still isn't that bad. Nevertheless, this is a truly charming and entertaining ensemble to see. Anyone else sense the "This is where Stallone messed up" undertones? Ultimately, the simplicity and predictability keep the film from living up the "magnificent" in its title, but that's not to say that the entertainment value led by a charming star-studded ensemble doesn't make "The Magnificent Seven" a generally enjoyable ride.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings