The Magnificent Seven

***The Magnificent Seven*** is a 1960 American Western movie directed by John Sturges. It is a Western-style version of Akira Kurosawa's classic Japanese-language movie _Seven Samurai_, made in 1954. The film stars Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Brad Dexter, Robert Vaughn, and Horst Buchholz. The music was composed by Elmer Bernstein, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score in 1960.

The plot concerns a remote Mexican village which keeps being raided for food and supplies by a bandit called Calvera (Wallach) and his gang. The seven are a group of gunfighters hired to protect the village. The movie was made on location in Mexico. One of the towns used for the village is Durango.

In 2013, the movie was picked by the Library of Congress to be kept in the National Film Registry because it is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". This means the movie will be protected from damage that happens to older film that was used to make movies.

## Cast

- Yul Brynner as Chris Adams
- Eli Wallach as Calvera
- Steve McQueen as Vin
- Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly
- James Coburn as Britt
- Brad Dexter as Harry Luck
- Robert Vaughn as Lee
- Horst Buchholz as Chico
- Vladimir Sokoloff as the old man of the village
- Jorge Martínez de Hoyos as Hilario
- Rosenda Monteros as Petra
- Rico Alaniz as Sotero
- Pepe Hern as Tomás
- Natividad Vacío as Salvador
- Robert J. Wilke as Wallace
- John A. Alonzo as Miguel
- Roberto Contreras as Luis
- Whit Bissell as Chamlee, the undertaker
- Val Avery as Henry, the corset salesman
- Bing Russell as Robert, Henry's traveling companion
- Valentin de Vargas as Santos, a Calvera henchman
- Joseph Ruskin as Flynn

## Reception

When it was released, the movie did not get many good reviews. Howard Thompson of _The New York Times_, said the movie was a "pallid, pretentious and overlong reflection of the Japanese original". He also said: "don't expect anything like the ice-cold suspense, the superb juxtaposition of revealing human vignettes and especially the pile-driver tempo of the first _Seven_."

_Variety_ magazine said, "Until the women and children arrive on the scene about two-thirds of the way through, _The Magnificent Seven_ is a rip-roaring rootin' tootin' western with lots of bite and tang and old-fashioned abandon. The last third is downhill, a long and cluttered anti-climax in which _The Magnificent Seven_ grow slightly too magnificent for comfort."

However, Akira Kurosawa liked the movie so much that he gave John Sturges a sword.

Over the years, the movie has become more liked and gets modern praise. Bronson, Coburn, and McQueen became big name stars in other movies and on television. _The Magnificent Seven_ itself is shown on TV and can be seen on DVD. In 2015, it had a freshness rating of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Of movie viewers, 88 percent said they liked it. The film was also ranked  79 on American Film Institute's:  AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills list.

## Infobox (film)

- **name**: The Magnificent Seven
- **director**: John Sturges
- **producer**: John Sturges
- **writer**: William Roberts (screenwriter), William Roberts
**Uncredited:**
Walter Newman (screenwriter), Walter Newman
 Walter Bernstein
- **based on**: _Seven Samurai_
by Akira Kurosawa
Shinobu Hashimoto
Hideo Oguni

- **starring**: Yul Brynner
Eli Wallach
Steve McQueen
Charles Bronson
James Coburn
Brad Dexter
Robert Vaughn
Horst Buchholz
- **music**: Elmer Bernstein
- **cinematography**: Charles Lang
- **editing**: Ferris Webster
- **studio**: The Mirisch Company
- **distributor**: United Artists
- **runtime**: 128 minutes
- **country**: United States
- **language**: English
- **budget**: $2 million
- **gross**: $2,250,000