Aiming for the horse

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

For a western this movie has a number of unusual elements. It is one of the first American films to be heavily influenced by the work of Akira Kurosawa, in this instance a remake of Seven Samurai transplanted into the old west. In general films in the western genre are often about the individual as a loner or outsider, usually in conflict against the majority such as in High Noon or Shane. As hinted in the film's title this film is more about the group or community and as such it actually did really good business in the Soviet Union.

John Sturges directs Yul Brynner and a cast that includes what was a number of young up and coming actors at the time such as Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Robert Vaughn. The plot is fairly basic, bandits are harassing a Mexican village and representatives are sent north of the border to buy guns and hire men to protect the village. What the film does well is it's portrayal of the hired guns, these gun men are not romanticised chivalric knights of the west nor cynical anti heroes but somewhere in between. Good performances from the cast, epsecially Brynner and (for the most part) interesting back stories elevate this above a run of the mill western.

Unfortunately the film does seem a little dated, the famous theme music is a bit over bearing to modern ears and the plot is a little simplistic but over all I still give it a 5/5.