The Magnificent Seven [DVD] [1960]

This is an old movie from early of the western genre. The plot is quite simple, some mexican farmers from a small village hire gunmen to clean (wipe) their village free from bandits who frequently comes back and violently claim to be given food and other merchandises. These gunmens who accept to help get rid of the bandits are shown as cold and tough guys, but also have got their own personal problems and dreams, their stories are told in details. We are given a lot of actions trought the whole movie and of course in the ending battle (actually 2 battles since the bandits reorganised and wanted revenge? It ends very badly for the most of the gunmen because the odds were very bad in the first place (6:1). Only 3 of those 7 survived.The special thing with this movie is that all of the actors were very young, and later they become even more famous stars in the western genre, and others. But what is most important with this movie? It is made in 1960, still the picture and sound quality is so fantastic that only Blu-ray with top restoration can show it, simply marvellous! Not only picture is excellent, the landscape scenery in this movie is extremally beautiful and breathtaking. Truly a collectors dream!

If you are a western fan you will enjoy this film. If you haven't already seen it do so now. It was one of the earliest westerns to feature a modern more natural dialogue, with many witty one-liners which were just as entertaining as the stock shooting and fighting scenes. It set the scene for many westerns that followed. I have also seen the Seven Samurai (on which it is based) and did not enjoy its subtitles and dark and brooding atmosphere in which it was sometimes difficult to distinguish who was fighting whom. The Magnificent Seven is a light, bright, full of action western movie. The actors are all superb - most of them were unknown and went on to carve out major careers after this film. The direction is first class, the dialogue is snappy, the music memorable and the photography excellent. The Blu-ray reproduction is out of this world and well worth having in your collection.PS. I have just seen the 2016 remake. It is good in its way with some tremendous action sequences. But the quality of the sound track is very poor, in terms of the dialogue. This is of course a common problem with modern movies.

OK, we all know what we're getting here. This is the most classic of classic Westerns, brim full of top acting talent, superbly directed and with an iconic score.Based on the Japanese film the 7 Samurai, this follows the fortunes of a group of seven mercenaries, who, for a variety of reasons ride off to defend a small Mexican village against the evil Calvera (Eli Wallach) and his gang of bandits, seemingly insurmountable odds. Led by the enigmatic and dangerously cool Chris (Yul Brynner in top form) the gang is a motley crew, with wrecked gamblers, fortune hunters, idealistic young kids and grizzly mercenaries. The seven leads and villain give it their all, and a wonderfully entertaining film is the result.I always enjoyed this film as it works on two levels. Firstly it is a great wild west romp, with a hint of a moral tale. Secondly, due to the strength of the acting talent on screen it is a wonderful character study, as the motives of the seven as they ride to apparent suicide are studied. Even Calvera's character is explored with great effect. But the film never gets lost in this aspect, it always keeps the aim of being an entertaining adventure firmly in view.This DVD is an excellent presentation. The print has been nicely cleaned up, presented in the original widescreen and has a 5.1 soundtrack. There are a host of extras, including a documentary, stills, original trailers, and trailers for some of the (inferior!) sequels.An excellent presentation of a wonderfully entertaining film.

Great', old movie'in best style of the sixties.

A classic remake of the 'Seven Samurai' that was made in Japan around six years earlier. The western has a fantastic group of up and coming stars who support Yul Brynner. Steve Mcqueen's tries his hardest to steal the show from Brynner, but I don't think he does. During the making of the film Mcqueen would complain to his friend Robert Vaughn about Brynner having a bigger horse, or a bigger gun,and even tried distraction techniques to catch the eye of the audience when he was in the background by doing things like playing with his hat. Brynner told him if he kept on with this tactic he would simply move in position to block Mcqueen out of the shot completely. A great action and adventure film with great music too..............

Classic but of its time.

Excellent.

I remember watching this film as a kid with my family on a Sunday afternoon back in the 70's and watching it now as an adult I now know why my parents loved it so much! Such fun, really good characters and plenty of jokes. I also liked the nod to racial issues with the coffin scene and the irony of how a life of "freedom" comes at a heavy price which were both reminiscent of the original. Although based on the famous Japanese movie 'Seven Samurai' with very similar plot twists and turns, I feel it hold its own as a classic spaghetti western that the whole family can enjoy. I would recommend this film.