Even if it is an American adaptation of a samurai film, The Magnificent Seven has the prestige of being considered a classic in the Western genre, and for good reason. It has all the elements you could ask for: honorable gunslingers for hire, an epic scale, and a high stakes showdown between the vastly outnumbered heroes. On top of that you have the unconventional choice of Yul Brynner as your Western hero with the likes of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn – great examples of American masculinity if ever there were any in that era – making up the main players of the titular seven. The Magnificent Seven is the kind of rollicking western adventure which, despite having its share of flaws, is every bit enjoyable today as it was the day of its theatrical premiere. With the HD restoration for Blu-ray, the sweeping horizons and the film as a whole look fantastic and the package makes a compelling argument for putting this Western classic in your hi-def collection.
The story has long since become a staple of countless adaptations, but what made The Magnificent Seven somewhat unique was its attempt at imbuing the story of mercenaries standing up for the defenseless with some semblance of American pride. Approached by a band of Mexican villagers, Chris (Brynner) agrees to assemble a band of men to go to the village’s aid and rid it of the criminal Calvera (Eli Wallach) who extorts them for the majority of the profits from their harvests leaving them all but destitute. Chris spreads the word about the troupe he’s gathering and the result is an unlikely bunch of pistoleers and brawlers (McQueen, Bronson, Coburn, Horst Buchholz, Brad Dexter, and Robert Vaughn). An early victory against Calvera lifts their spirits but sets them up for a fall that leaves them scrambling and asking themselves where their priorities lie: freedom or money.
Let’s see if the thematic elements resemble America’s modern day foreign policy, shall we? A band of Americans ride in to a foreign country (albeit invited) and free the oppressed population from a despotic ruler while espousing the importance of a person’s right to freedom but with a monetary reward as their initially promised reward. Come on, The Magnificent Seven is the groundwork for modern American foreign policy. The only difference is that we won’t let a foreigner (Yul Brynner is Russian) be the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces. Once the film reaches the final showdown between Calvera and the Seven, the moral dilemma of weighing the universal defense of freedom over monetary reward or personal safety arises and again The Magnificent Seven falls firmly in line with American values. It’s almost amazing how well Writer William Roberts subverted the themes of honor from the original The Seven Samurai to fit with the American obligation to freedom.
For a film pushing 50, The Magnificent Seven has been restored to such a level that it looks like it came out of the 60s or very early 70s. There’s a bit of grain to the picture, but overall the end result is crystal clear and shows a solid effort on the part of MGM. The audio is terrific with almost no distortion, and Bernstein’s score is as good as ever. Compared to many of MGM’s other ports which have seen very little improvement to audio or visual in their transfer to HD, it seems like they made a genuine effort for the 50th anniversary of The Magnificent Seven, which is encouraging.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The three main featurettes should hold plenty of interest for any fans of the film with a retrospective “making of” piece, a look at Elmer Bernstein and his legendary score for the film, and a collection of “lost” images from the production. After that the extras move into the basic categories of trailers, a still gallery, and a worthwhile audio commentary by Wallach, Coburn, and Executive Producer Walter Mirisch.
"The Magnificent Seven" is on sale August 23, 2011 and is not rated. Adventure, Western. Directed by John Sturges. Written by William Roberts. Starring Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach, Steve Mcqueen, Yul Brynner, Brad Dexter, Horst Buchholz, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn.
