Thursday, April 8, 2021

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

IMDb plot summary: Seven gunfighters are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits.
Directed by John Sturges. Starring Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, and Horst Buchholz.

I found Seven Samurai far more captivating than I expected to, and to my delight, that was my reaction to The Magnificent Seven as well. The film gives us just enough information about our main characters to keep us interested throughout, and watching them interact with the villagers they were protecting was captivating. After all that buildup, the final scenes are mostly typical western shoot-out and are less interesting than everything before, but fortunately that is only a small piece of the story. It also makes space for some thoughtful philosophical discussions of what it means for these men to be in this profession, and what they gain by it and sacrifice for it. Overall a very carefully- and intelligently-crafted film and worth a watch.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Magnificent Seven > One, Two, Three
The Magnificent Seven < The Black Cat
The Magnificent Seven > Ramona and Beezus
The Magnificent Seven > Native Son (2019)
The Magnificent Seven < Frankenweenie (2012)
The Magnificent Seven > Undercover Blues
The Magnificent Seven > Smiles of a Summer Night
The Magnificent Seven > 1917
The Magnificent Seven < Thor
The Magnificent Seven < Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
The Magnificent Seven < The Lady Vanishes
The Magnificent Seven < Hell in the Pacific
Final spot: #950 out of 3333, or 71%.

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