It\u2019s easy to work yourself into a lather about these things (okay, it\u2019s easy for me<\/em> to work myself into a lather), but it\u2019s also, I suppose<\/em>, important to remember the breathtaking volume of big-screen Westerns around 1960 \u2013 and how truly special one had to be to stand out to a critic who might have been exhausted by them. Then again, The Magnificent Seven <\/em>is pretty special, a film that, yes, embraces clich\u00e9s, but does so with wit and style, and with one of the best ensemble casts of the era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As even the casual classics fan knows, and as the opening credits admit, \u201cThis picture is based on the Japanese film \u2018Seven Samurai,\u2019 Toho Company Ltd.\u201d The setting has shifted, halfway around the world and three hundred years later, but the bare bones of the story remain: a small Mexican farming village is regularly looted for food and supplies by a band of banditos, led by the ruthless Calvera (an unfortunately brown-faced Eli Wallach). The farmers are powerless and terrified, but they must defend themselves, so three of the village leaders take their meager funds and head off to a border town to buy some guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But they soon realize that their funds are better spent hiring gunmen<\/em>, so they do that, with the help of man in black Chris Adams (Yul Brenner). He rounds up a crew, heist movie style, of tough guys with varying skills; once assembled, they hit the trail, accompanied by Elmer Bernstein\u2019s soaring main theme. They have two jobs in the village: to defend it and to teach its residents to defend themselves, and there\u2019s a wonderful training sequence (again, expertly scored by Bernstein) as they show these farmers how to cock, aim, and squeeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s most striking about The Magnificent Seven<\/em> \u2013 and what, in retrospect, it absolutely had<\/em> to get right \u2013 is the equilibrium of the ensemble. Brenner is frankly a bit baffling at first; it\u2019s such a peculiar bit of casting, to put his gait and his speech, so inescapably regal, into the character of a cowboy. (A friend not-too-casually mentions that he\u2019s a Cajun, which I guess is meant to at least explain his clipped speech). Yet the slight air of the outsider works in the narrative\u2019s favor, and that regal quality gives him a firm authority, even when the others waver. (When Calvera scoffs, \u201cHow many of you did they hire?\u201d and he confidently replies \u201cEnough,\u201d well, that shuts that guy down, and quick.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n More importantly, his formality contrasts nicely with McQueen\u2019s offhand charisma and naturalistic line readings; Brenner moves deliberately, and effectively, but there\u2019s something just as pointed about the way McQueen casually moves his hand around his belt as the banditos surround him. They\u2019re different guys, and have occasional disagreements, but they\u2019re fundamentally in the same business, which is why their first scene together, making casual business chat as they ride into a hostile mob, is so funny (\u201cNew in town?\u201d \u201cYeah.\u201d \u201cWhere you from?\u201d \u201cDodge. You?\u201d \u201cTombstone.\u201d) The entire crew is well cast and on point \u2013 Coburn, cool as cumber, and Charles Bronson, looking (dare I say) young and handsome, are the standouts \u2013 and Bert Henricksen\u2019s marvelously specific costume choices underscore their personalities, with Brenner in form-fitting black, McQueen in casual duds, Bronson in dirty denim, and Robert Vaughn resplendent in his vests and black gloves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Screenwriter William Roberts isn\u2019t just adapting and interpolating, but he\u2019s certainly lucky to work with such a well-built narrative; we know they\u2019ll prevail, but they\u2019re backed into seemingly inescapable corners, and head into the big final battle with mighty long odds, so we\u2019re invested in how they\u2019ll overcome them. (There\u2019s real wit in the dialogue too, particularly for Wallach\u2019s colorful villain, who growls dastardly pronouncements like, \u201cIf God didn\u2019t want them sheared, he wouldn\u2019t have made them sheep.\u201d) And Sturges, who\u2019d been directing Westerns since 1949\u2019s The Walking Hills<\/em>, adeptly juggles the potentially messy choreography of the big group sequences, whether they\u2019re action or just dialogue, and moves his camera elegantly when the shooting starts. It\u2019s a thrilling movie \u2013 no matter what those old fuddy-duddies at the Times<\/em> thought. \u201cThe Magnificent Seven\u201d is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/magnificent-seven2-scaled-1024x576.jpg\")
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