Rating: Summary: SEVEN BIG HUNKS IN ONE BIG MOVIE! Review: I remember when this came out in the theatres in 1960. My girlfriends and I went about 50 times to see it. We all fell in love with each of the Seven. This was before anyone knew who Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, and Horst Bucholz were! We did know who Yul Brynner was, we all fell in love with him years before in King and I, and the Ten Commandments! We were all in doubt then about how he would fit into a Western with no hair! But he did, and how! As the leader of these Seven, he still holds up as one of the "sexiest men" of all time! This movie just never stops! It is so well written and well acted, and the music! Elmer Bernstein's beautiful and exciting score just outshines them all! This new edition is longer than the original, but as far as I am concerned, I hoped it would just keep going on! The ending is the best part, sad but left with a really good feeling.... what a great human story! The "good guys" are the poor Mexican farmers in their little village being bullied and controlled by the "bad guys", a small army of Mexican Desperados. The Farmers are desperately needing help to rid themselves of these Banditos who steal all their food at the end of the farmers yearly harvest, leaving very little for the villagers to eat. They decide that this is the last "straw" and the best way to get rid of their enemy is to hire gunslingers. With very little cash to offer, the cash they do offer is all that they have. They hire Well-known Gunslinger, Chris (Yul Brynner), who sympathizes with the farmers, and also admires their determination, Chris, having a way with words as well as guns, decides to help them by rounding up as many extra gunslingers that he can. With little to offer but a chance to redeem themselves by helping out these poor but determined farmers. So it comes down to the "bad guys" against the "badder gunslingers". Its a great showdown of "the good, the bad, and the ugly". You must see this film at least once in your life.....I will guarantee you will love every minute of The Magnificent Seven! A real Western Classic, they just don't make 'em like this anymore!
Rating: Summary: A must have Review: Westerns were never my favorite genre. But three of them kept my attention until the end, when I first saw them late at night on TV years ago: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Once upon A Time In The West The Magnificent Seven Anyone building a good DVD library should own these three titles. Actually, only two are avaiable. They have a "grandeur" that make them unique among not only this genre, but movies in general. For those who never knew there was an actor named Yul Brynner, this is an excellent opportunity to watch him stealing the scene everytime he appears. And that's not because he was bald, but because he knew how to grab one's attention. Won't extend on the movie. Video - good, with a nice transfer. The fade out scenes seems to have not had the same attention as the "normal" scenes. Audio - Clear, but the 5.1 goes to action only on the soundtrack and some shootings. Better could've been done here. Extras - Add to history and reputation of this classic, specially the new documentary and audio commentaries. Despite minor flaws on video and audio, a must have.
Rating: Summary: Un verdadero clasico Review: Para todos aquellos que deseen ver una excelente muestra de lo que es un clasico de las peliculas de vaqueros, no se pueden perder "The Magnificent Seven". Esta pelicula esta entretenida de principio a fin, y contiene todos los aspectos que conforman una gran pelicula: accion, humor, drama y romance. La historia se desarrolla en un pueblo en la frontera Mexico-USA. el cual es asediado por un maleante, que repetidamente llega al pueblo a quitarles lo poco que tienen los campesinos del pueblo. Un dia los campesinos se cansan de ser robados sin oponer resistencia, y deciden comprar armas para defenderse de la pandilla de maleantes. Llegan a un pueblo en busca de armas, pero conocen a un hombre que los persuade mejor de contratar pistoleros, y ahi es donde se empieza a poner muy bueno todo el asunto. Calidad de video : Excelente Audio en Ingles : Excelente Audio en EspaƱol : Regular
Rating: Summary: Good value Review: This DVD is a very good value. The new (2001) documentary is very good. It runs about 30 to 45 minutes with interviews with Eli Wallach, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Horst Buchholz, the producer and the asst. director. Very interesting insights into the competition between Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and Buchholz are given. A commentary track featuring Coburn, Wallach, the producer and asst. director is included this gives even more insight into the people involved in the film however some of the comments are repeated from the documentary. The only downside to the DVD is that the picture hasn't been restored but it is adequate. The sound was a bit muted especially during dialogue. I had to have the sound turned way up. The soundtrack seemed to be fine. Overall this is a great value for the extras included.
Rating: Summary: Great Movie, Great Lines Review: I love this movie. I have been quoting it for years. Watch for Steve's little stories "So far, so good." and " Seemed like a good idea at the time."
Rating: Summary: One of the Last Great American Westerns comes to DVD!!! Review: An American version of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" a fantastic Japanese classic film (available in DVD w/subtitles & English narration). This tale translate into the most perfect American Western!! With widescreen remastered digitally picture & sound makes this a great movie to watch. The cinematography, color are fantastic. Elmer Bersteins musical score is the grandest (The theme song was used by Marlboro cigarettes for years). You have a great cast, a great script, a thorough story line with many subplots developing amongst the characters. Overall this is a fun movie to watch over and over again. This DVD is a great value and you have extras to wet your appetite about this grand tale of good versus evil.
Rating: Summary: Magnificent Movie, Okay DVD Review: Movie Summary: Poor Mexican farmers tortured by a group of bandits hire seven honest gunman to defend their village. They offer next to nothing, but it is everything they have. Head gunman Chris (perfectly played by Yul Brynner) has never been offered everything before so he takes the job. Chris recruits a few old friends and a couple of new faces to round out the group at seven. They go to the Mexican village and teach the farmers how to fight. The farmers in turn teach the gunmen how to live. My Opinion: This is an awesome movie. It is a classic western. Yul Brynner is great. Charles Bronson is young! There are plots and subplots. Everything is well done. DVD Quality: Widescreen Anamorphic with DD 5.1 sound. The transfer is quite grainy at points with flaws and artifacts. It was not made from a very good print. What You Should Do: If you are a fan of this movie or westerns in general then buy the DVD. It is not the best quality, but it is offered at a great price. If you are not a collector, then a rental will do.
Rating: Summary: Shame MGM - RCE curse Review: I am currently in Australia and ordered this title to watch on a multizoned player. Unfortunately this title appears to have RCE protection on it. If you are not using a region 1 player or do not have the ability to manually select any region, stay away and wait for your local release which should turn up one millenium ;). A pox on you MGM!:o(
Rating: Summary: Fits better in the US than Seven Samurai in Japan Review: This story about a group of poor villegers who hire gunmen to stop a group of bandits and the subsiquent struggle to find men willing to risk their lives for $20 makes a fine movie. In its western adaption of the SEVEN SAMURAI it works better that the movie it adapts. Not becasue it is a better movie per-se, that would be a hard case to make (impossible in terms of sheer spectacle. Its strength in comparison is based on the setting and time. The SEVEN SAMURAI is set during a time when the SAMURAI tradition was alive, strong and would be for centuries more. The MAGNIFICENT SEVEN works even better because these men see their gunfighting days and ways drawing to a close. Much like THE SHOOTIST the end of a way of life and the begining of a new one is the catalyst here. Also like THE SHOOTEST, you see Chico (HORST BUCHHORZ)enamored by the same non-reality that Gillom (RON HOWARD)does. All of the characters have their appeal and Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen make it work. Their first scene together is worth the picture alone. Big names are good but the big performances make it better. All of them are underplayed but not under acted. It started a series of movies which never reached the level of the first, but thats not the purpose of a movie. In fact the interaction between Chris (BRYNNER)and Calvera (ELI WALLACH) is one factor that the SEVEN SAMURAI lacks. Stong plots and subplots make it great enjoy!
Rating: Summary: The Best Copy of this Movie I have Ever Seen Review: This DVD is incredible. I never thought I would see THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN ever look as good as it does on this DVD. It is sharp and crisp. The colors are all there and they are so vibrant! You can even see the black material of Yul Brynner's shirt! It's just incredible. For sound you can go with the original mono or select the re-mastered Dolby Digital 5.1 discrete stereo mix. That is really a matter for one's taste in listening. However, it is this print that has an emotional effect on one. If you are one of those people who really loved this film since you were a kid this DVD is an emotional experience. Our heroes never looked better. Their cause never seemed nobler. Their catharsis never seemed more moving. When life's odds are against you just look back on this picture. I know I have and it has given me the strength to go on. The "Making of..." documentary that comes on this disc is very welcome. It always seemed that production information on this film has been very sparse. Now you get most of the story, at least as well as the surviving cast and crew remembers it. As much as the other six tried, they could never upstage Yul Brynner. He possessed a screen presence that none of the others had no matter how good they were at their performances. Yul Brynner still makes this picture and his character stands for what THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is all about. As an addendum I wish they could have released a "Making of..." documentary on the RETURN OF THE SEVEN DVD. That would be a very interesting documentary on just how the dark nature of that film came about. And what about the follow up film GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SVEN which is a long forgotten minor classic in itself? When are we going to get that on DVD and widescreen? And what about the fourth film in the saga THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RIDE! That is not even available on VHS. Hopefully more good things are in the planing stages.
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