The Magnificent Seven
Movie, 1960, The '60s, Set in A Mexican village
The Magnificent Seven is #8 of 34 in release order and #8 of 34 in chronological order in the Westerns.
The story
An oppressed Mexican peasant village hires seven gunfighters to help defend their homes.
The Magnificent Seven recap
The Magnificent Seven (1960) sends seven hired gunmen to defend a Mexican farming village from bandits, remaking Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. John Sturges directs. Raided every harvest by Calvera (Eli Wallach) and his forty men, three villagers cross the border to buy guns and end up hiring Chris Adams (Yul Brynner), a gunman in black. He recruits Vin Tanner (Steve McQueen), Bernardo O'Reilly (Charles Bronson), Britt (James Coburn), a knife expert; Lee (Robert Vaughn), a gunman who has lost his nerve; Harry Luck (Brad Dexter), who believes there is gold in it; and Chico (Horst Buchholz), a young hothead. They train the farmers, drive Calvera off in a first fight, and the children adopt O'Reilly. When the gunmen ride out to raid the bandits' camp, some frightened villagers let Calvera back in, and he captures the seven and sends them away unarmed. Elmer Bernstein's score supplies the theme. Three sequels followed, beginning with Return of the Seven (1966).
The Magnificent Seven ending explained
The Magnificent Seven ends with the gunmen returning, killing Calvera and losing four of their number. Harry, Lee, Britt and O'Reilly die in the final battle. Chico stays behind with Petra, a village woman he loves. Chris and Vin ride away, and Chris says that only the farmers won, while gunmen like them always lose. Besides the sequels, the story returned as a TV series (1998 to 2000) and a 2016 remake.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven is streaming on fuboTV, Philo, YouTube TV, MGM Plus, and YouTube (free) in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 93%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Rio Bravo, before The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
- Chronological order: after Rio Bravo, before The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
Cast
- Yul Brynner as Chris Adams
- Eli Wallach as Calvera
- Steve McQueen as Vin
- Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly
- Robert Vaughn as Lee
- Brad Dexter as Harry Luck
- James Coburn as Britt
- Horst Buchholz as Chico
- Jorge Martínez de Hoyos as Hilario
- Vladimir Sokoloff as Old Man
- Rosenda Monteros as Petra
- Rico Alaniz as Sotero
Directed by John Sturges.