The Magnificent Seven (Special Edition) [DVD] [1960]

Akira Kurosawa's rousing Seven Samurai was a natural for an American remake--after all, the codes and conventions of ancient Japan and the Wild West (at least the mythical movie West) are not so very far apart. Thus The Magnificent Seven effortlessly turns samurai into cowboys (the same trick worked more than once: Kurosawa's Yojimbo became Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars). The beleaguered denizens of a Mexican village, weary of attacks by banditos, hire seven gunslingers to repel the invaders once and for all. The gunmen are cool and capable, with most of the actors playing them just on the cusp of '60s stardom: Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn. The man who brings these warriors together is Yul Brynner, the baddest bald man in the West. There's nothing especially stylish about the approach of veteran director John Sturges (The Great Escape), but the storytelling is clear and strong, and the charisma of the young guns fairly flies off the screen. If that isn't enough to awaken the 12-year-old kid inside anyone, the unforgettable Elmer Bernstein music will do it: bum-bum-ba-bum, bum-ba-bum-ba-bum... Followed by three inferior sequels, Return of the Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, and The Magnificent Seven Ride! --Robert Horton

The Magnificent Seven effortlessly turn samurai into cowboys (the same trick worked more than once: Kurosawa'sYojimbo became Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars) and Akira Kurosawa's rousing Seven Samuri was a natural for an American remake through this movie--after all, the codes and conventions of ancient Japan and the Wild West (at least the mythical movie West) are not so very far apart. The beleaguered denizens of a Mexican village, weary of attacks by banditos, hire seven gunslingers to repel the invaders once and for all. The gunmen are cool and capable, with most of the actors playing them just on the cusp of 60s stardom: Steve McQueen, JamesCoburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn. The man who brings these warriors together is Yul Brynner, the baddest bald man in the West. There's nothing especially stylish about the approach of veteran director John Sturges (The Great Escape), but the storytelling is clear and strong, and the charisma of the young guns fairly flies off the screen. If that isn't enough to awaken the 12-year-old kid inside anyone, the unforgettable Elmer Bernstein music will do it: bum-bum-ba-bum, bum-ba-bum-ba-bum... followed by three inferior sequels, Return of the Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, and The Magnificent Seven Ride!--Robert Horton, Amazon.com

DVD Special Features:

Fully Restore Feature
Remastered Audio Track
Exclusive New Documentary
Feature Length Audio Commentary with members of the Cast and Crew
Theatrical Trailer
Theatrical Trailer No.2
Extensive Stills Gallery
Return Of The Magnificent Seven Trailer
Guns Of The Magnificent Seven Trailer
The Magnificent Seven Ride! Trailer
Collectable 8 Page Booklet
Language in Dolby Digtial 5.1 - English
Subtitles: English, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Portuguese, Polish, Greek, Hungarian, Hebrew, Turkish, Czechoslovakian, English for the hard of hearing.

In the blistering heat of the Mexican sierra, a village trembles in fear - weaiting for the savage onslaught from Calvera (Eli Wallach) and his bandidos. Terrorised, robbed, humiliated, the villagers are desperate to hit back and set off for the American border to buy guns. But in their quest they come across seven awesome weapons of destruction; a group of hard-riding, mercenary Western gunmen who will ride with them to the vialleg and take out the bandidos.

Led by Chris Adams (Yul Brynner), the seven find themselves plunged into a terrifying struggle - and a fight for the life of the village. In this classic Western inspired by the Seven Samurai of Japan, Brynner - toegther with a cast of the calibre of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Horst Buchholz - fire the first bullets in a fight to the death.