Amazon.co.uk Review
The Magnificent Seven (1960) established Elmer Bernstein as the premiere composer of music for American westerns (a tradition that continued almost 40 years later in 1999 with his score for Will Smith's
Wild Wild West). In this remake of Akira Kurosawa's
The Seven Samurai (1954), Bernstein's vigorous, physical score operates in the foreground, propelling the action and describing the film's sprawling landscapes. A blending of American and Mexican influences, the music is written for full orchestra and features native percussion instruments including castanets, marimbas, claves and log drums. Even the casual filmgoer will not fail to recognise the main theme. Equally impressive, though less familiar, is the brassy motif for Calvera's band and the lyrical love theme for Chico and Petra, performed by acoustic guitar. Although a number of re-recordings exist, including a 1993 presentation conducted by
James Sedares for Koch International and a BMG Classics production conducted by the composer, there can be no substitute for the original soundtrack. Supervised by Emilie Bernstein, the composer's daughter, this 67-minute disc includes all of the score's highlights in perfectly acceptable mono sound.
--Kevin Mulhall