The Magnificent Seven

"They were seven…and they fought like seven hundred!"

1960 2h 8m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.7

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 2,064🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes●74Metacritic★7.7IMDB · 108,612

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An oppressed Mexican peasant village hires seven gunfighters to help defend their homes.

“They were seven…and they fought like seven hundred!”

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Cast

Yul Brynner
Chris Adams
Eli Wallach
Calvera
Steve McQueen
Vin
Charles Bronson
Bernardo O'Reilly
Robert Vaughn
Lee
Brad Dexter
Harry Luck
James Coburn
Britt
Horst Buchholz
Chico

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Sturges
Writers: William Roberts, Walter Bernstein, Walter Newman
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 9.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

66 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Magnificent Seven Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Sturges, shot by Charles Lang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ferris Webster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Sturges directs. Charles Lang behind the camera. Elmer Bernstein scores. Ferris Webster cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 9.8× over at the box office.
366 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
5Part of the "The Magnificent Seven Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by John Sturges, shot by Charles Lang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Elmer Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Ferris Webster shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Yul Brynner and Eli Wallach and Steve McQueen carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "They were seven…and they fought like seven hundred!".
11IMDB entry: tt0054047 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 11 themes, including "friendship", "gunslinger", "village", "horse".
13Released under 22 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Lang
Original score: Elmer Bernstein
Editing: Ferris Webster
Costume design: Bert Henrikson
Makeup / hair: Emile LaVigne
Sound: Rafael Ruiz Esparza
Stunt coordinator: Henry Wills
Runtime: 128 min · 2h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $19,500,000
Return: 975% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 74/100
IMDB rating: 7.7/10 · 108,612 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 6 nominations total

Part of

The Magnificent Seven Collection

The adventures of the Magnificent Seven.

Also by

John Sturges

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2018-12-22
★ 8/10
I have been offered a lot for my work, but never everything A vile bandit constantly raids a small Mexican village and pilfers what he so wants. Finally having enough, and not wanting to relocate, the villagers set about recruiting some hired guns to finally rid themselves of the dastardly Calvera. As most people now know, The Magnificent Seven is of course a remake of Akira Kurosawa's immense and hugely influential picture, Shichinin no samurai. Adhering closely to Kurosawa's themes, director John Sturges has crafted a classic in its own right, one that has become something of a Bank Holiday staple for TV schedulers. When you break it down for scrutiny, the story is purely a very ordinary one, but as each archetype character and set up arrives, it becomes evident that it's a story rich in texture, all framed marvellously in a Western setting. Sturges for sure knew how to direct ensemble casts, he would after all go on to direct the fantastic 1963, ultimate holiday movie, The Great Escape. Here he is excellently served by a faultless cast, though Yul Brynner was the only major name of note, the likes of Steve McQueen (owning the movie), Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn and James Coburn would go on to become part of cinematic macho culture, with each actor vying for the right to own the movie proving to be a bonus trump card for this rousing and much loved picture. Even the score has slipped nicely into popular culture, Elmer Bernstein's music having now become recognisable to even the most youthful of movie fans ears. Unashamedly macho, but certainly delightful for the female viewers as well, The Magnificent Seven is an across the board delight for almost everyone who enjoys the escapism of film. Perhaps the last word should rest with Kurosawa himself, who after viewing John Sturges' picture was moved to present him with a Samurai Sword in recognition of the great film he had crafted, enough said there I feel. 9/10
CinemaSerf2022-12-28
★ 7/10
From the opening bars of Elmer Bernstein's superb score you just know that this is going to be a good film... Add the ensemble of Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Yul Brynner and a superb Eli Wallach and it is a certainty. This version of Kurosawa's 1954 story tells of a group of put-upon villagers who set out to recruit some hired guns to help them fend off a gang of murderous marauders. There is some fairly grand cinematography; strong performances from all including Robert Vaughn as the neurotic cowardly "Lee" and Horst Buchholz as newbie "Chico" that provides for a great, action-packed Western adventure movie with more than it's fair share of twists and turns, some good tight dialogue/direction and Wallach is really entertaining, if not especially menacing, as "Calvera". The local population put up some good performances too and although it lacks the intensity and grittiness of "Seven Samurai" I think it certainly holds it's own as a classic piece of entertainment.
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-01-11
★ 9/10
A classic western in its own right. When I decided to see this film, I did so because of its enormous popularity in European lands, and not because of its particularly good reputation. For example, I knew that my father had seen this film in a theater in Luanda, Angola, in the years when it was released in theaters (back when Angola was not an independent country). Only later, when I read a little about it, did I discover that the film is a remake, an adaptation for a western of the famous film “Seven Samurai”, directed by Akira Kurosawa, which I saw before and which I thought was a bit overrated. And of course, it's one of those pure classic US westerns, not a western-spaghetti. The script maintains the structure of Kurosawa's film, adapted to Northern Mexico: a village of peaceful peasants, often pillaged by a band of malefactors, who hire a small group of seven honorable gunmen to help them defend themselves. However, this film corrects several of the “errors” that I pointed out to the original Japanese film: first, it is much shorter and summarizes the facts more to the essentials, giving us a less dull and dense narrative, more efficient to entertain us. To do so, the plot focuses on finding the best men for the job and, then, on the adventures to defend the village. It remains, however, a predictable film: we know that, in the end, the heroes will save the day, albeit with a few brave deaths in the final body count. This is certainly the greatest film of Yul Brynner's career. He was already a renowned actor and had a strong influence on the casting, ending up putting together a kind of “dream team” of incredible action actors. And he himself made an impactful and remarkable performance. Steve McQueen also deserves mention, along with James Coburn, both of whom will meet again in “Great Escape”, shortly afterward. Charles Bronson and Horst Buchholz also do a very good job and make good use of the opportunity to develop their careers. In a more discreet register, Robert Vaughn and Brad Dexter help compose the seven heroes. Eli Wallach, in the role of the villain, cannot be forgotten for the quality of the work he offers us, and for the charisma that come with him. Technically, the film does not present great values to consider. Much of what we see was standard US cinema in the 1960s: the cinematography is good, quite colorful and well lit, but not particularly notable, and the sets and costumes are relatively good, from an aesthetic point of view. The recreation of the historical era fails a little: set around 1865-1870, the film does, however, have several props and clothing that are distinctly later by several decades. They look good, but they are not exact. However, this film makes up for it with good editing, a very pleasant rhythm, good special and sound effects and an excellent soundtrack, with a pleasantly epic and heroic nature, signed by Elmer Bernstein.