THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: John Sturges
Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach,
Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Horst Buchholz,
Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, Whit Bissell
An impoverished Mexican village hires a band of gunfighters to help them fight off an outlaw gang led by Eli Wallach. A western remake of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai", and if there's no way it can equal the artistry of the original, it's still a pretty good movie. Brynner's the nominal star, but your attention keeps drifting to the supporting cast, especially McQueen, Coburn and Bronson, a few years before they made the A list. Elmer Bernstein's iconic theme would gain universal recognition in a long-running series of commercials for Marlboro cigarettes.
Eli Wallach
(1915-2014)
