The Magnificent Seven

A classic in its own right, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is a zesty, action-packed American version of the 1954 Japanese classic THE SEVEN SAMURAI by Akira Kurosawa. Yul Brynner portrays a mercenary gun-for-hire who is convinced to protect an impoverished Mexican farming village from a predatory bandit (Eli Wallach). Brynner rounds up six fellow "soldiers of fortune," portrayed by a mesmerizing cast (Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Horst Buchholz, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn and Brad Dexter), to train the villagers to assist them in resisting the murderous, vicious bandits during their annual "visit." Who are the winners? As in Kurosawa's masterpiece: "The farmers...they always win." Produced and directed by John Sturges. The celebrated music score is by Elmer Bernstein.