The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Timing: 2:7 (127 min)

7.506/10
1964

7.689/10
20145

7.7/10
110000

All about film

Video 2

Photo 70

Actors and characters

Release date

1960-10-12

Country

United States

Production

United Artists, Alpha Productions, The Mirisch Company

Genre

Action, Adventure, Western, Drama

Budget

$2 000 000

Revenue

$4 905 000

Website

Director

John Sturges

Actors

Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn, Horst Buchholz, Jorge Martínez de Hoyos, Vladimir Sokoloff
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

John Sturges, Walter Mirisch

Operator

Charles Lang

Composer

Elmer Bernstein

Artist

Audition

Editing

Ferris Webster, Allen K. Wood
All team (37)

• Mexican officials granted permission to film on the condition that the peasants in the film were required to wear clean white shirts. They also demanded that screenwriter Walter Newman travel to the filming location in advance to familiarize himself with the life of Mexican farmers, but Newman refused. William Roberts made changes to the script that were significant enough for him to receive a credit as a co-writer, however, Newman did not want to be a “co-author” of his script and ultimately removed his name from the credits altogether.
• The film's cast was assembled very quickly in order to complete casting before the next actors' strike.
• Gene Wilder auditioned for the role of Vin.
• Sterling Hayden was initially cast as Britt, but for an unknown reason, he was unable to film. James Coburn suggested James Coburn for the role of Britt – they had been friends with Coburn since school. Coburn was a big fan of the film “Seven Samurai” (1954) and particularly liked the samurai Kyuzo, whose analogue in “The Magnificent Seven” was precisely the role of Britt.
• Steve McQueen really wanted to star in this film, but he was not released from filming the television series “Wanted: Dead or Alive” (1958). McQueen, however, crashed a car and, pretending to be sick, secretly filmed in “The Magnificent Seven” without the television studio’s knowledge.
• The future famous composer John Williams participated in recording the music for this film – he played the piano in the orchestra.
• On the set of the film, Yul Brynner celebrated his wedding with Doris Kleiner.
• Brynner, who was shorter in stature than Steve McQueen, meticulously ensured he appeared taller in scenes with McQueen. To achieve this, a small mound of earth was piled up where Brynner was supposed to stand. McQueen, passing by these mounds, would deliberately stomp them down out of spite. Brynner and McQueen constantly competed on screen: McQueen would intentionally 'pull the blanket over himself,' shifting his hat to the back of his head or onto the bridge of his nose, or doing something else unnecessary but clearly visible to the camera. This greatly irritated Brynner, and he even hired a special assistant to count how many times McQueen needlessly adjusted his hat during filming.
• The film ranks second in attendance among all foreign films released in Soviet cinemas.
• In order to obtain permission to film in Mexico, the filmmakers had to make some changes to the script. In its original version, as in Kurosawa's film, the elder immediately suggested that the peasants hire defenders, but this moment did not appeal to Mexican officials – in their opinion, it created the impression that Mexicans could not defend themselves. As a result, in the film, the village elder sends the peasants across the border with the task of buying weapons.
• In "The Magnificent Seven", the character of Chico combines traits of two characters from the film "Seven Samurai" (1954) – the young samurai Katsushiro Okamoto and the impostor samurai Kikuchiyo. Even the names are chosen accordingly. Kikuchiyo means 'boy,' and he was nicknamed that because he presented the samurai with documents stating he was 13 years old. Chico, translated from Spanish, also means 'boy,' and he is the youngest of the seven.
• An important scene from "Seven Samurai" (1954), in which the peasants kill a captured bandit, is completely omitted from the plot of "The Magnificent Seven."
• Firearms were traditionally considered unacceptable for samurai, and in "Seven Samurai" (1954) they were used only by bandits. In "The Magnificent Seven," this motif is completely excluded by moving the action to the late 19th century.
• In "Seven Samurai" (1954), none of the bandits are named, while in "The Magnificent Seven," the role of Calvera, important to the film, appears.
• Many moments from the film were parodied in John Landis's comedy "¡Three Amigos!" (1986). Elmer Bernstein composed the music for this film, as he did for "The Magnificent Seven."
• The image of Brynner's hero was also humorously refracted in the science fiction novel by the Strugatsky brothers, “Expedition to Hell,” where the bald captain of space pirates, Two-Headed Yul, operates, ultimately being reformed into a good man.
• Robert Vaughn, who played the role of Lee in the film, also played Judge Oren Travis in the television series “The Magnificent Seven” (1998-2000).
• On July 13, 1962, Nikita Khrushchev, in a conversation with American journalists, criticized the film: “I watched the movie ‘The Magnificent Seven.’ The actors in it play wonderfully. We released it on the screen and received many reprimands for it. Teachers spoke out in our press. A critical article was published titled ‘A Failing Grade for the Seven.’ This article stated that the film had a bad effect on the upbringing of young people. I agree with the teachers. You Americans often have such films on the screens where people beat each other’s faces, torture, and kill people, and there is a lot of perversion in the films. You consider this interesting. For us, the preaching of such phenomena is harmful…”. Naturally, the Soviet press held the same point of view.
• In the final scene of the film, three boys come to Bernardo’s grave, lay flowers, and make the sign of the cross. Two do it like Catholics – from left to right. One, the one in the center, – from right to left, like an Orthodox Christian.
• Filming took place in the USA and Mexico from March 1st to April 1960.
• To obtain permission to film in Mexico, the filmmakers had to make some changes to the script. In its initial version, like in Kurosawa’s film, the elder immediately suggested the peasants hire protectors, but Mexican officials disliked this moment – in their opinion, it created the impression that Mexicans couldn’t defend themselves.