The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 American western film directed by John Sturges. It is a western-style remake based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 Japanese film Seven Samurai. The film stars Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, and Horst Buchholz who play a group of seven American gunmen who are hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding Mexican bandits. The film’s musical score was composed by Elmer Bernstein.
A Mexican village is periodically raided by bandits led by Calvera (Eli Wallach). As he and his men rode away from their latest visit, Calvera had promised to return for more booty and loot the village again. Desperate to prevent this, the leaders of the village travel to a town just inside the American border to buy weapons with which to defend themselves. While there, they approach a veteran gunslinger, Chris (Yul Brynner). He suggests that they hire more gunfighters for their defense instead, stating that such men would be cheaper than guns and ammunition. They ask him to lead them, but Chris turns this down, telling them that a single man is not enough. They keep asking him, and then he finally agrees. Chris recruits six other fighting men, even though the pay offered is not very much.
First to answer the call is the hotheaded, inexperienced Chico (Horst Buchholz), but he is rejected. Harry Luck (Brad Dexter), an old friend of Chris, joins because he believes Chris is looking for treasure. Vin (Steve McQueen) signs on after going broke from gambling. Other recruits include Bernardo O’Reilly (Charles Bronson), a gunfighter of Irish-Mexican heritage who is also broke, cowpuncher Britt (James Coburn), fast and deadly with his switchblade, and Lee (Robert Vaughn), who is on the run and needs someplace to lie low until things cool down. Chico trails the group as they ride south and is eventually allowed to join them.
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