Although I have not yet seen this ‘Mag. 7’ (I have the Bluray pre-ordered on ‘Amazon.Uk’), I am - going by the reviews - of the opinion, that ‘Political Correctness’ will also be in my thoughts, when I do watch it…but, I could be wrong.
Personally, I’m sick to death of ‘Society’ being dictated to by ‘PC’ (Political Crap). It’s bad enough that this PC ‘brain-washing’ garbage is being forced on everyone, in their daily lives…
…for this form of ‘dictatorship’ to be transported over into films, is blimmin’ annoying.
Amazing to think that - just a few short years ago - ‘freedom of speech’ meant something.
Now, in the present day, it is becoming more and more difficult to hold on to any opinion, point of view, or thought, without it not being classified as ‘Hate Crime’.
The Magnificent 7 is not a message movie, so in that aspect there’s nothing to worry about. What I meant to say is that it’s obviously presented as a multicultural western: a black man (a former slave) as the leader of the 7 and furthermore as members a Southerner, a Native American, a Mexican, a Korean … I know the West was colorful, but I don’t think that was the reason for this type of casting. But I didn’t really mind. The film is PC but it doesn’t try to impose any ideas of force them on anyone.
Cheers for that, sherpschutter! Good of you to tell me that.
I must admit, that I am looking forward to getting the ‘Amazon.uk’ limited edition package (released on January 23rd); but - as the Indian said to the white settler - “I do have my reservations”.
However, being a fan of the original 1960, John Sturges film, I don’t think that any ‘modern day’ version will even come close to Brynner, McQueen, Bronson, Coburn, Vaughan, Dexter, Buckholtz…and - of course - the late, great Eli Wallach.
Also, I somehow doubt that the new ‘Mag. 7’ theme, by the late James Horner, will even come close to the original, by the unforgettable, Elmer Bernstein.
What a mess this was, it should have been called “The Magnificent Mediocre Seven”… Having seen both ‘( Seven Samurai )’ and the original classic '( The Magnificent Seven )’ i knew that this version from Antoine Fuqua had no chance for me. Right from the very beginning you more or less know where each scene is going to go and it made the film predictable as hell with every cliché in the book thrown in for good measure. Annnnnnnnnnnnd!.. to make matters worse, the final showdown was laughable- it was so over the top and overlong.
I think the story of The More or Less Mediocre 7 was that 7 more or less boring guys help a group of boring and faceless farmers against a boring tycoon and his bunch of faceless and boring gunslingers. The most interesting character is that of the fighting settler girl, only that Fuqua isn’t very interested in her role either.
Nonetheless the film is a little bit more entertaining than this extremely objective synopsis might suggest. But it is a missed opportunity though, cause Mag 7 is the stuff ideal for a remake (or better another sequel).
Wrong director I guess, Fuqua is my man for missed opportunities.
Directed by Don Siegel (Dirty Harry), this was John Wayne’s last film, and - I believe - one of the finest Westerns ever made.
The ‘Duke’ plays an ageing gunfighter, who is diagnosed with Cancer, but decides to go out in style.
I saw this, at the cinema, in 1976, and, even then, I found it to be a poignant, heart-felt film…even more poignant when you realise that, in real life, John Wayne was really struggling with Cancer.
With a film score by the ever-excellent, Elmer Bernstein; and a cast of Hollywood stalwarts such as James Stewart, Richard Boone, Lauren Bacall, Henry Morgan, the late (only last year) Hugh O’Brien, Scatman Crowthers, and an early film appearance from Ron Howard, this film has never failed to induce anything but strong emotions within myself.
Yes, a missed opportunity with her character,… she was just ‘more or less’ a sexual object for us to ogle over , I must admit though, she was very pretty.
Finally got around to watching The Hateful Eight and I’m glad to say I was pleasantly surprised. It has its faults for sure, foremost among them being the introduction of an ill advised and jarring voice over narration for the middle section flashback, but on the whole I enjoyed it more than any of his films since Kill Bill so that’s quite a plus. Really liked Morricone’s score too. A very nice change to have an original soundtrack for a QT film.
The film could have been a lot better. Started off good but I became pretty bored once Maureen O’Hara’s character was introduced. Not a fan of hers. Nevertheless, it was interesting for a 50s western since the Indians turn out to be the good guys.
Hadn’t watched it in quite a few years and i’de even forgotten that ‘Jon Voight’ was in it. This is a good dark western with fine acting from ‘James Garner’ and good supporting cast- it could have used a little bit more action for my liking but still, it’s well made and I really like the score.
Not just another movie about the famous gunfight that took place on October 26, 1881, at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Doc tells the familiar story in revisionist terms and its intentions are elucidated, in unequivocal fashion, by the text on the movie poster: “For the past 90 years these three people have been heroes. Until now!” These three people are of course Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and Kate Elder (‘big Nose Kate’) and in the course of this movie their heroism is debunked.
We’re far - very far - removed from the image created by directors like John Ford (My Darling Clementine, 1948) or John Sturges (The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, 1955), but there are some similarities to Sturges’ sequel to his own classic, the more reflective Hour of the Gun (1967). The western town is shown as a chaotic, dirty place, its inhabitants undisciplined, often drunk and Earp is more a dirty politician here than a man with a mission. Doc Holliday is visiting China men for herbs and taking laudanum to fight his disease.
This is an interesting movie, especially for western scholars, but fans of the genre looking for an action-packed adventurous western in the style of Tombstone (or any other recent movie dealing with the famous gunfight) will be disappointed. The film does of course end with the gunfight, and the sequence is quite sudden, in fact so sudden and brief that its impact (like the rest of the movie it’s pretty ‘dirty’) is diminished. As said an interesting watch, but I had not seen it before and I don’t think I’ll watch it again soon.
It’s a pretentious message film filled with leaden dialogues and is of course without any heroes. The gunfight is more a massacre than a duel. Yes, extremely revisionist, made in a time when revisionism was chic. Still, I like it. 6/10
I will be watching some of the SWs I haven’t seen before, hoping to find new favourite, not just the merely watchable ones that I am mostly left with these days
I have chosen the films that I have added on watchlist because I’ve heard somewhere something positive or intriguing about it.
So let’s begin…
MOVIE #1: El Rojo (1966, Leopoldo Savona)
It’s not this one. The only thing that sticks from this movie is that weird masked gunfighter and spooky ending he provides, which is completely out of the place from the rest of the film.
Once you’ve seen the front runners and the runner ups, it’s quite difficult to find a real gem. I have been doing a lot of little known genre entries lately, and most of them were forgettable … so forgettable that I tend to forget what they were about rather quickly. A few days ago somebody mentioned a title on Facebook that seemed to ring a bell, but I had to check my own review written only 12 months ago to know what the whole thing was about.
@scherp: Yes, that happens to me a lot too. I think it would be interesting to see how much we can say about some movie we’ve seen (not SO long ago) only by title (how much we remember without help). Maybe we can make it a game (a topic), it could be fun
MOVIE #2: A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die (1968, Franco Giraldi)
This somber western, with good cast and solid story is definitely better than movie #1, but alltogether was not very dynamic and satisfying experience to me. What will I remember: Robert Ryan appears late in the movie, but from there pretty much takes things over in a very fine perfomance.
It’s a dirty, down-right bastard, sonavabitch version of the ‘O.K. Coral’ legend.
It has great performances from Stacy Keach, Faye Dunaway, and Harris Yullin.
It also has some magnificent Almeria shots; and - if you opt for the version that ‘sherp.’ mentioned - then you will have loads of extras, plus an audio comm. that details both the film and real events.
Having said all that, if you like revisionist films…the kind that are not afraid to deal with usurping the legend, then go to ‘Doc’.
It’s a different view - especially when compared to the ‘myth’.
, I must admit though, she was very pretty.
