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It's not often some one can take a idea and re-set the location and still make it more powerful.This is such a case.Originally a Japanese Samurai movie called 7 Samurai,its been re-done to the old west of the US and peasant farm villages of Mexico. Sadly a by product of the movies music and character formed the bases of"the Marlboro man"cigarette commercials of the 60's and 70's.
The movie opens in a poor farming village in Mexico where a band of bandits come to rob whenever they want to.The bandits are led by that GREAT Jewish actor from Bronx Eli Wallach as Calvera,6 years before he played the ugly in the good the bad and the ugly.This film was released in 1960 and runs 128 minutes while the G&B&U came out in 1966.Anyway,the farmers decide to go north to the US and buy guns to fight back.In Dodge city they witness 2 gunman drive a hurst to bury and indian on boot hill. They would be Yul Brynner as Chris and Steve McQueen as Vin Tanner and they shoot a few bad guys to get the indian up the hill.So impressed are the farmers that they ask Chris to get them guns.Chris tells them men today are cheaper than guns.The west is getting"civilized "and there really isn't much work for his kind anymore.So he and Vin recruit 4 more,Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly,Robert Vaughn as Lee,Brad Dexter as Harry Luck and James Coburn as Britt .There are 4 good scenes showing how Chris recruits them.As Chris tells the farmers everyone up here has a gun.They wear it like they wear their pants,ah but good gun man are something else. There's a young hi strug kid who wants to join them,Horst Buchholz as Chico,but at first Chris thinks he too hot headed but later on the way to Mexico he relents and lets him come along.
Thats about 1/3 the picture then the fun REALLY begins.Only 3 of the 7 survive,but Calvera and his gang of thugs doesn't.As the old man says at the ending,only the farmers have won.BEST western of all time even as a retold Japanese Samurai movie.Good,bad,honor,redemption,everything a western MUST be.Trailer URL below the pix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWIlGnJDRzw
The movie opens in a poor farming village in Mexico where a band of bandits come to rob whenever they want to.The bandits are led by that GREAT Jewish actor from Bronx Eli Wallach as Calvera,6 years before he played the ugly in the good the bad and the ugly.This film was released in 1960 and runs 128 minutes while the G&B&U came out in 1966.Anyway,the farmers decide to go north to the US and buy guns to fight back.In Dodge city they witness 2 gunman drive a hurst to bury and indian on boot hill. They would be Yul Brynner as Chris and Steve McQueen as Vin Tanner and they shoot a few bad guys to get the indian up the hill.So impressed are the farmers that they ask Chris to get them guns.Chris tells them men today are cheaper than guns.The west is getting"civilized "and there really isn't much work for his kind anymore.So he and Vin recruit 4 more,Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly,Robert Vaughn as Lee,Brad Dexter as Harry Luck and James Coburn as Britt .There are 4 good scenes showing how Chris recruits them.As Chris tells the farmers everyone up here has a gun.They wear it like they wear their pants,ah but good gun man are something else. There's a young hi strug kid who wants to join them,Horst Buchholz as Chico,but at first Chris thinks he too hot headed but later on the way to Mexico he relents and lets him come along.
Thats about 1/3 the picture then the fun REALLY begins.Only 3 of the 7 survive,but Calvera and his gang of thugs doesn't.As the old man says at the ending,only the farmers have won.BEST western of all time even as a retold Japanese Samurai movie.Good,bad,honor,redemption,everything a western MUST be.Trailer URL below the pix
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