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S E R I E S : " W E S T " | 2 0 1 7

The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film Seven Samurai (itself initially released in the United States as The Magnificent Seven). The ensemble cast includes Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn, and Horst Buchholz, as a group of seven gunfighters, and Eli Wallach as their primary antagonist. The seven title characters are hired to protect a small village in Mexico from a group of marauding bandits led by Wallach.
The film has grown dramatically in esteem since its release, in no small part due to its cast (several of whom were to go on to become superstars over the decade following its release) and its music score, but also due to the quality of the script. "The Magnificent Seven transplants Seven Samurai into the Old West with a terrific cast of Hollywood stars—without losing any of the story's thematic richness." It is the second most-shown film in U.S. television history, behind only The Wizard of Oz. The movie's score has frequently been quoted in the media and popular culture. Starting in 1963, the theme was used in commercials in the U.S. for Marlboro cigarettes for many years.
“In WEST, I am asking you to witness my own personal souring of the American Dream as well as a deeper glimpse of my lifelong obsession with the American Southwest, the Glory Days of Los Angeles, the faded Hollywood Star, the lost nations, the Jokers, the Poet, the Thief, the lone Cowboy out riding fences.” - Young