Gunslingers in a 4K Duel: The Magnificent Seven in a Home Cinema Review
Horst Buchholz vs. Eli Wallach: The star-studded classic has been elaborately restored. Can the myth hold its own against Kurosawa's original?
(Image: The Mirisch Company / Alpha)
It is a special event for local Western fans and collectors: Capelight Pictures has released one of the most influential classics in film history on Ultra HD Blu-ray for the first time in Germany. John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven from 1960 is a work that has lost none of its radiance over the decades, as the grand remake by Antoine Fuqua in 2016 amply demonstrated. But while the new film primarily served modern action conventions, the original remains a fascinating document of the transition from classic Hollywood cinema to the era of great ensemble films.
The release now offers the opportunity to delve deeply into the restoration of this masterpiece, which not only shaped a genre but also bridged the gap between Eastern and Western film philosophies.
In this review of the new restoration, we will discuss the differences from the original "The Seven Samurai" by Akira Kurosawa and examine the film's great legacy, which spawned numerous sequels in Hollywood and influenced popular culture from Westworld to Terminator and even Star Wars. Before we compare the audio and video quality of the Blu-ray Ultra HD (UHD) to previous Blu-ray discs and the streaming version on the following pages, we will discuss the differences in content from the Japanese original and its cultural impact.
(Image:Â The Mirisch Company / Alpha)
A Village Between Despair and Resistance
The story takes us to a remote, impoverished Mexican village that has long suffered under the cruel raids of the bandit leader Calvera, masterfully and ruthlessly embodied by Eli Wallach. Wallach would later outshine Clint Eastwood and Lee van Cleef in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". In any case, Calvera and his heavily armed henchmen regularly plunder the villagers down to their last shirt, driving the community to the brink of physical and moral abyss. In their desperation, the farmers devise a desperate plan: they will no longer surrender without a fight. They gather their meager savings and set out in search of professional fighters willing to risk their lives for a pittance.
On their quest, they encounter Chris Adams (Yul Brynner), a taciturn gunslinger dressed in black. He recognizes the farmers' hopelessness, but also their growing determination. Chris begins to gather a team around him that is as heterogeneous as it is formidable. He is joined by six other men, all with their own, often dark, motives for this seemingly suicidal mission. There is his loyal friend Harry (Brad Dexter), the conflicted Vin (Steve McQueen), who hides his gambling addiction and inner turmoil behind a mask of coolness, the elegant but inwardly broken Lee (Robert Vaughn), the taciturn Bernardo (Charles Bronson), who shows a surprisingly gentle side, the knife-wielding specialist Britt (James Coburn), and finally the young, impetuous Chico (Horst Buchholz), who still has to fight for his place in this world. Together, they fortify the village, train the farmers, and prepare for the final confrontation with Calvera, which will forever change the fate of all involved.
