The Magnificent Seven / The Big Country / The Long Riders

Features the Western classics THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, THE BIG COUNTRY and THE LONG RIDERS.


THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN – John Sturges's remake of Akira Kurosawa's classic THE SEVEN SAMURAI has become an influential film in its own right. A small farming Mexican village that makes involuntary donations of its harvest to a gang of bandits led by Calvera (Eli Wallach) decides to hire a group of professional gunmen, headed by gunslinger-for-hire Chris (Yul Brynner), to protect them. Despite the meagre pay, Chris and Vin (Steve McQueen) sign on after the Mexicans see them face down some racist thugs. Chris begins to pick up other gunmen, including Bernardo (Charles Bronson), Lee (Robert Vaughan), Britt (James Coburn), Harry (Brad Dexter), and aspiring gunslinger Chico (Horst Buchholz), as they ride back to the village. The Mexicans, who are at first ambivalent about having gunmen hanging around their town, finally let down their guard and allow their visitors to teach them how to shoot and how to best reconfigure the town to defend against Calvera. When the bandits return, they find harvesting the crops a little more challenging.


THE BIG COUNTRY - Wyler's powerful Western covers a lot of territory with Gregory Peck a fish out of water as a sea captain who travels west to marry and settle, but finds himself in the middle of a bitter dispute over water rights and a jealous clash with the ranch foreman (Charlton Heston). He also discovers his fiancee isn't who he imagined and finds true romance with the local schoolmistress (Jean Simmons). Folk singer Burl Ives surprised audiences with his performance which garnered him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.


THE LONG RIDERS- This violent Western follows four sets of brothers--the Youngers, the Jameses, the Millers, and the Fords--who band together for a crime spree across Missouri. Law enforcers, meanwhile, prove inept in their attempts to apprehend the renegade cowboys, who are busy arguing among themselves. Director Walter Hill's film features four groups of real-life brothers--the Keaches, the Carradines, the Quaids, and the Guests.