Vin: I guess right about now you kinda wish you'd given your crops to Calvera, huh?
Hilario: Yes. And no. Both at the same time. Yes, when I think of what he might do. No, when I remember the feeling in my chest this morning as I saw him running away — from us. That's a feeling worth dying for. Have you ever... felt something like that?
Vin: Not for a long, long time. I, uh, I envy you.
Mexican villagers, plagued by a band of bandits, send a few of their number north to the border, to buy guns so they can defend themselves. They end up hiring seven gunmen to help them instead.The Magnificent Seven is a western retelling (in both senses of the term) of The Seven Samurai (with a brilliant and memorable score, to boot). This film has so much testosterone that a girl risks getting pregnant just by watching it. It is widely considered one of the last great westerns.
This film provides examples of:
Accidental Aiming Skills — Britt kills a bandit fleeing on horseback with a single rifle shot from a long distance. When Chico praises it as the best shot he's ever seen, Britt replies that it was the worst - he was aiming for the horse.
Also subverted, because the reason that he was aiming at the horse is that they wanted to take one of the bandits alive so they could question him about how strong the bandit force really was.
Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene — Vin and Hilario having the page quote conversation in the middle of a firefight. Also Lee's scene in which he wakes from a nightmare and talks about losing his nerve.
Adaptation Expansion — Regarding Calvera, given that the bandits' leader is given zero characterization in Seven Samurai, and only gets about five minutes of total screen time.
Horst Bucholz didn't become an A-list star in America, but he did become exceptionally popular in European cinema, meaning poor Brad Dexter was the only member of the main cast who didn't become a big star in some way.
Batman Cold Open — A Western variation (escorting a dead Indian to a cemetery whilst under fire) of the Batman Cold Open Kambei undergoes in Kurosawa's original. It establishes not only Chris and Vin's creds as awesome gunslingers, but also solidifies their respect for each other.
Bittersweet Ending — The bandits are all dead, but so are four of the seven. One of the survivors gives up on adventure, while the other two ride off to a future without prospects. "The old man was right. Only the farmers won. We lost. We'll always lose."
This is directly taken from The Seven Samurai film from which The Magnificent Seven was based. There it explains why the seventh member tries so hard to be a Samurai, constantly boasting and showing off before tearfully admitting he came from a family of selfish farmers.
Call to Agriculture — Chico, in spite of explicitly stating in an earlier scene that he had no intention of settling down.
Catapult Nightmare — Lee scrambles across the room in a panic when he awakens from a nightmare.
Actor Eli Wallach, who delivers a great performance as the bandit leader, Calvera, remarked that if he'd have heard Elmer's music while they were filming the movie, he'd have ridden his horse better!
Played straight: Actually not terrible compared to some westerns, but several characters make shots on the run, shoot guns out of hands, etc.
Averted: Britt, acknowledged to be the best with a gun, takes several seconds to line up a shot that, while not point blank, isn't terribly long range either, and he still claims to have missed his target (whether or not he actually did is debatable).
My Friends... and Zoidberg — The titular Seven are six actors who became major stars... and Brad Dexter. (Horst Bucholz had a huge career in Germany.)
Noodle Incident — Vin answers the question in Evil Cannot Comprehend Good above with a story about this man he witnessed jumping buck naked into a patch of cactus. "He said it seemed like a good idea at the time."
Not Even Bothering with the Accent — Yul Brynner (a Russian) and Horst Buchholz (a German) both sport their natural accents. Hilariously, the film tries to Handwave this by making Brynner's character a Cajun and Buchholz's a Mexican.
Pyrrhic Victory — Lampshaded, as with the original film, with the whole "only the farmers won" speech.
The Quiet One — Two of them. James Coburn's character 'Britt' (the knife-thrower), with 11 lines total during the 128 minute-long film; and Robert Vaughn's 'Lee' (the gambler), who has a whopping 16 lines.
Britt's lines also tend to be short. In his introductory scene, he only speaks five words.
Redemption Equals Death — Played straight with both Lee and Harry. Lee, who has been struggling with his cowardice throughout the whole movie, is shot to death five seconds after saving a group of villagers. Harry dies saving a cornered Chris from being killed.
Spared by the Adaptation — The Village Elder, who died in Kurosawa's film. Chico is half an example, as a composite of Kikuchiyo (who died) and Katsushiro (who survived).
You could make an argument for everyone (except Chico). The point being that everyone else on the crew has seen so much in their day it takes a lot to make them shocked, surprised, hurt, etc.
Stop Helping Me! — Bernardo's Instant Fanclub follow him everywhere trying to be useful; in the end they get him killed when they distract him during a gunfight.
, to boot). This film has so much testosterone that a girl risks getting pregnant just by watching it. It is widely considered one of the last great westerns.
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