Stars : Yul Brynner, Steve Mcqueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Eli Wallach, Robert Vaughn & Horst Bucholz
Watch on : Prime Video
Some films become classics of their genre and this ranks as one of the best in Westerns that were followed by many others including the ‘Clint Eastwood’ series later. For those watching it for the first time, the plot and the rugged locales for this action-packed film would seem familiar. That’s it became the inspiration for at least two Indian movies that explored and adapted it’s rustic feel and the tough terrain for a powerful tale of revenge.
The first Hindi movie that virtually lifted it’s story was the brilliant ‘Khote Sikkey’ (1974) which starred Feroz Khan as a kind of ‘Lone Ranger’ with a pack of second-string actors, each making an impact and the well-made film was a fairly successful. However, it was the other, Ramesh Sippy’s magnum opus ‘Sholay’ (1975) that broke all box-office records and became a all time cult film for its action, script, dialogues & huge ensemble star-cast in memorable roles. Not acknowledging it in their recent bio-series ‘Angry Young Men’ acclaimed script writers of ‘Sholay’, Salim-Javed must’ve been inspired by this classic !
Having said that, lets come to the original ‘Magnificent 7’ that has a stunning line-up of great action stars coming together (you’ll find three actors who were in vintage war film ‘The Great Escape’). This is a simple tale of hard working farmers in a remote Mexican village who are tormented by a band of ruthless bandits led by the cunning Calvera (played superbly by Eli Wallach) who steal their food, burn homes and kill men offering any resistance. The village folk have no means except to suffer being looted all the time.
Out of desperation the village wise old man advises them to find ways to fight back and three farmers visit nearby town for help. They meet Chris an experienced gunslinger, who then forms a team with six other men in order to save the village from the bandits and Calvera’s domination.
However, each of the seven men have their own backgrounds and reasons for joining forces for this cause. They reveal their inner conflicts and the streak of humanity that exists in the gunmen. Being a cult Western, there are no item numbers like Helen’s ‘Mehbooba Mehbooba..’ or cameo-characters such as ‘Basanti’, ‘Chacha’, ‘Jailor’ & ‘Chachi’ and Chief Calvera isn’t quite as menacing as ‘Gabbar Singh’.
Such was the success of this movie in it’s time that a sequel ‘Return of the Seven’ was later made and another adaptation in 2016 with a star cast led by ‘Denzil Washington’. We’ve all seen ‘Sholay’ and know the crispy dialogues & crunch lines by heart. Now catch the American ‘Sholay’ of the 60s for its originality and powerful actors from that era led by the magnificent Yul Brynner !
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