The Magnificent Seven [DVD] [2016]

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk. Starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett and Peter Sarsgard. Music is by Simon Franglen (also working from a James Horner template) and cinematography by Mauro Fiore. Seven gunmen band together to aid the town of Rose Creek whose inhabitants are being driven out by ruthless capitalist Bartholomew Bogue. We are now in an age of film making where "tagged classics" are no longer sacrosanct. Any number of these "tagged classics" have been and will become viable for remake - reboot - reimaging for newer audiences. It's here, it happens and really there's nothing we can do about it but moan amongst ourselves. John Sturges' 1960 The Magnificent Seven (itself a remake of Kurosawa pic Yojimbo) is a much loved film, and not just in Western lovers circles, it's a film that non Western fans are known to enjoy - and rightly so, it deserves its place as a "tagged classic" and still enthrals over 50 years since its release. So the big studio big wigs and Antoine Fuqua were taking a major gamble remaking a classic remake with their own remake! Undeniably the shadows loom large over the 2016 version, so much weight of expectation, in fact to some it was a stinker of a film even before it was released! Well, as those who have seen it will attest, both the fans and the dissenters, it hasn't raised the bar for the "Seven" formula, but, and this is very key here, the makers wasn't setting out to make a film that down the line would be a perceived a "tagged classic", and this is evident in the ream of extras available on the Blu-ray releases. They achieved what they set out to do, to make a blunderbuss Oater for the modern era to sample, and they have done it with much love, much cool and lashings of technical greatness. Add in a cast clearly enjoying themselves and not letting anyone down, and it's a tasty plate of beans. Fuqua updates things by having his seven as a row of differing ethnicity's, which works a treat, and crucially he and his writers are respectful of those characterisations, even if a bit more fleshing out wouldn't have gone amiss. Yet nothing is at a cost to honouring the great Westerns of old. Beautiful landscapes envelope the players, the musical score bouncing around man and nature with homaged sweetness. There's closeups, silhouetted slices of panache, superb stunt work (man and beast), glorious set design, and then there's the action. The fight sequences are excellently constructed, a feast for the eyes and ears, death and slaughter unfurled in brutal but hunger appeasing strokes. There's comic relief about the place, and while much of the dialogue wouldn't have the great poets of yore troubled, there is deepness to be found. Intelligence, too, the addition of PTSD to one of the main players is a notable piece of worth, while how wonderful to find a Western lady character of great substance (Bennett excellent), so good in fact she could have been one of the seven! It's a bare bones story, with a pointless motive revelation tagged on for the finale, while some anachronisms will irritate those bothered by such. But if you are able to judge it on its own terms, as a Western entertainment for this era, and to accept it isn't trying to outdo the source of its inspiration, then a good time can readily be had. 8/10

As you would expect from Denzil Washington

The dvd was delivered on time, the packaging was great and the dvd quality is first class.

My Blu-Ray copy arrived bang on time and I have been looking forward to this for some time.With mixed feelings I have to say as the original is one of my all time favourite movies and perhaps number 3 on my western list.Firstly it is not as good as the Brynner/McQueen original but that is no real insult as few movies could be given that movies now iconic status.That said it is a very good western movie.The basic plot is the same of course ie seven disparate western types are drafted in to fight someone elses battles.In this case it is a small town terrorised by a rogue business barron played with almost pantomime villainy by an excellent Sarsgaard .Washington and Pratt make a good team themselves in what are the Brynner/McQueen type roles but their approach is much different with Pratt supplying some funny one liners.It is much more violent than the original as you would expect in a modern western but strangely most of the violence is quite bloodless perhaps aiming for its 12 certificate.Personally I think it might have played better if it had been filmed a little more loke the Wild Bunch,the Peckinpah film it is a little in the carnage at the climax.This is a film most will enjoy better if they have not seen the original or if they can view it without reference to it.I couldn't as I love the movie too much.The direction is first class with lovely camera work and first class performances from all the main characters with Vincent D'Onofrio perhaps the standout.The music is different for the most part with the Bernstein score popping up at certain points.It is a really enjoyable movie that has updated the premise by not having seven white men as the seven and Mexicans has the badies which is good for the modern idea of diversity.However I have to ask myself did such a magnificent movie need to be remade when there was no chance it could be equalled and certainly not betteredThe extras on the Blu-ray are very good with a bonus disc of interviews also.

Thought was smashing & a better film than the original dvd.I have the original as well Enjoyed Story it shows & the results. Pity can't do same these day's but you'd get nicked & scum still free.

Thoroughly enjoyed this Film, watched the classic Yul Brynner years ago and this is a great upgrade. One reason why it is a great film is that the well accomplished actors bring skill with the gun to the table. Too many westerns are too serious these days with a story ( done many times btw ) that is slow to follow with a token shoot out at the end and then game over. This film is fun with a gun, it is fantasy but also made believable by such good acting and direction. Antoine Fuqua had a specific vision for this film and he fulfilled It and mine too, the cast, the Photography, and the Pace. Each shootout is set up superbly, with just the amount of tension, suspense and character. Just to note, the update of 3:10 to Yuma is also a great film but in a different form.

An exceptional film

I expected to enjoy this more than I did. It has a good cast - I am happy to watch Denzel Washington in anything - but the spark that brings a film alive just isn't there. It has all the classic ingredients of a western, the dramatic landscape, the dust and the sweat, the bad guys and the good guys, but the performances are muted, and everything feels a bit formulaic. Contrast it to Silverado: also formulaic, if you will, but with crackling performances and a much better script. And the late great Brian Dennehy, in a relatively minor role, but adding that extra something, as he did to every film he was in.

Good movie, good actors, but no "essence"... The delivery, the price and amazon service was great, that's my 5 stars...

Edición alemana con audio castellano en el disco 4K

Remakes, like sequels, can usually be counted on to disappoint. Whatever the magic was that made the original great is generally lacking in any follow-ups. So, I am pleasantly surprised to be able to say that the remake of the Magnificent 7 is, in its fashion, every bit as good as the original, which is a classic. In this version, Denzel Washington leads a band of knight errants similar to those Yul Brenner led back in the day. There are some thematic changes however, which I'm again happy to report not only work, but make this movie one that can stand alone on its own merits. This time around, the action takes place in the U.S. at an earlier period in the Wild West. Instead of a group of Mexican bandits, Washington & his 6 compadres are tasked with ridding a U.S. town of a sadistic mine owner whose henchman terrorize & kill the townspeople with impunity. That conflict certainly has a more modern flavour to it, although the violence & depredations committed by the mining company were, in fact, more common in the Old West than most histories of that period acknowledge. The members of the group have been modernized as well. Washington's character, a Black man, is its leader, a leader who, as it turns out, has some personal reasons for wanting to confront the mine company owner. Ethan Hawke's character is suffering from PTSD occasioned by his service in the Civil War. As well, there's a hint that his relationship with his male Asian sidekick extends beyond the trail & into the bedroom. Chris Pratt is fast with his guns & with card tricks, abilities somewhat marred by his incipient alcoholism. Vincent D'Nofrio's quasi Mountain Man character made his reputation by collecting the bounty offered by various branches of the Federal & State governments for Indigenous scalps, another practice that many histories of the period tend to gloss over. Rounding out Washington's 7 are a Latino gunfighter & a young Comanche warrior. As well, & unlike many Westerns in this genre, there is also a strong female character, a woman widowed by the mining company's thugs who gets revenge by first helping to recruit & then fighting with the 7. Now, in less deft hands & less deft actors, this movie could easily have slipped into a parody constantly tripping over its "woke" conventions. Instead, the "modern" themes, when they're explored, are woven seamlessly into the story. You recognize them, but, because of the way they're presented, you accept them as a part of the tale & not an add-on. So, butter up some popcorn & settle in for a glimpse of the Old West as it most likely was.

The Magnificent Seven [Blu-ray 4K UHD + blu-ray 2K] - Versão americana - Imagens espetaculares com cores bem saturadas com o HDR 10, disco 4k resolução: Upscaled 4K (2160p) - Áudio e legendas em Português-BR apenas no disco 4k - (o outro disco 2k sem áudio/legendas em Português).

Es una película película 🎞️ fantástica, la recomiendo.