The Magnificent Seven is an ambitious project, and for more reasons than you’d probably like to take on. The original (American) is a beloved classic, it’s a film whose ending is as difficult to sell to audiences now as it was in 1960, and it’s a western. Worse, while the original was made with a serious attempt to capture the sensibilities behind the Kurosawa film, this one tries to update the overall premise, mostly by skipping the relationships with the townsfolk and character development, in favor of twirling mustaches and overblown “shticky” scenes.
It’s rather lucky in that it has a gaggle of names to draw people in, but it’s still something of a slow burn, as opposed to an action enterprise, and it isn’t exactly a spoiler to say that most everyone dies.
The film shifts a lot of attention on making our villain,...
It’s rather lucky in that it has a gaggle of names to draw people in, but it’s still something of a slow burn, as opposed to an action enterprise, and it isn’t exactly a spoiler to say that most everyone dies.
The film shifts a lot of attention on making our villain,...
- 9/25/2016
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
An update of the 1960s classic refreshes the racial mix but leaves the cliches intact
Antoine Fuqua’s remake of John Sturges’s 1960 western stirs up the racial mix of the seven gunfighters a little. Leading the team is Denzel Washington’s cool-headed Chisholm; he is backed up by, among others, the South Korean actor Byung-hun Lee playing the knife specialist Billy Rocks; Manuel Garcia-Rulfo stars as the Mexican bad boy Vasquez and the Native American actor Martin Sensmeier, rather underserved in the way of dialogue, as the Comanche warrior Red Harvest.
But while this is a welcome update to the formula, in most other ways this is a stolidly traditional western. Fuqua shoots in widescreen, using tawny saturated colours that evoke the era of the original. The camera cringes slightly in front of the heroes: they are frequently shot from just below chin level, the better to emphasise manly jawlines and all-round studliness.
Antoine Fuqua’s remake of John Sturges’s 1960 western stirs up the racial mix of the seven gunfighters a little. Leading the team is Denzel Washington’s cool-headed Chisholm; he is backed up by, among others, the South Korean actor Byung-hun Lee playing the knife specialist Billy Rocks; Manuel Garcia-Rulfo stars as the Mexican bad boy Vasquez and the Native American actor Martin Sensmeier, rather underserved in the way of dialogue, as the Comanche warrior Red Harvest.
But while this is a welcome update to the formula, in most other ways this is a stolidly traditional western. Fuqua shoots in widescreen, using tawny saturated colours that evoke the era of the original. The camera cringes slightly in front of the heroes: they are frequently shot from just below chin level, the better to emphasise manly jawlines and all-round studliness.
- 9/25/2016
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
MaryAnn’s quick take…
Humorless, rote, clichéd, and entirely unsurprising. Antoine Fuqua attempts to recapture old Hollywood magic — and fails — rather than create his own. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): really tired of the remake craze
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Here’s an idea: Take the “original” 1960 version of The Magnificent Seven, about a buncha white guys coming to the aid of poor Mexican villagers, and remake it exactly the same for 2016, and all of a sudden it has a whole anti-anti-immigrant thing going on, an atmosphere that scoffs at the border-based bigotry that is so popular these days.
Here’s an idea: Take inspiration from the actual original Magnificent Seven — 1954’s Seven Samurai — and do a remake set in the not-so-old West of 1940s Japanese internment camps, in which patriotic Japanese-Americans fight back against being treated like traitors and criminals,...
Humorless, rote, clichéd, and entirely unsurprising. Antoine Fuqua attempts to recapture old Hollywood magic — and fails — rather than create his own. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): really tired of the remake craze
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Here’s an idea: Take the “original” 1960 version of The Magnificent Seven, about a buncha white guys coming to the aid of poor Mexican villagers, and remake it exactly the same for 2016, and all of a sudden it has a whole anti-anti-immigrant thing going on, an atmosphere that scoffs at the border-based bigotry that is so popular these days.
Here’s an idea: Take inspiration from the actual original Magnificent Seven — 1954’s Seven Samurai — and do a remake set in the not-so-old West of 1940s Japanese internment camps, in which patriotic Japanese-Americans fight back against being treated like traitors and criminals,...
- 9/24/2016
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
“The Magnificent Seven” rides again, thanks to Antoine Fuqua’s newest feature, a star-studded take on the classic Western from John Sturges (which was, in turn, a star-studded take on the Japanese epic “Seven Samurai” from master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa) that subtly modernizes its story for a new audience (and a new time). Starring Fuqua regulars Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke and Haley Bennett, alongside an impressive cast that includes Chris Pratt, Peter Sarsgaard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier and Byung-hun Lee, the film delivers a timely, diverse and feminist-leaning story with some major genre roots.
And that’s exactly what its filmmaker was going for when he took on the daunting task of remaking a beloved film that ranks among some of the best of its genre and American film in general: Finding a way to make it modern, make it timely and make it resonant while still...
And that’s exactly what its filmmaker was going for when he took on the daunting task of remaking a beloved film that ranks among some of the best of its genre and American film in general: Finding a way to make it modern, make it timely and make it resonant while still...
- 9/23/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Outside of Quentin Tarantino, it seems like no one is really attempting to do Westerns anymore. This week, one does hit in the remake of The Magnificent Seven. This film, the latest take on the material, seeks to not just follow in those footsteps, but in Tarantino’s as well, echoing Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight in the process. Aside from remakes like 3:10 to Yuma, you have to look far and wide to find other Westerns these days, with the last memorable one perhaps being The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Come Friday though, Antoine Fuqua seeks to give you all another one to love. This remake, which is not only a remake of The Magnificent Seven film of the same name, but also Seven Samurai, is an action Western. Here, when a town is being terrorized by a land thief (Peter Sarsgaard), they...
- 9/22/2016
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Girl Talk is a weekly look at women in film — past, present and future.
Haley Bennett is all smiles. The female lead of Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming “The Magnificent Seven” remake is equally bubbly when talking about her nerve-jangling audition process, the physically demanding shoot and what she’s got on the docket in the coming months (“I’m going to need a vacation from the vacation!”), but even all that sunshine can’t obscure that Bennett is a serious actress who is only further growing into her career with grace. Bennett first popped up on the big screen in Marc Lawrence’s 2007 rom-com “Music and Lyrics” — yes, that was her playing the spacey but sweet pop star who saves Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore’s songwriting career — and has spent the next decade carefully choosing roles across a wide berth of genres and budgets.
Read More: ‘The Magnificent Seven...
Haley Bennett is all smiles. The female lead of Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming “The Magnificent Seven” remake is equally bubbly when talking about her nerve-jangling audition process, the physically demanding shoot and what she’s got on the docket in the coming months (“I’m going to need a vacation from the vacation!”), but even all that sunshine can’t obscure that Bennett is a serious actress who is only further growing into her career with grace. Bennett first popped up on the big screen in Marc Lawrence’s 2007 rom-com “Music and Lyrics” — yes, that was her playing the spacey but sweet pop star who saves Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore’s songwriting career — and has spent the next decade carefully choosing roles across a wide berth of genres and budgets.
Read More: ‘The Magnificent Seven...
- 9/22/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
If the sight of Denzel Washington, guns blazing and saddled up for his first western, doesn't get your pulse racing, read elsewhere. Ignore the hot air blowing in from the Toronto Film Festival, where The Magnificent Seven premiered, that suggests Antoine Fuqua's remake starring Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and an ethnically diverse cast, isn't up to snuff. Really? The haters also threw bricks when Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson played gunslingers in John Sturges' 1960 version, claiming it couldn't lick the boots of Akira Kurosawa's...
- 9/21/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a classic story in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures’ The Magnificent Seven. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople, led by Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns – Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.
The Magnificent Seven is in theaters September 23rd.
Wamg invites you to enter for the chance to win Two (2) seats to the advance screening of The Magnificent Seven on Tuesday, September 20th at 7Pm in the St. Louis area.
Answer the...
The Magnificent Seven is in theaters September 23rd.
Wamg invites you to enter for the chance to win Two (2) seats to the advance screening of The Magnificent Seven on Tuesday, September 20th at 7Pm in the St. Louis area.
Answer the...
- 9/14/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Having given us the gritty crime thriller Training Day back in 2001, and the enjoyable reboot of The Equalizer only two years ago, it’s safe to say that Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington make a very successful actor/director team. So successful, in fact, that the duo is back for another outing this fall with Sony’s The Magnificent Seven, a remake of the classic western of the same name.
For those unfamiliar with the original, the plot of Fuqua’s new film revolves around Rose Creek, an Old West town which is taken over by a greedy industrialist named Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard). With no one else to turn to for help, the residents, led by a woman named Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), hire bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Washington) to save their town. Unable to take on Bogue alone though, Sam recruits several other men to help him with the task at hand,...
For those unfamiliar with the original, the plot of Fuqua’s new film revolves around Rose Creek, an Old West town which is taken over by a greedy industrialist named Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard). With no one else to turn to for help, the residents, led by a woman named Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), hire bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Washington) to save their town. Unable to take on Bogue alone though, Sam recruits several other men to help him with the task at hand,...
- 9/13/2016
- by Matt Joseph
- We Got This Covered
The Magnificent Seven is trademark Western thrills (safely) done right. That’s not to say Antoine Fuqua’s Kurosawa remake does anything memorably inventive, but this is Wild West action at its most digestible. All the clichés appear – guy gets thrown through window, guy gets shot into casket, multiple guys shoot from the tops of buildings – but it’s never dull or unwatchable. In fact, Fuqua does right to veer towards the realm of camp, which is the only way I can describe Vincent D’Onofrio’s performance. Writers Richard Wenk and Nic Pizzolatto copy from every Western 101 textbook available, and draw up a streamlined hootenanny that allows for more performance-driven success than scripted genius. Seven men, a villain’s army, and one town to protect – easy enough for me.
Frequent Fuqua collaborator Denzel Washington stars as Sam Chisolm, a Kansas Warrant Officer called upon to save the town of Rose Creek from crooked hands.
Frequent Fuqua collaborator Denzel Washington stars as Sam Chisolm, a Kansas Warrant Officer called upon to save the town of Rose Creek from crooked hands.
- 9/9/2016
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
Rather than the 1960 version or the film it was based on, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, Antoine Fuqua‘s The Magnificent Seven brought deja vu of the unexpected sort. The score pounds in with a familiar melody, Denzel Washington’s Sam Chisolm is approached by a (not-quite) damsel in distress to come and fight an evil man who’s been terrorizing her small town, and the thing that kept poking me to realize it was there finally hit its target. ¡Three Amigos! Yes, ¡Three Amigos! was a spoof of Seven Samurai and sadly it proved to be the only “western” I ever truly watched until my late teens. I couldn’t help chuckling to myself because separating the two became impossible. But it wasn’t necessarily a fault of the film on the whole as much as it was the further unfortunate proof that directors aren’t able to utilize...
- 9/9/2016
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Every great Western needs a great villain, and Peter Sarsgaard delivers an outsized one in Antoine Fuqua’s “The Magnificent Seven.” In the remake of the classic 1960 feature of the same name (itself an Americanized remake of the 1954 Akira Kurosawa feature “Seven Samurai”), Sarsgaard plays the power-hungry (and just plain mean) Bartholomew Bogue, who has taken over the tiny town of Rose Creek, all the better to capitalize on its rich local mines.
Bogue’s methods for keeping Rose Creek’s citizens in line are vicious and brutal, and he’s clearly not used to being opposed by anyone, especially small-town folk who are just trying to carve out a living for themselves during the heyday of the American West. In an attempt to stifle an uprising, Bogue sets into motion a much bigger problem, led by Haley Bennett’s Emma Cullen, who takes matters into her own hands and...
Bogue’s methods for keeping Rose Creek’s citizens in line are vicious and brutal, and he’s clearly not used to being opposed by anyone, especially small-town folk who are just trying to carve out a living for themselves during the heyday of the American West. In an attempt to stifle an uprising, Bogue sets into motion a much bigger problem, led by Haley Bennett’s Emma Cullen, who takes matters into her own hands and...
- 9/8/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
It would be hard to mess up a remake of “The Magnificent Seven,” but it might be even harder to remake it in a way that allows the premise of John Sturges’ iconic Western — itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” — to feel newly relevant. Sturges’ film may be found wanting when compared to its monumental source material, but simply transplanting the action from 16th Century Japan to the Wild West gave it a life of its own.
This year’s version doesn’t have the benefit of such an obvious paradigm shift, in part because this year’s Hollywood wouldn’t dare make audiences work that hard. And yet, despite being directed by the singularly bland Antoine Fuqua (whose post-“Training Day” filmography could double as a list of the millennium’s most forgettable action movies) and co-written by suffocatingly dour “True Detective” mastermind Nic Pizzolatto, “The Magnificent Seven...
This year’s version doesn’t have the benefit of such an obvious paradigm shift, in part because this year’s Hollywood wouldn’t dare make audiences work that hard. And yet, despite being directed by the singularly bland Antoine Fuqua (whose post-“Training Day” filmography could double as a list of the millennium’s most forgettable action movies) and co-written by suffocatingly dour “True Detective” mastermind Nic Pizzolatto, “The Magnificent Seven...
- 9/8/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Antoine Fuqua’s ragtag crew of bandits will descend on Toronto International Film Festival come September, now that The Magnificent Seven has booked its place to open the annual event on September 8.
It’s part of a star-studded lineup that boasts everything from Sundance darling Manchester By the Sea to Nate Parker’s Oscar-tipped epic, The Birth of a Nation. They’ll filter into the Special Presentations category at Tiff 2016, while The Magnificent Seven will be joined on opening night by Juan Antonio Bayona’s hotly-anticipated A Monster Calls – part The Bfg, part Pan’s Labyrinth – and Snowden, Oliver Stone’s timely biopic that was turned down by “every major studio.”
Included below is the detailed overview of every film to feature at Toronto International Film Festival, beginning with those features slated to premiere on opening night, September 8.
The Magnificent Seven, Antoine Fuqua, USA World Premiere
Director Antoine Fuqua brings...
It’s part of a star-studded lineup that boasts everything from Sundance darling Manchester By the Sea to Nate Parker’s Oscar-tipped epic, The Birth of a Nation. They’ll filter into the Special Presentations category at Tiff 2016, while The Magnificent Seven will be joined on opening night by Juan Antonio Bayona’s hotly-anticipated A Monster Calls – part The Bfg, part Pan’s Labyrinth – and Snowden, Oliver Stone’s timely biopic that was turned down by “every major studio.”
Included below is the detailed overview of every film to feature at Toronto International Film Festival, beginning with those features slated to premiere on opening night, September 8.
The Magnificent Seven, Antoine Fuqua, USA World Premiere
Director Antoine Fuqua brings...
- 7/26/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
After highlighting the best films of the year thus far, it’s time to turn our attention to the fall. While Venice and Telluride will get things going, the biggest seasonal event is easily the Toronto International Film Festival. With hundreds of titles from around the globe on its slate, many of our yearly favorites debut there and we’ll be covering in-depth yet again this year. To get a preview of what to expect, they’ve announced their initial line-up of titles.
The slate includes Tom Ford‘s Nocturnal Animals, Denis Villeneuve‘s Arrival, Damien Chazelle‘s La La Land, Kim Ji-woon‘s The Age of Shadows, Ewan McGregor‘s American Pastoral, the Miles Teller-led Bleed for This, Denial starring Rachel Weisz, Christopher Guest‘s Mascots, Werner Herzog‘s Salt and Fire, the Michael Fassbender-led Trespass Against Us, Una starring Rooney Mara, Rob Reiner‘s Lbj, A Monster Calls,...
The slate includes Tom Ford‘s Nocturnal Animals, Denis Villeneuve‘s Arrival, Damien Chazelle‘s La La Land, Kim Ji-woon‘s The Age of Shadows, Ewan McGregor‘s American Pastoral, the Miles Teller-led Bleed for This, Denial starring Rachel Weisz, Christopher Guest‘s Mascots, Werner Herzog‘s Salt and Fire, the Michael Fassbender-led Trespass Against Us, Una starring Rooney Mara, Rob Reiner‘s Lbj, A Monster Calls,...
- 7/26/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
A new trailer has dropped for MGM, Columbia and Village Roadshow's The Magnificent Seven, Antoine Fuqua's remake of the 1960 classic. Denzel Washington, starring as bounty hunter Sam Chisolm, heads up a crew of gritty fighters and desperadoes: Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). Chisolm was hired by Emma Cullen (Haley…...
- 7/18/2016
- Deadline
IMAX Corporation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, and Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced that The Magnificent Seven, starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, and Ethan Hawke and directed by Antoine Fuqua, will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX format. The Magnificent Seven, which Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures present in association with LStar Capital and Village Roadshow Pictures, will be released into IMAX® theatres worldwide coinciding with the film's general release dates. The Magnificent Seven will be released domestically on September 23.
Rory Bruer, President of Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures said:
"The Magnificent Seven is not only among the most highly anticipated films of the fall, but Antoine Fuqua is delivering the visceral action that is perfect for the IMAX screen. The Magnificent Seven and IMAX are a great complement to each other and will play great to audiences around the world."
Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of...
Rory Bruer, President of Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures said:
"The Magnificent Seven is not only among the most highly anticipated films of the fall, but Antoine Fuqua is delivering the visceral action that is perfect for the IMAX screen. The Magnificent Seven and IMAX are a great complement to each other and will play great to audiences around the world."
Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of...
- 5/10/2016
- by Kellvin Chavez
- LRMonline.com
It’s almost the end of April, dear readers, and that means the start of the summer movie season is nearly upon us. This week’s installment of Trailer Trashin’ examines the teaser trailer for director Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming remake of The Magnificent Seven.
Premise: With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from a motley crew of seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers, and hired guns – Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.
My take: The Magnificent Seven (1960) is considered one of the all-time classics of the western genre, and...
Premise: With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from a motley crew of seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers, and hired guns – Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.
My take: The Magnificent Seven (1960) is considered one of the all-time classics of the western genre, and...
- 4/28/2016
- by Timothy Monforton
- CinemaNerdz
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