The Magnificent Seven, produced in 1960 and directed by John Sturges, has a significant place in the history of the western in the U.S. Some have claimed that it is, in fact, the last true western. In fact, the movie practically says this itself. It is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film, The Seven Samurai, placing it in a different genre and a different cultural context. Kurosawa, apparently, told Sturges that he loved the film. The Magnificent Seven deals with questions of the use of force, the capitalist function of thieves and bandits, the meaning of courage, and the loss that war brings. And it has an amazing score, written by Elmer Bernstein. So why are we watching this film? “It seemed like a good idea at the time!”

In this episode, we discuss the following thinkers/texts/ideas/etc.:

• The 1960 film, The Magnificent Seven

• Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai

• The Hollywood Reporter’s original review of The Magnificent Seven

• The Quick and the Dead

——————-
If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotebarsessions!

Follow us on Twitter/X @hotelbarpodcast, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!