The Magnificent Seven (2016)

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  • THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN


    DIRECTED BY ANTOINE FUQUA
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCER WALTER MIRSCH
    PIN HIGH PRODUCTIONS/LSTAR CAPITAL
    VILLAGE ROADSHOW PICTURES/ESCAPE ARTISTS
    COLUMBIA PICTURES
    METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER (MGM)



    Plot Summary
    Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a classic story in The Magnificent Seven.
    With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue,
    the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns.
    As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming,
    these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.


    Cast
    Denzel Washington ... Chisolm
    Chris Pratt ... Josh Faraday
    Ethan Hawke ... Goodnight Robicheaux
    Vincent D'Onofrio ... Jack Horne
    Byung-hun Lee ... Billy Rocks
    Manuel Garcia-Rulfo ... Vasquez
    Martin Sensmeier ... Red Harvest
    Haley Bennett ... Emma Cullen
    Peter Sarsgaard ... Bartholomew Bogue
    Luke Grimes ... Teddy Q
    Matt Bomer ... Matthew Cullen
    Jonathan Joss ... Denali
    Cam Gigandet ... McCann
    Emil Beheshti ... Maxwell
    Mark Ashworth ... Preacher
    Billy Slaughter ... Josiah
    Dodge Prince ... Anthony
    Matthew Posey ... Hank Stoner
    Carrie Lazar ... Leni Frankel
    Jody Mullins ... Caleb Frankel
    Clint James ... Fenton
    Dane Rhodes ... Sheriff Harp
    Ritchie Montgomery ... Gavin David
    Sean Bridgers ... Fanning
    William Lee Scott ... Moody
    David Kallaway ... Turner / Blacksmith
    Griff Furst ... Phillips
    Alix Angelis ... Clara Winthrop (Teacher)
    Sean Boyd ... Topper
    Rob Mello ... Mine Paymaster
    Walker Babington ... Dicky
    TThomas Blake Jr. ... Earl
    Ryan Brown ... Ken Pigeon
    Derek Lacasa ... Len Pigeon
    John Wylie ... Station Master
    Chad Randall ... Bartender / Powder Dan
    Kevin Wayne Kevin Wayne ... Monday Durant
    Wally Welch ... Sheriff
    Ed Lowry ... Stablemaster
    David Manzanares ... Referee / Eddy
    Dylan Kenin ... Cowboy
    Kevin Wiggins ... Another Cowboy
    Jackson Beals ... One Eyed Lucas
    Miles Doleac ... Faraday Card Game #2
    Heath Lemme ... Heath
    Charles Bickham ... Rose Creek Boy
    Chase Williams ... Undertaker's Assistant (as Gregory Chase Williams)
    Fionn Camp ... Rose Creek Girl
    and many, many more...


    Directed
    Antoine Fuqua


    Writing Credits
    Akira Kurosawa ... (based on the screenplay by) &
    Shinobu Hashimoto ... (based on the screenplay by) &
    Hideo Oguni ... (based on the screenplay by)
    Nic Pizzolatto ... (screenplay) and
    Richard Wenk ... (screenplay)


    Produced
    Bruce Berman ... executive producer
    Roger Birnbaum ... producer
    Todd Black ... producer
    Antoine Fuqua ... executive producer
    Walter Mirisch ... executive producer
    Kat Samick ... co-producer
    Ben Waisbren ... executive producer


    Music
    Simon Franglen
    James Horner


    Cinematography
    Mauro Fiore


    Trivia
    The horse that Chris Pratt rode in this film was the same horse in War Horse (2011).


    According to director Antoine Fuqua, one of the reasons that Martin Sensmeier was cast as Native American Red Harvest was that Sensmeier had luxuriant, almost knee-length hair when he auditioned. Not having been told that this had been a selling point, Sensemeier cut his hair shortly thereafter. Fuqua was upset, but then had the idea for Sensmeier to have his hair cut into a Mohawk, which, fortunately, also turned out to be historically accurate.


    James Horner worked on this film after he and Antoine Fuqua became close friends while making Southpaw (2015). According to Fuqua, Horner's team visited him on the film's set in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, one month after Horner's accidental death, to deliver the completed score. Horner had been so inspired after reading the script that he composed the entire score during pre-production.


    When Red Harvest first appears, he speaks in Comanche, the language of his character. However, when he states, "My name is Red Harvest," it is in Tlingit, the language of Martin Sensmeier's Native (Alaskan) people.


    Later in the movie, Chris Pratt uses a shortened lever-action rifle. This unique firearm (nicknamed "The Mare's Leg") was made popular by Steve McQueen in his series Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958). Pratt's character is McQueen's character from The Magnificent Seven (1960).


    The theme song from the original The Magnificent Seven (1960) plays during the end credits.


    This is one of the few Western movies where an actor's ethnicity matches their character's. Byung-hun Lee is East Asian (Korean), Martin Sensmeier is Native Alaskan (Tlingit) and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo was born in Guadalajara, Mexico.


    Almost each time there is a shot of Vasquez, the Mexican cue is heard, which is a reused cue from James Horner's earlier score for The Mask of Zorro (1998).


    Chris Pratt's character tells a story of a guy falling off a five-story building. At every floor the people hear him say, "So far, so good." This is an homage to Steve McQueen's character on the original The Magnificent Seven (1960) telling the same tale, except it was a ten-story building.


    Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt were the first two actors cast. Antoine Fuqua knew that both men had expressed interest in appearing in a western. Getting Washington was easy, but Fuqua initially was unsure in which role Pratt would fit. On the second phone call between Fuqua and Pratt, the latter started to sing "Oh, Shenandoah", which Fuqua immediately declared that "Pratt is Steve McQueen".


    The Gatling guns used in the time period of this film were chambered in .45-70 Government, which had a muzzle velocity of 1,600 feet per second, a 300-grain lead bullet, and had a range of well over a mile. In fact, the Army's standard target at the time the caliber was used was a 6x6 wooden target at 600 yards, well over the distance shown in this film, and the .45-70 round was also used to shoot buffalo in the late 1800s. So modest cover would not have saved you, and the range for the Gatling gun in the movie, was more than accurate.


    The character name of "Red Harvest" is an homage to the Dashiell Hammett story of the same name, which Akira Kurosawa borrowed for the plot of his other great samurai tale, Yojimbo (1961). Kurosawa wrote the movie Seven Samurai (1954), upon which The Magnificent Seven (1960) is based. The Red Harvest plot was also used as the model for A Fistful of Dollars (1964).


    Denzel Washington's first western.


    The characters use explosives produced by the Giant Powder Company of San Francisco. The company began operations in 1868, as the U.S.'s first manufacturer of dynamite, under exclusive license granted personally by Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.


    Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke's third collaboration with Antoine Fuqua since Training Day (2001); Hawke co-starred in Brooklyn's Finest (2009), and Washington starred in The Equalizer (2014).


    Jason Momoa was originally going to appear in the film. He dropped out due to his commitment with Aquaman (2018).


    James Horner uses the same five-note French horn progression in parts of the score, notably the riding scenes, that he previously used in Avatar (2009).


    The cabin where Jack Horne lives is also featured in True Grit (2010)
    (where Cogburn kicks the Indians off the balcony), starring Jeff Bridges.


    Some areas of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where filming took place, had to be re-landscaped to resemble the "Old West."


    James Horner only wrote seven pieces for the film.


    Wagner Moura was originally cast as Vasquez. The role was recast, because he was committed to film the Netflix show Narcos (2015), in which he plays Pablo Escobar.


    Haley Bennett and Denzel Washington both previously starred together in The Equalizer (2014).


    When Red Harvest said, "White man's food looks like dog food.", the line was spoken in Tlingit, but it did not match the translation. "Dleit shawáat" means "white woman".


    Walter Mirisch was one of the most successful independent film producers in Hollywood in the 1960s. He worked alongside Yul Brynner, producer Lou Morheim, director John Sturges and screenwriter Walter Newman to get Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) remade in America. Many decades after its release, Mirisch still holds The Magnificent Seven (1960) in high regard.


    Christian Bale was approached about a role.


    This is Chris Pratt's first western.


    Robert Vaughn passed away several weeks after the film's U.S. release.


    The final screenwriting credits lists Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk as the credited writers. John Lee Hancock rewrote Pazzolotto's script substantially, but was denied a writing credit by the WGA.


    Although this film is not a straight remake of The Magnificent Seven (1960) and the characters have different names, parallels can be drawn between the two Sevens. Chris (Yul Brynner) was a black clothed gun for hire and leader of the team, as is Denzel's Sam; Steve McQueen's Vin was a broke gambling drifter as is Faraday played by Chris Pratt; Lee (Robert Vaughn) was a sharp shooter suffering from PTSD similar to Ethan Hawkes' Robicheaux; James Coburn's Britt is a lethal knife fighter as is Byung Hun Lee's Billy Rocks; Vasquez is the Mexican role played by Horst Buccholz though Buccholz's Chico was far less experienced than the character played here by Manuel Garcia Rulfo. Here however things become less obvious, Charles Bronson's Irish/Mexican character Bernado O'Reilly could be considered to have a somewhat Native appearance to tally with Martin Senmeier's Red Harvest and Brad Dexter's Harry was a large imposing man much like Vincent D'Onfrio's Jack Horne. These last two similarities could however be considered subjective.


    The Battle of Antietam, where Goodnight earned the nickname "The Angel of Death," took place seventeen years before the Battle of Rose Creek.


    Chris Pratt and Vincent D'Onofrio both starred in Jurassic World (2015). Pratt played Owen and D'Onofrio played Hoskins.


    The location temperatures in Baton Rouge, Louisiana rose as high as 124 degrees Fahrenheit on some occasions.


    Walter Mirisch was the Executive Producer of both this film, and the original The Magnificent Seven (1960).


    The hairstyle sported by Red Harvest is a Mohawk, sometimes called a Mohican.
    Both these terms are misnomers as neither the Mohawk, Mahican or Mohegan people wore this style,
    they wore a roughly 3x3" square of hair at the back of the head.
    The term Mohawk became popular after the Hollywood film 'Drums Along the Mohawk' (1939).
    The more correct term is a Roach hairstyle and was worn by tribes that included the Caddo of east Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas and by the Pawnee of Nebraska and Kansas. It has been pointed out that Red Harvest's Comanche people were not known to wear this style as a rule but as the Comanche ranged a large territory which included Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma it is likely Red Harvest encountered Pawnee and Caddo on his travels and decided to adopt their aggressive looking hairstyle.


    Chris Pratt appears in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), as well as Kurt Russell, whose father, Bing Russell appeared in The Magnificent Seven (1960).


    Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio previously starred together as brothers in The Newton Boys (1998), Little New York (2009), Brooklyn's Finest (2009) and Sinister (2012).


    Chris Pratt and Vincent D'Onofrio have both appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), and D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin in Daredevil (2015).


    On March 29, 2015, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer set release for January 13, 2017. In August 2015, Sony Pictures Entertainment moved the release to September 23, 2016.


    As a teenager, Antoine Fuqua was inspired to be a filmmaker after watching two films, The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Scarface (1983). He once said that he would lobby to do a remake of these films if there would be a plan to do so. Fortunately, he got his chance; producer Roger Birnbaum wanted to do a remake after leaving his position as co-chairman of MGM, saying the original film and its characters underline the theme of mortality, a theme that he holds after surviving a gastrointestinal tumor.


    Tom Cruise was previously in talks to star.


    Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, and Matt Damon were considered for parts.


    Chris Pratt's horse is named Jack, the same name as his son in real life.


    James Horner composed the soundtrack of Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), a futuristic retelling of Seven Samurai (1954)/The Magnificent Seven (1960).


    Vasquez repeatedly calls Faraday 'Güero', so much so that Faraday asks what it means but receives no reply. In fact it is a Mexican racial slur meaning 'Whitey' in reference to an Anglo's pale skin. Considering the ethnic make up of the Seven in 1879 the fact that this is the only racial slur directed at any one of the Seven during the entire film is somewhat of an anachronism (the two former Confederates Faraday and Robicheaux and African American former Union man Chisholm would likely have at least some remaining animosity, and a Mountain Man who has taken "300 Comanche scalps" would certainly be an unhelpful presence to the Comanche member of the team and vice versa. As for the Asian, in 1879 every race looked down on them!) however, their mutual respect for each other as fighting men may go some way to explain this lack of racial tension.
    Ethan Hawke's second western of 2016. The first was In a Valley of Violence (2016).


    The film reunites Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, and Antoine Fuqua, from Training Day (2001).


    In the original Westworld (1973), Yul Brynner's character was modeled after his character from the film The Magnificent Seven (1960). Chris Pratt appeared in Jurassic World (2015), which was also based on a story by Michael Crichton, about an amusement park gone wrong.


    Near the end, Ethan Hawke in the bell tower says to Billy Rocks (played by Lee Byung-Hun), "let me tell you something my daddy once said", pauses and continues, "well he said so many things". This is an almost verbatim of a remark Bob Dylan made in his Grammy acceptance speech.


    In the beginning of the film, Joshua Faraday encounters a man who calls himself the "Two-Gun Kid." Faraday is played by Chris Pratt, who also portrays Peter Quill (Star-Lord) in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), based on the characters from Marvel Comics. In the comics there is also a character named Two-Gun Kid, and he was even a member of the Avengers.


    Antoine Fuqua's second PG-13 theatrical film.


    Chris Pratt and Jonathan Joss (Denali) previously starred in Parks and Recreation as Andy Dwyer and Chief Ken Hotate.


    This is Chris Pratt's second remake. His first was Delivery Man (2013).


    Out of 109 cast listed for the movie, only nine are women.


    This was Antoine Fuqua's first feature film to be rated M. His previous ones had been rated MA and R.


    This is the second time Haley Bennett appeared in a movie using The Magnificent Seven (1960) theme. The first was Hardcore Henry (2015).


    Robert Vaughn, who played Lee in The Magnificent Seven (1960), was not offered a cameo role in the film.


    Chris Pratt's earlier film Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) had a similar theme, of violent but heroic misfits banding together to save helpless people from tyranny.


    Byung-hun Lee 2nd Remake of a famous western movie. First were The Good, The Bad The Weird (2008) of The Good The Bad and The Ugly (1966) and Magnificent 7 (2016) of Magnificent 7 (1960)


    The five horn progression that can be heard several times in James Horner's score is also used in Battle Beyond the Stars, also composed by Horner and a sci-fi remake of the Magnificent Seven.


    Antoine Fuqua and Haley Bennett second film together.


    Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington third film together.


    Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke second film together.


    Spoilers
    Matt Bomer (Mathew Cullen) died at the beginning of the movie, even before his name appeared in the opening credits.


    Right before the beginning of the battle day there is a short sequence where main characters are shown doing preparations while the church bell tolls. The bell tolls exactly for those who are going to die.


    Matt Bomer is listed in the opening credits, even though he dies at the beginning of the film. Cam Gigandet, who plays a larger role, is not.


    When the Magnificent Seven are heading to the village with Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and Teddy Q (Luke Grimes) they stop to camp for a night. It is there that Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt) offers to teach Teddy Q some shooting lesson in exchange for a few drinks of Teddy's whiskey. He uses a King of Hearts playing card to teach these lesson by having Teddy try to take the card from his hand. Faraday finally lets Teddy get the card , letting Teddy for a brief moment to think he has won, only to end the lesson by pulling out his gun, pointing it at Teddy and saying "it was never about the cards". This is hinting that if you aren't paying attention or if you let your guard down you'll lose. This is foreshadowing the end of the movie! At the end of the movie when Faraday is riding towards the Gatling gun he is shot and falls off his horse right next to the men and the gun. Now unarmed and with a cigar in his mouth he tries to light it but struggles. The man in charge of the gun shows temporary mercy by giving Faraday a light and as he does you can see the King of Hearts in Faraday's pocket hinting at Faraday's lesson to Teddy. The man then plans to kill Faraday, which he doesn't do because Faraday appears to die. Just like his lesson with Teddy Q, the men at the Gatling gun, for a brief moment, think they have won and let their guard down only to find out that they have given Faraday what he needed to light the dynamite and destroy the gun. Just like his lesson, "it was never about the cards". **This is also a goof because in one shot Faraday has the cards and in the next he doesn't.


    Josh Faraday foreshadows the ending, when the gang finds explosives in a barn, and he says "I always wanted to blow something up".


    Also contains spoiler for Training Day (2001): In Antoine Fuqua's earlier film Training Day, Denzel Washington dies and Ethan Hawke lives. In this film, it's the reverse: Washington lives and Hawke dies. Both were killed by automatic gunfire in their respective films.


    Josh Faradays (Chris Pratt) last line in the film is, "I always been lucky with one eyed jacks." This could be a homage to the film One-Eyed Jacks (1961) Featuring Marlon Brando.


    Crazy Credits
    Part of the closing credits are a montage of the Magnificent Seven and their actor credits, which ends with a big red seven that contains the faces of the seven. The theme from The Magnificent Seven (1960) plays over this montage.


    As the end credits and background images scroll up, occasional bullet holes appear on screen as if there were a scrolling sheet of glass in front of the images.


    The opening credits appear as Sam Chisholm rides into town, with Denzel Washington's credit appearing just as Sam comes into view.


    Goofs
    Anachronisms
    The beautiful widow's dress is very inviting to the viewer, but a respectable woman of the 1870's would never allow her upper torso, arms, or legs to be seen in public. That was the province of prostitutes.


    As the crew ride into the mining operation to score some dynamite, a 45-starred American flag is flying on a wooden pole. That configuration flew from 1896 (admission of Utah) to 1907 (admission of Oklahoma). In 1879 the flag would have had only 38 stars.


    Both the Seven and other male characters are a remarkably liberal group for 1879. The seven represent at least five different ethnic groups, and the only overt sign of bigotry in the film is Faraday's "Oh, good! We have a Mexican." The slur "redskin" was also used only once. The racism Billy Rocks faced was implied in a story. Chisolm gets lots of push-back, but apparently not based on his race. All of this not likely in that era.


    The look of the Mohawk hairstyle which Red Harvest sports throughout the film is a modern one and not at all unique to the time period in which the film takes place. It is also very doubtful that a Native American out in the West would have facial paintings which look as clean and well-designed as his do.


    Character error
    When Faraday is telling the townspeople about Robicheaux's history, he says that he had "23 confirmed kills at Antietam." Since both men were Confederates, they would have referred to that battle as Sharpsburg, not Antietam.


    Although Red Harvest is supposed to be Comanche, he sometimes speaks in Tlingit, the Alaskan language of actor Martin Sensmeier's native people.


    When Red Harvest said, "White mans food looks like dog food" the line was spoken in Tlingit but it did not match the translation. "Dleit shawáat" means white woman.


    Red Harvest, being a Comanche would not be in the Northern California setting of the film at/around the time of its setting (1879) . By this time warfare and disease had reduced the Comanche people to slightly less than 3,000 individuals in their stronghold of West Texas, with a few hundred living with other tribes in Northern Mexico. As a people they were very nearly extinct. Additionally, the Comanche were both warlike and xenophobic which made it difficult for them to deal with other Native tribes. Red Harvest would be unlikely to be so far from or very welcome if he were.


    During an inventory of kills after the initial major shoot up, four of the seven claim 6,6,5 and 7 respectively (24). Bogue when confronted with the news in Sacramento states that 22 of his men were lost. Of course, Faraday's claim of seven kills may have been just braggadocio on his part.


    Continuity
    Despite hundreds of shots and explosions, only men's bodies are seen on the ground and no dead or wounded horses.


    In a long shot of the damaged Church bell tower the re-instated bell is seen way above head height but in a tighter shot the bell is shown much lower.


    When Bogue is in Sacramento and the Seven are helping the townspeople prepare for battle, a dedicated shot depicts them removing the Bogue banner from the outside of the mining office in town. In a subsequent scene, the banner is in place.


    When Matthew Cullen is stood outside the church with his arms round his wife, he throws his hat to the floor. The camera angle changes and its back in his hand before it flicks back to the original angle where he's not holding it again.


    When Josh Faraday retrieves a cigarette when on his knees, you can see some cards visible in his pocket. In the next shot the cards are gone.


    In the opening scene, as the gang is busy leaving, the size of the fire on the church changes between the wide shot and the close-up shot of the woman crying over her husband.


    When Billy Rocks and Sam Chisolm are entering Rose Creek for the first time, the priest is seen entering the church (from afar). Soon after, the scene changes and shows the priest closing a gate outside the church.


    Errors in geography
    The locations named in the film (Sacramento and Amador City) if assumed to be representing the actual places in California, have no scenery like what we see. (The film was shot in Arizona and New Mexico.)


    Factual errors
    The one time we see Chisolm reload his Colt Single Action Army revolver, he flips open the loading gate and spins the cylinder upside down which quickly dumps his empty shells to the ground. Spent shells would not be able to loosely fall out of the cylinder like that due to the pressure of firing the bullet causing the mouth of the cartridge to swell and basically get stuck in the cylinder. He would have needed to use the ejector rod to punch the shell out. However, it's Hollywood, and that looked way cooler than having to eject a single shell at a time.


    Like most westerns, this film depicts the characters repeatedly "fanning" their revolvers to get off multiple shots very quickly. While it appears to be effective and accurate, for all practical purposes, it is quite the opposite. For one, holding the trigger back and slapping the hammer with the opposite hand (fanning) is very hard on the action of the gun and unless they had a gunsmith custom build their guns to withstand that punishment, they would have broken within a few reloads. Second, the accuracy of fanning from the hip would be horrendous unless one spent countless hours practicing, and even then, to hit multiple targets running and on horseback and while under fire, would be quite a feat indeed.


    Miscellaneous
    The so-called "Mohawk" hairstyle, worn by Red Harvest, is most definitely not anachronistic! It was, in fact, commonplace for nineteenth century tribesmen of the Pawnee Nation to wear similar hairstyles. So, Red Harvest might have been half-Comanche/half-Pawnee (both tribes had factions resident within 19th century Kansas). Perhaps even born out of wedlock (a marriage between members of the same clan, even though of different tribes, was considered illegitimate).


    Incorrectly regarded as goofs
    Red Harvest, a Comanche (from Texas or near it) has a New York Mohawk hair style in the film. The Comanche never cut their hair in the style of a Mohawk. However, he does claim to be sort of an outcast and could have decided to cut his hair that way just because he could.


    The year is 1879 and all of the actors have perfect looking teeth which wasn't characteristic of that time period. People back then in fact had rotted or no teeth. (This is not necessarily true. While dentistry in 1879 was not on par with that of the 21st century, rotting teeth are rarely common in any area as they are a source of illness and pain and are removed when they cause problems. And while many people had missing teeth, very few had no teeth at all. As with today, most people with missing teeth lost their molars first and then later their visible teeth)


    Revealing mistakes
    In a close up shot of the shells under the Gatling gun, we can see that it is firing blanks.


    Spoilers
    Continuity
    When 'Goodnight Robicheaux' is killed, he smashes through the railing of the belfry, slides down and off the roof, and hits the ground. A few scenes later, the belfry railing is intact.


    Early in the movie when Faraday tells Chisolm "Pity. I had just ordered a drink from him." (after Chisolm shot the wanted bartender), Chisolm pushes a drink across the bar towards Faraday. The camera cuts between the two characters a few times, and after the final cut just before Chisolm exits the bar, the drink is no longer on the bar at all.


    Crew or equipment visible
    When 'Goodnight Robicheaux' is killed, he smashes through the railing of the belfry, slides down and off the roof, and hits what is obviously a stunt board on the ground, kicking up dust.


    Plot holes
    When Bogue returns from Sacramento, his mini-army numbers perhaps 70, with distinct boundaries to the lateral column of men, at least in the wide shots. In the ensuing battle at least 70 are seen being shot or blown off their horses prior to Bogue requesting "the wagon", whilst many more subsequently appear to die. This does not preclude reinforcements being bought in from off screen, but no indication is given where they all came from


    Memorable Quotes


    Filming Locations
    San Francisco Peaks, Arizona, USA
    Coconino National Forest, Arizona, USA
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
    Abiquiu, New Mexico, USA
    Eaves Movie Ranch - 105 Rancho Alegre Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
    Galisteo, New Mexico, USA
    Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico, USA
    Valles Caldera, New Mexico, USA
    Santa Fe Studios, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

  • The Magnificent Seven is a 2016 American Western action film directed by
    Antoine Fuqua and written by Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk.


    It is a remake of the 1960 western film of the same name,
    which in turn was a reimagination of the Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film Seven Samurai.
    The film stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio,
    Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett and Peter Sarsgaard.-
    It is the final film of composer James Horner, who died the previous year after
    composing a part of the score; his friend Simon Franglen completed the music.


    Principal photography began on May 18, 2015, in the north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
    The Magnificent Seven premiered on September 8, 2016, at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival,
    and was released in the United States on September 23, 2016, in conventional and IMAX theatres.
    The film received mixed reviews from critics, although the cast was praised,
    and grossed $162 million worldwide.



    Production
    Development
    When I first said yes, it was on my mind. Absolutely.
    But once you go in, you just go in. You just say, "OK, I'm going do it and make my version of it." My big lesson so far is that when you do that you have to respect the film's DNA and you have to respect certain elements of the film because when you respect that you're respecting the people that love the film. Sometimes when people see movies they take whatever is going on in their life into the movie theater. And if the movie affects them a certain way, if you don't give them at least that feeling again or that idea again — even if it's done in a different package — then it's difficult to satisfy them. On Magnificent Seven, I kept reminding myself of when I was a 12-year-old boy, when I was a kid watching it with my grandmother, what was the feeling I had? How much fun was it? How cool were they? For me, I always had my grandmother in my mind when making a film. Would she enjoy this film?.
    —Director Antoine Fuqua on his approach to the remake.


    Fuqua has loved Western films since he was a young boy, watching them at home with his family. He discovered the genre at the age of 12 and has said that his grandmother was a key influence and inspiration in the remake. The two of them had a penchant for Western films and would watch them together, including films such as Duel in the Sun (1946), Shane (1953) The Searchers (1956), The Magnificent Seven (1960), and The Wild Bunch (1969), and the movies of Steve McQueen, Yul Brynner, James Cagney, and Humphrey Bogart. Fuqua tried to stay true to the DNA of Seven Samurai in his remake.The film was reported to be in the planning stages in 2012, with Tom Cruise starring. It was reported that Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, and Matt Damon might join the film. In early 2014, MGM chairman Gary Barber and his cohorts approached Fuqua to read the script by Richard Wenk and Nic Pizzolatto, while Fuqua was making Southpaw.Fuqua said he wanted to remake the film because the subject of tyranny and terrorism still prevails as it did in Seven Samurai. He has said that there is therefore a strong need for people to come and serve, which is what samurai means – "to serve." Fuqua never thought of getting a chance to direct a Western film, and when MGM called him to helm the picture, he hesitated at first, recalling how amazing he thought Seven Samurai and its director, Kurosawa, were. The decision was not easy for him, citing for example of how many people are unaware that Scarface was a remake from the film of the same name released in 1932.



    Casting
    Fuqua worked to create a diverse cast by incorporating actors of color such as African-American Denzel Washington, Korean Byung-hun Lee and Mexican Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, as well as a woman (Haley Bennett). It is a decision Fuqua says reflects historical reality more than it does any conscious attempt to update the story. "There were a lot of black cowboys, a lot of Native Americans; Asians working on the railroads. The truth of the West is more modern than the movies have been." When Fuqua met studio executives to see the possible actors for the film, he found out that they were all white. He found this to be problematic and wanted instead to make the cast diverse so that the audience could identify with more of the characters. The actors were cast between December 2014 and July 2015. At one point, Jason Momoa was in talks to join the project but had had to leave because he was already booked to play Aquaman. The cast were put through cowboy training before filming commenced. They were sent to boot camps in order to hone their skills. Fuqua further brought the remake up-to-date by changing the names and occupations of the seven, casting a diverse set of actors and making sure the lead female Emma Cullen, played by Haley Bennett, did not conform to stereotypes.


    Denzel Washington plays Sam Chisolm ("the Bounty Hunter"), a duly sworn warrant officer from Wichita, Kansas who goes after bad guys. Washington's character was renamed from Chris Adams (played by Yul Brynner in the original film) to Sam Chisolm. It is Washington's first Western film.Washington did not watch Western films growing up since it was the end of the Western era in the movies. Moreover, he and his sibings were barred from going to the cinema since his father was a minister in a church. They instead grew up watching biblical films like King of Kings and The Ten Commandments. However, he has admitted seeing portions of Rawhide and Bonanza shows. He did not watch the original film in preparation for this but has watched Seven Samurai. This was an arbitrary decision of his, since he figured that watching the original film would not help him much, "[Not seeing it] allowed me to do whatever I wanted to do. Instead of trying not to do what someone else did." As with his previous films, Washington would start off the day by kneeling down and praying, asking for forgiveness for all his wrong-doings, "For me, this is more than just making movies. It is a platform." Fuqua said that Washington, whom he has twice collaborated with, was his first choice to be cast irrespective of which role. The producers were skeptical whether he would take the job since it was a Western film. Fuqua then flew to New York City to negotiate with Washington, who accepted the offer.


    Chris Pratt plays Josh Faraday ("the Gambler"). According to Pratt, Faraday is "a bit of a fox, a trickster. He's a gambler, a drinker. He loves the ladies. But he's deadly in a fire fight." Like Washington, it is also Pratt's first Western film and the first film in which the two have starred together. Pratt began watching Western films at the age of 31 while filming in London and would watch films like The Westerner (1940). He credits Gary Cooper for revitalizing his perspective towards Western films. Pratt's character was the toughest to find. Fuqua was well aware of Pratt's penchant towards Western films. He and his team then approached Pratt who called back in a few days singing "Oh Shenandoah," to which Fuqua replied, "He's it. He's Steve McQueen."


    Ethan Hawke is Goodnight Robicheaux ("the Sharpshooter"), a former Confederate soldier. Unlike the 1960 version, Hawke's version is more haunted and mature. Fuqua had one idea – to keep picturing Goodnight as if Christopher Walken's character Nikanor "Nick" Chevotarevich in The Deer Hunter was a Civil War veteran; just a shattered person.Hawke was the first person to come on board after the project was finalized. Like Washington, The Magnificent Seven marks the third collaboration between Hawke and Fuqua after Training Day (2001) and Brooklyn's Finest (2009). Hawke stumbled upon Fuqua and Washington during the New York premiere of The Equalizer in 2014 and, upon learning that a remake was in the works, he asked Fuqua to cast him in the film


    Manuel Garcia-Rulfo plays Vasquez ("the Outlaw"), a bandit, robber, and criminal who has been on the run for several months. He does not have anything to lose because he has no family. He describes his character as someone who loves gunfighting.


    Martin Sensmeier plays Red Harvest ("the Warrior"), a native Comanche who joins the group. Sensmeier auditioned several times in order to get the role. He stayed off social media and studied intently in order to portray his part.[ Scotty Augere, who previously worked on Dances with Wolves, taught Sensmeier how to ride a horse bareback and would ride with him two hours a day.


    Vincent d'Onofrio was cast as Jack Horn, ("the Mountain Man"), on the urging of co-stars Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke.[30] For the role, d'Onofrio developed a raw, high-pitched voice to give the impression of a man who'd lived in the wilderness for years without speaking to people, and, when he wanted to test the voice for Fuqua, the director refused to listen, instructing the actor to surprise him with it in his first scene, which resulted in a delighted Fuqua laughing so hard that he almost ruined the scene by interfering with the sound recording.


    Byung-hun Lee plays Billy Rocks, ("the Assassin") the knife wielding Asian member of the seven. Director Antoine Fuqua compared the way he handled his knives to a ballet dancer.


    Music
    James Horner was tapped to write the film's score, but he died (on June 22, 2015), before filming could commence. In July 2015 Fuqua learned that the composer had already begun working on the music before his passing. Horner's friend and score producer Simon Franglen co-composed the score afterward. It was released on September 16, 2016 by Sony Classical, and is the third Horner-score released posthumously.



    Filming
    Principal photography on the film lasted 64 days, from March 18 to August 18, 2015, in the north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Other locations include St. Francisville; Zachary, Louisiana; Ridgway, Colorado; and New Mexico. Filming in St. Francisville was completed between May 18 and May 29, 2015.


    The climactic battle between the Seven and a small army led by Bogue took three weeks to shoot; the weather was inclement. Sometimes the cast and crew would wait in the on-set saloon for storms to pass, and, at times when the storm would worsen, the trailer would rock and they would have to leave the set. Since his grandmother was the prime influence on the film, every day after filming, Fuqua would ask himself if she would have fun watching it.


    Release
    The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2016, and served as the closing-night film at the Venice Film Festival on September 9, 2016. The film was originally set to be released on January 13, 2017; however in February 2016, Sony Pictures Entertainment moved the release date this time from January 13, 2017, and then to September 23, 2016.


    Marketing
    Sony kicked off its campaign on April 20, 2016, by launching the first trailer, and the cast took to their social media platforms to reveal character-by-character.Television advertisement began during the summer when the trailers were paired with the NBA finals and BET Awards as well as the 2016 Summer Olympics. Sony rounded out the campaign with a presence in live sporting events such as National Football League, NCAA Football and local Major League Baseball as well as highly anticipated fall premieres and original programming, like Empire, The Voice, American Horror Story, Fear the Walking Dead and Designated Survivor.


    Reception
    Box office
    The Magnificent Seven grossed $93.4 million in the United States Canada and $68.9 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $162.4 million, against a net production budget of $90 million. The film had a global 2D IMAX opening of $4.3 million from 606 theaters.


    North America
    In the United States and Canada, The Magnificent Seven opened alongside Storks, and was projected to open to around $30 million, with some estimates going as high as $50 million, which would make it one of the biggest September debuts of all-time. The film opened in 3,674 theaters, including having the benefit of playing in all IMAX theaters for one week and a number of premium large formats and D-Box screens. It made $1.75 million from Thursday previews and $12.7 million on its first day. The film went on to gross $35.7 million in its opening weekend of which $2.9 million came from 372 IMAX theaters and managed to top the box office and scored the third biggest Western openers (not accounting for inflation), behind Rango ($38.1 million) and Cowboys & Aliens ($36.4 million). It is also director Fuqua's second biggest opening and Washington's third biggest.


    The Magnificent Seven's robust opening in North America was partly attributed to the presence of Denzel Washington, with 61% of audiences citing him as the prime reason for seeing the film during its opening weekend.
    According to The Los Angeles Times, the film was released in theaters at a time when the Western genre had been struggling to attract wide audiences and accrue lucrative revenues, as it has shown considerable downfall in interest among patrons since the 1970s.
    The genre has had several recent box office flops such as The Lone Ranger (2013) and Cowboys & Aliens (2011), but has also found success in films like Django Unchained (2012) and True Grit (2010). Its strong debut in North America was partly attributed to the presence of Denzel Washington, who industry analysts say is one of only a handful of movie stars today who consistently draws large audiences to theaters and also to Fuqua's direction. Deadline.com pointed out that the production budget of films also plays an important role in determining a film's success. By comparison to other recent Western films, The Magnificent cost $90 million
    to make before promotion and marketing costs are included. The site pointed out that "the trick is keeping their budgets reasonable", unlike The Lone Ranger which cost a hefty $215 million to make and Cowboys & Aliens cost $163 million.
    It became a financial recoverer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer after the studio lost a great deal of money with Ben-Hur the previous month and became the studio's second hit of the year following the sleeper hit Me Before You released in June this year.



    Outside North America
    The film was projected to make around $100 million with foreign box office prognosticators expecting a similar $101.6 million total of The Hateful Eight. It was released in South Korea (the first market worldwide) on September 14, 2016 and delivered an opening of $5.1 million, finishing in third place at the box office behind local film The Age of Shadows and Hollywood tent pole Ben-Hur. Internationally, it next opened in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Germany, Spain, and Russia The following weekend, the film expanded to 62 markets and grossed $19.2 million from 63 markets (including Korea). IMAX made up $1.4 million from 234 theaters.


    It opened in first place in Russia ($1.8 million) Spain ($1.1 million) and Malaysia ($560,000) and second in the United Kingdom and Ireland ($2.6 million), Germany ($1.4 million) and Brazil ($1.1 million),and had similar openings in Australia ($2.8 million) and France ($1.9 million).China is not yet determined.


    Critical response
    The Magnificent Seven received mixed reviews, with critics praising the cast but noting the film did not offer much that is original or innovative.On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 63%, based on 257 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Magnificent Seven never really lives up to the superlative in its title – or the classics from which it draws inspiration – but remains a moderately diverting action thriller on its own merits." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a score of 54 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". According to CinemaScore polls, audiences gave the film an average "A–" grade, on an A+ to F scale.


    IGN critic Terri Schwartz gave the film a 6.7/10 and summarized her review with: "The Magnificent Seven ends up being a bit too predictable to reach its full potential, but the fun the cast clearly had making it allows the movie to be an enjoyable ride while it lasts. Fuqua does his best to update the Western for the modern audience, but doesn't capture what made those films great in the process. The action is big and sleek, the characters are charismatic and the film looks beautiful, but this won't be a movie that stays with you long after you leave the theater.


    Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper praised the film by giving a score of 3 stars out of 4, writing: "Over all [sic], this is a rousing, albeit sometimes cheesy, action-packed Western bolstered by Denzel Washingtons baddest-of-the-baddasses lead performance, mostly fine supporting work, and yep, some of the most impressively choreographed extended shootout sequences in recent memory."


    James Berardinelli of Reelviews gave a score of 2 stars out of 4, writing: "The original The Magnificent Seven found a perfect balance between moments of grand triumph and the understated, solemn denouement. This The Magnificent Seven has the dour ending without the high points preceding it. With two better versions of this story readily available, why bother with this mediocre re-telling? 'Currently recognizable actors' hardly seems like a good justification."


    MTV's Amy Nicholson decried the film, writing: "Fuquas made two clean piles separating good and evil, and in doing so, hes thrown away the films point. Now we can trade our conscience for a bucket of popcorn. Todays The Magnificent Seven is just another superhero flick that spends half its running time assembling a band of bulletproof daredevils. Which makes sense — the original inspired The Avengers, which published its first comic three years after it was a hit."


    Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three out of four stars, saying,
    "The new Seven isn't aiming for cinema immortality.
    It's two hours of hardcore, shoot-em-up pow and it's entertaining as hell."



    User Review


    The Drab Seven
    27 September 2016 | by RTTerry (United States)


    Best Wishes
    Keith
    London- England

    Edited once, last by ethanedwards ().