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In 1960, one of the greatest Westerns of all time, The Magnificent Seven, premiered in theaters, yet many don't realize the movie is the first in a franchise of underrated Westerns. The Magnificent Seven is directed by John Sturges and based on the 1954 Akira Kurosawa movie, Seven Samurai. The film centers on a Mexican village being terrorized by a man named Calvera and his team of cruel outlaws. As a result, the villagers hire seven American gunslingers to protect them. The cowboys not only teach the villagers to protect themselves, but take down Calvera once and for all.

Though it may seem surprising now, upon its release, The Magnificent Seven was something of a failure. It did poorly at the box office in the United States and Canada, and only made a profit due to success in Europe and Asia. Furthermore, reviews were mixed. While some praised The Magnificent Seven for its high-energy first half,...

Prime Video’s November programming will dip its toe into Christmas and other holiday offerings such as The Holiday (2006) starring Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jack Black. The streamer will also add some films with sequels arriving in theaters this month, like Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) and Ridley Scott’s 1992 film Gladiator.

For the full list of Prime Video programming in November 2024, see below.

Related: New On Netflix For November 2024: Movies, TV Shows and More

Nov. 1

Movies:

12 Days of Christmas Eve (2004) 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995) 50 To 1 (2014) A Knight’s Tale (2001) Absolute Deception (2013) Across The Universe (2007) Agent Cody Banks (2003) Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) Airplane! (1980) All Saints (2017) Almost Christmas (2016) Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid (2004) Anger Management (2003) Apache (1954) Bad Company (2002) Battlefield Earth (2000) Battleship (2012) Big Night (1996) Blizzard (2003) Blown Away (1993) Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004) Boomerang (1992) Bucky Larson Born To Be A Star (2011) Carrie...

One of the sequels to the legendary Western film The Magnificent Seven will soon get a new streaming home. 1969's Guns of the Magnificent Seven will arrive on Prime Video on November 1.

Directed by Paul Wendkos and produced by Vincent M. Fennelly, Guns of the Magnificent Seven stars George Kennedy as the character Chris Adams, originally portrayed by Yul Brynner in previous franchise entries. Rounding out the seven are James Whitmore as Levi Morgan, Monte Markham as Keno, Reni Santoni as Maximiliano "Max" O'Leary, Bernie Casey as Cassie, Scott Thomas as P.J., and Joe Don Baker as Slater. The group bands together to free the Mexican revolutionary Angel Quintero, played by Fernando Rey, and fight the oppression of the sadistic Colonel Diego, portrayed by Michael Ansara. The movie's cast also includes Wende Wagner, Tony Davis, Frank Silvera, Sancho Gracia, Luis Rivera, George Rigaud, and Peter Lawman.

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The Western genre stands out as one of the strongest and most compelling in cinema. Despite its declining audience in the 21st century, the genre continues to have an impressive output, with many of the best-written and best-acted films in history taking place in the Old West. From action-packed adventure to ultra-violent antihero stories and even war movies, there are plenty of great movies to choose from.

The Western genre is, alongside drama and war, something of an outlier in cinema due to the fact it has so few sequels. In fact, many of the movies deemed duologies or trilogies in the genre are often loosely related, and there's a famous trend of stars rarely reprising their roles when they are follow-ups, such as the True Grit and High Noon sequels. As a result, few Western sequels are held in high esteem, though there are plenty worth a look.

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Western sequels, like The Lost City of Gold, can expand upon the original with epic narratives and iconic stars. Films like Return of the Seven may not bring back all original cast members but still capture the magic of the original. Classics like Trinity Is Still My Name prove that Western sequels can balance comedy and action for a successful franchise.

Although there have been countless great Western movies over the years, this was not a genre well-known for boasting a lot of fantastic sequels. Whether it's because the nature of cowboys, gunslingers, and outlaws usually led to an early grave or because some of the best Westerns were based on fact, its rare to find a truly must-watch Western sequel. However, there were a select few Western sequels that lovers of the genre absolutely must check out that lived up to or even improved upon the original movie or source material.

One could say it’s a “by-the-numbers” summer with “Despicable Me 4,” “Inside Out 2”” and “A Quiet Place: Day One” among the top box office films. But one of the masterpieces of the 20th century, Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,” is back in theaters for its 70th anniversary in a limited release in a new 4K restoration. The acclaimed, influential epic is set in a 16th century Japanese village of poor farmers who hire the seven samurai to protect them from invading bandits intent on stealing their barley crop.

The film stars two members of Japanese filmmaker’s stock company — Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. “Samurai” as noted in the press notes for the new restoration “virtually redefined Japanese cinema’s sword play and period genres, proving Kurosawa a master of both visually thrilling and dramatically complex storytelling.”

Though “Seven Samurai” was released in Japan on April 26, 1954, and was...

There wasn't a more capable director of massive, widescreen Westerns working in Hollywood during the 1950s and '60s than John Sturges. Whether classical ("Gunfight at the O.K. Corral") or somewhat unconventional ("Bad Day at Black Rock"), Sturges could frame a mountainous expanse or stage a gunfight with the best of them. He thrived when working with big casts and specialized in discovering stirring nuances in characters that would've been walking cliches in more typical genre flicks.

Sturges was also efficient, which came in handy when managing expensive studio productions populated with big egos. His biggest challenge in this department might've been "The Magnificent Seven," the 1960 remake of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece "Seven Samurai." Yul Brynner, then a hugely popular movie star (largely on the strength of his Academy Award-winning performance in "The King and I" and his portrayal of Ramses in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments"), controlled...

Some Western sequels surpassed the originals, like in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy, standing the test of time. Others, like High Noon, Part II & Return of the Seven, failed to live up to the originals, disappointing audiences. Planned sequels, like Wind River: The Next Chapter & Horizon: An American Saga, aim to continue the stories of iconic Westerns.

It’s not incredibly common for Western movies to receive sequels, which was likely because most of them end in a shootout with the majority of the characters meeting their demise. However, there were a select few that, due to their popularity or narrative needs, were lucky enough to garner a follow-up. When looking at Western movies that received sequels, the most noticeable aspect was the sheer variety in quality, as some could be far superior to the original and others struggled to justify their existence.

Some Western sequels were entirely disposal...

Amazon Studios has identified a batch of titles from its $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM that the company plans to develop into TV or film projects, including “Robocop,” “Stargate” “Legally Blonde,” “Fame,” Barbershop,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Pink Panther” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

A source familiar with the matter confirmed to TheWrap that the company is in active early conversations for a “Legally Blonde” movie and potential TV series. Additionally, Amazon has similar plans for “Stargate” under consideration, with a movie expected to go first. “Robocop” is also being discussed for film and TV, with a TV series potentially going first.

The source added that Amazon Studios is actively developing TV series based on “Fame,” “Barbershop” and “The Magnificent Seven,” as well as discussing “Thomas Crown Affair” movie and “Pink Panther” movie, which could be animated. A “Poltergeist” project is also under consideration.

The news was first reported by Deadline.

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By Lee Pfeiffer

For fans of "The Magnificent Seven", the sands in the hourglass have finally run out. Since the mid-1990s, there have been attempts by studio executives to bring director John Sturges' classic 1960 Western back to the big screen. There was a reasonably popular TV series based on the film that aired in the 1990s but no big screen feature film ever went into production- until now. We realize it is irresponsible to judge a film simply on the basis of its trailer. However, it is appropriate to judge the trailer on its own merits. Suffice it to say that the trailer for the new big screen version of "The Magnificent Seven" stinks-- on ice.  First, it's cut in the same style that virtually every action movie trailer now follows. It's as though the creators of these trailers are in arrested development from the era of  when...

CinemaCon 2016 is in full swing right now in Las Vegas, where all of the movie studios are showing off their blockbuster releases for the next few years. One of the movies making a splash is The Magnificent Seven remake. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, best known for Training Day and The Equalizer, this big budget Western once again re-teams him with the star of those two movies, Denzel Washington, who can be seen in his full cowboy getup right in the center of a new banner that also shows off the rest of this cast.

The Magnificent Seven reboot script comes from John Lee Hancock, best known for A Perfect World, and Nic Pizzolatto, the writer behind HBO's acclaimed drama series True Detective. The movie hits theaters this September, and boasts quite an ensemble alongside leading man Denzel Washington. It is a remake of the classic 1960 John Sturges Western of the same name,...

Some of the international movie posters presented in Cinema Retro issue #28, which features in-depth coverage of the making of Zulu.

By Brian Hannan

The 50th anniversary showing of Zulu in Britain next month is unlikely to be repeated in the U.S. where the film flopped. But even the poorest box-office performer has an afterlife. So in 1965 Zulu was pushed out again anywhere that would have it. That meant it supported some odd, not to say ugly, bedfellows – exploitationer Taboos of the World in Kansas City, The Three Stooges in The Outlaws Is Coming in Phoenix, B western Stage To Thunder Rock in Long Beach, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini in Des Moines and Rhino in Abilene. They liked it in Long Beach where it supported both Circus World and That Man from Rio. It was the second feature to None But the Brave in Provo, Utah, and to two more successful Joe E.

If there’s one thing we here at City of Films love more than movies…it’s getting fantastic deals on those movies! You may have noticed that we’ve posted a couple of Amazon deals here in the past week and they seem to have been popular, so we thought we’d turn this into a regular thing.

Here’s how it will work, we’ll compile a short list of movies or box sets from both Amazon.com and Amazon.ca that we think you’ll enjoy and that also happen to be great deals! We’re not sure how long these prices will last though, but we’ll do our best to keep them updated.

Today we’ll be sharing Blu-ray sets from Amazon.ca, unless otherwise specified.

So remember…buy high, sell…wait, that’s not how it goes…sell low or…hrm how does that go?...

Though his only claims to fame writing for the small screen are a couple episodes of The Killing and the HBO drama, True Detective with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, Nic Pizzolatto has been tapped to pen the remake of MGM's The Magnificent Seven. Tom Cruise is set to star in the picture and, now that a writer has been secured, the project should start to show more signs of progress. The Magnificent Seven will still have to cast six gunslingers in addition to Cruise, as well as a group of marauding bandits. Hit the jump for more. Variety reports that Pizzolatto is the choice for the Magnificent Seven remake, marking it as the screenwriters first major film project. The author-turned-screenwriter won numerous awards for his debut 2011 novel, Galveston, which was compared to the early works of Cormac McCarthy. The Magnificent Seven was, itself, a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s...

Picking your favorite Akira Kurosawa film is a tricky choice for any movie fan. From "Rashomon" to "Ran," the great Japanese filmmaker, one of the most beloved and influential directors of all time, knocked out a string of classics in a career that lasted well over 40 years. But more often than not, at the top of the list for Kurosawa fans is "The Seven Samurai," the 1954 samurai epic that redefined the action movie for generations.

Following six samurai (and one pretender, iconically played by Toshiro Mifune) who are recruited by a village of farmers to protect them from bandits, it remains to this day one of the most stirring, thrilling adventures in cinema history, and landed Kurosawa firmly on the map in international cinema. The film was released in Japan 58 years ago today, on April 26th, 1954 (a U.S. release, heavily cut down, would follow 30 months later), and to mark the occasion,...

DVD Playhouse—September 2011

By Allen Gardner

In A Better World (Sony) Winner of last year’s Best Foreign Film Oscar, this Danish export looks at two fractured families and the effect that the adult world dysfunction has on their two sons, who form an immediate and potentially deadly bond. Director Susanne Bier delivers another powerful work that maintains its drive during the films’ first 2/3, then falters somewhat during the last act. Still, well-worth seeing, and beautifully made. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Commentary by Bier and editor Pernille Bech Christensen; Interview with Bier. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.

X-men First Class (20th Century Fox) “Origins” film set in the early 1960s, traces the beginnings of Magento and Professor X (played ably here by Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy), and how the once-close friends and colleagues became bitter enemies. First half is slam-bang entertainment at its stylish best,...

The Movie Pool moseys up to Return of the Magnificent Seven, on Blu-ray for the first time!

Blu-ray Specs

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Running Time: 95 minutes

Rating: Not rated

Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD-ma

Subtitles: English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Spanish, French

Special Features:

The Set-up

Chris (Yul Brynner) reunites the surviving members of the Magnificent Seven when one of their own is kidnapped in Mexico.

Director: Burt Kennedy

Screenplay: Larry Cohen

The Delivery

A colossal misstep that should have never been made, Return of the Magnificent Seven has so many things going against it. It is really too bad, because the film, at its core, is not bad; it is just average. What makes Return such a disappointment is the buildup of expectation the viewer has going in. Only Yul Brynner returns from the original; Steve McQueen and the other cast members (who were not killed) did not return.

Warning signs abound for Return of the Magnificent Seven (or just Return of the Seven) when you consider that Yul Brynner was the only returning member of the original cast and that the story is essentially a recap of the original but moved about 50 miles into a desert. It’s a textbook example of everything a film franchise should never do, but Return did it all. Although, there was enough fun in the original The Magnificent Seven that had they actually managed to recapture the spirit and bolster the cast with equally charismatic personalities then it could have amounted to more than just an abysmal failure. Instead, they took every element from the first and just copied it all. There may be some classic Western elements in here, but overall Return of the Magnificent Seven is a shamefully lazy sequel that seems intent on nullifying the struggle of the original.

At 7, ESPN2 has The U.S. Open. At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother. TCM has The Magnificent Seven at 8, followed by Return of the Seven. At 8:30, Cartoon Network has a new Stoked. At 9, MTV has a new Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory, then new episodes of Bully Beatdown, Nitro Circus, and Pranked. Spike has Tna Wrestling at 9. Tlc has a new Police Women of Broward County at 9, followed by a new L.A. Ink. At 10, Lifetime has a new Project Runway. There's a new Ace of Cakes on Food Network at 10. Bravo has a new Real Housewives of Atlanta at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk shows.Continue reading What's On Tonight: Big Brother, Project Runway, Ace of Cakes

 

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On Thursday, September 3, Turner Classic Movies (North America) will present all four of the Magnificent Seven films back-to-back starting with the original 1960 classic. It took six years for the first sequel, Return of the Seven, with Yul Brynner still in the leading role. Brynner was replaced by George Kennedy in the 1969 sequel Guns of the Magnificent Seven and Lee Van Cleef took over the lead in the fourth and final entry, The Magnificent Seven Ride! which was released in 1972. All of the sequels are fairly anemic if compared to the original, but each is quite entertaining nonetheless. A primary asset for all the sequels:  Elmer Bernstein's superb main theme was retained for each film. The action begins at 8:00 and runs through the wee small hours of Friday.