More like “The Suckers From America”. Remember the feeling of honor and codes. That’s what these seven dirtbags are hoping for in a farming town in Mexico who are desperate to get a bandido raider (Eli Wallach) from stealing their crops.
There are some massive issues with the logic of the movie,
but a lot can be chocked up to…well, it was the times. I love this type of
western, because it meant something. These dirtbag cowboys have had their
history in the world. And banded together for zippo money for the legend they
hope to become, instead of the outlaws and scoundrels they’ve become. A
redemption on their end. Why not use the skills of terrible people to do good.
A great premise. And one first cultivated in Akira Kurosawa’s “The Seven
Samurai.” Yes, this movie is a remake, and the next one coming out this year
will also be a remake of the original Japanese story. In case you didn’t know
your film history. I understand though, since I didn’t really fully comprehend
some people sidestep the concept of remakes by saying that they’re remaking the
source literary remake. “The Revenant” incidentally, isn’t a remake of “Man In
The Wilderness” it’s taking from the source material of the man it’s based on
(which I believe is now public domain). They sidestepped it all, and our
fucking stupid society didn’t even go up in arms about the ape job these people
were attempting .Yet, people flip their shit over “Ghostbusters” remake (note:
audiences are your friends and enemies…the stupid stupid idiotic enemy, which
believes its own victory lies in a weekend box office receipt, and not
say…longevity).
Yul Brenner stars in this one. A lone traveling gunman who
comes across three Mexican farmers who are searching for the help of a gunman.
Brenner picks up another down-on-his-luck guy Steve McQueen, in a heroic act of
coaching a Native American through racist gauntlet to bury the body in a
cemetery, they both catch the attention of these Mexicans.
They explain to them their situation. A bad man, played by Eli
Wallach (in his “Good, Bad, Ugly…” years) has an army of men who come into town
and steal their crops. They need protection. Yul, being Yul…and with nothing on
his plate, is intrigued by the challenge. In fact, they even point out that
some men only do things for challenge.
Eventually they find the 7 men through fun ways. James
Coburn shows his prowess with a knife in the most fun way.
The townsfolk are rightfully afraid of the gunman. As far as
they know, people with guns are crooks. And they’re not wrong. But these men
are here for redemption. Not crime. And they proceed to also train the townsmen
to defend themselves. The most amusing one being that Charles Bronson is
flanked by children who will profit from his death, though promise to honor
him. A touching moment shared by this chiseled face tough guy.
This movie is crammed with honor and dishonor. The
difference between doing something for money, and just doing something because
it’s right. A lot of these bad guys are using it as an opportunity to reboot
their lives. And this may be the last stand to do so. In that case, it’s a
cause worth fighting for. I hope that the new remake will include this theme.
It’s sorely missing in our society today. That you can be tough, but also live
with honor, and word of mouth commitments. It’s strange, but during this time…this
was produced by The Mirsich Company (which produced my favority movie ever “The
Apartment”) which I read recently conducted most of their dealings with a
verbal promise and a handshake. AND they made good on their word. To me, it is
the sole reason why we are so litigious these days. That we can’t keep our
word. There’s a great lesson to be learned from this movie.
Great!
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