The Magnificent Seven is one of those movies where the score is perhaps even more widely recognised than the movie itself.

You will almost certainly have heard the music, by Elmer Bernstein. The Oscar-nominated score has subsequently featured in countless ads and TV shows.

If you have been living under a rock and are not familiar with the movie itself, it is an Old West remake of the Japanese classic Seven Samurai.  The seven gunslingers are hired by villagers in Mexico as protection against a gang of bandits. Each of them, naturally, has slightly different skills, and most of them, predictably, perish in the final confrontation. 

But what makes The Magnificent Seven stand out is the simply amazing cast. It has become something of a trivia question to name all of the 7 actors – but the better known ones are Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Robert Vaughan. This was before most of them (Brynner excepted) had become major stars. The performances and the chemistry/rivalry (Brynner and McQueen apparently did not get along at all) is what makes the movie.

The movie spawned several lesser sequels and a so-so remake with Denzel Washington. It is also the second most shown movie in US television history (behind The Wizard Of Oz). This is the Belgian poster, which would grace any Western fan’s wall. It can be found for sale here.