Have you watched "Magnificent Seven"? It is Kurosawa ported to the wild west.
The film is a classic because of its exciting story, great cast, (Vaughn, Dexter, Bronson, Coburn, McQueen, Brynner, and Wallach), and stirring musical score, (Elmer Bernstein).
The basic story involves seven gunmen being hired by a poor Mexican village to protect it from 40 nasty bandits, led by Bandit leader, Calvera, (Eli Wallach), the poster boy for self-centeredness, heartlessness, and cruelty. His rationalization for his gang's evil deeds was "If God did not want them sheared, he wouldn't have made them sheep." Every year before winter, Calvera and his motley thugs raid this village for food stuffs for the winter, taking more and more each year, leaving the farmers each time in the position of being closer to starvation. In desperation, they turn to Chris Adams, a drifter who is good with a gun, for help.
So, Chris Adams (Yule Brynner) rounds up the other gunfighters, who he thinks can defeat these Mexican bullies, and bring peace and life to this poor peasant village, willing to give them everything they have of value, which wasn't much. This impressed Chris, because he had never been paid with everything someone had before.
The film takes a while to get going, for a good reason though. Some regard this film as a character study of individuals, hardened by life and their own choices, who come together for a common purpose, and believe in variations of the same philosophy of self-autonomy, self-direction and personal honor. Taking some time for this character development helps explain to the audience why these men would agree to go up against the odds, for the principle of protecting the innocent from evil forces. Each of the seven characters are developed for the audience for a purpose in these scenes, which adds to the enjoyment of the action scenes later on, which are gripping and hold your attention.
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