100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 39 ~ The Magnificent Seven

Back to back John Sturges movies.

Sometimes things like that happen.

I would say that I saw this movie for the first time within the last fifteen years.

I was blown away by the movie.  Great actors, great direction, great storytelling.

The movie?

A Bug's Life.

Only that one had a much happier ending for all involved.

So sometime over the last decade, I caught The Magnificent Seven for the first time, and was blown away again!

How could they have copied that great Pixar film, 40 years earlier?

Time travel!

But no, that simply tells you how good the basic premise of the story is.  And no, I've never seen Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, the movie upon which THIS movie was based.

So, about half of the Seven were in yesterday's film, and you know they must've known that working with Sturges was a good thing, because finding two great films like that within three years doesn't happen to many actors.

So the story, for those that have never seen it (and believe me, if you've watched ANY TV or movie in your lifetime, there has been some variation of this story told time after time):

A bad dude and his fellow baddies terrorize a town year after year.  They steal, plunder and basically own the place.  Finally, the townspeople have enough, and they hire...

The A-Team.

See, I told you you've seen this somewhere!

They put out the call for someone to protect their town.

In rides 7 men to stand against the 40+ bad guys and try and save the day.

Naturally, they will be successful, but in the case of this version, not all of the heroes will survive the encounter.

While I have mentioned there was great acting, I'm not going to single out the actors today.

I would like to take  a moment to acknowledge Elmer Bernstein for his contribution to the film with the Theme for the Magnificent Seven.  Even if you don't think you know it...

You know it.

The movies that he was the composer for, read like a who's who of awesome movies from the 50s-70s.  Yes, he was in charge of The Great Escape as well... he plays well with Sturges.


So to sum this one up...

This is the movie for people that don't like Westerns...have never seen a Western... or wouldn't know a good movie if it him them in the butt.

If they don't walk away from this one going..."that was kinda cool..."

Then there is no hope for them.

: )

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 40 ~ The Great Escape

And the Countdown rolls on!

Thanks to Casey Kasem as I bring this thing home with the Top 40!

My appreciation to those of you who have endured the last 60 days of doing this alongside me.  I do appreciate all of the comments here and on Facebook.

: )



My two favorite war movies, back to back.

The Great Escape is based on a true story by Paul Brickhill (read the book...recommended!) where he amalgamates his fellow P.O.W.s to relate what they went through to escape what the Nazis had determined to be the ultimate escape-proof prison.

So proud and confident of their design, they literally courted trouble by bringing in nothing but the worst of the worst...

All of the prisoners who had previously been a thorn in the Nazi's side were brought together under one roof, to break their will and prove that escape was impossible.

Beware of boasting, as it often leads to "the Titanic Syndrome".

Sure enough, putting all of these eggs in one basket presented the Allies with an irresistible option:

Prove that escape was not only possible, they were going to send more prisoners over the wall...theoretically...than ever before.

The Germans would spend so much manpower and time finding the prisoners, it would help hamper their ability to fight on the front lines.

And, for those who are not aware of the movie, or history...

They were right.

However, the price that they paid to undertake this mission was high indeed.

The undertaking these men shoulder is monumental in scope and impressive in audacity.  That it was actually pulled off is a triumph of willpower and sheer bravado.

If you've never watched it, by all means, see it!

If it's been awhile, watch it again.  The performances by this all-star cast are impeccable.

Steve McQueen gets most of the spotlight, and the cool action sequences, but I am partial to James Garner's portrayal of the scrounger in the film.

John Sturges makes his first of two directorial appearances on the countdown.  We'll visit his second all-star epic tomorrow.

I can't say enough good things about this film.

It could easily make my Top 25, but it's long and I rarely get the time to watch it, or an audience that enjoys it as much as I do.

But that's okay, it still makes the countdown, and I'm okay with that.

Here's to Tom, Dick, and Harry!