Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' (TV 2000)

The behind-the-scenes story of the making of the classic Western.

Director:

Louis Heaton

Stars:

Bob Benecke, Maria Palacios de Erickson, Chazz Palminteri

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bob Benecke	...	Narrator (voice)
Maria Palacios de Erickson	...	Narrator (voice)
Chazz Palminteri	...	Himself
John Carpenter	...	Himself
Lawrence Kasdan	...	Himself
James Coburn	...	Himself
Yul Brynner	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lou Morheim	...	Himself
Doris Kleiner	...	erself, former wife of Yul Brynner (as Doris Brynner)
Walter Bernstein	...	Himself
Walter Mirisch	...	Himself
Robert E. Relyea	...	Himself (as Robert Relyea)
Neile Adams	...	Herself, former wife of Steve McQueen (as Niele McQueen Toffel)
Horst Buchholz	...	Himself
Eli Wallach	...	Himself

Storyline

A look back at one of the classics of the western genre, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this long-time favorite about a group of mercenary gunmen who band together to rescue a small farming town from a gang of bandits. Incudes interviews with the stars, as well as archived footage of stars Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner, and director Akira Kurosawa, on whose 'The Seven Samurai',this film was based.

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Plot Keywords:

making of | behind the scenes | interview | film making | employer employee relationship | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 2000 (UK)

Also Known As:

Pyssysankarit - miten 7 rohkeata miestä tehtiin

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel 4 Television Corporation, October Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Bronson was the only then-living star of The Magnificent Seven not interviewed for this documentary.

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Goofs

John A. Alonzo is interviewed about his role as one of the Mexican villagers. But he is identified as playing "Miguel," the role actually played by Natividad Vacío. Furthermore, Alonzo's interview is illustrated with clips supposedly of his younger self in the film, but the clips seen are actually of Vacío. Alonzo states that he was the only Spanish-speaking American in the cast, but Vacío was a native-born U.S. citizen whose first language was Spanish.

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Connections

References The Bridge at Remagen (1969)

User Reviews

essential viewing for fans...

A fascinating documentary made 40 years after the film.It is essential viewing for fans and anybody interested in american westerns. By far its best feature is the up to date interviews with the surviving members of the cast, many of whom have been out of the public eye for several years (Eli Wallach, Horst Buchholz, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn and Rosenda Monteros appear) along with composer Elmer Bernstein, executive-producer Walter Mirisch, associate producer Lou Morheim and assistant director Robert Relyea. The documentary includes archive footage of the film itself and footage of Yul Brynner and director John Sturges. Fans of the picture, directors John Carpenter and Lawrence Kasdan contribute their thoughts as to why "The Magnificent Seven" is such an enduring film. If I had to criticise this valuable document I would have preferred a longer running time, hired a different narrator and included some archive footage of Steve McQueen. Charles Bronson curiously does not appear in the documentary, but these are small criticisms. Paul Kerr and Louis Heaton have done the public a service with this film.