Seven (1979)

Hawaii has fallen under the control of a ruthless cartel of seven gangsters. The FBI acquires the services of an ex-agent turned assassin Drew Savano (William Smith) who in turn assemble a team of seven hitmen to stop them.

Director:

Andy Sidaris

Writers:

Robert Baird, William Driskill

Stars:

William Smith, Barbara Leigh, Guich Koock

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Smith	...	Drew Savano
Barbara Leigh	...	Alexa
Guich Koock	...	Cowboy
Christopher Joy	...	T.K.
Art Metrano	...	Kincella
Ed Parker	...	Ed Parker
Richard LePore	...	Professor
Reggie Nalder	...	Ronald Kahala 'The Hermit'
Seth Sakai	...	Keoki McDowell
Kwan Hi Lim	...	Mr. Chen
Tino Tuiolosega	...	Mr. Lee
Henry Ayau	...	Butterfly
Peter Knecht	...	Kimo Maderos
Lenny Montana	...	The Kahuna
Martin Kove	...	Skip

Storyline

In sun-drenched Hawaii, a dynamic criminal organisation run by seven ruthless professional kingpins intends to liquidate its political leaders, and when they fulfil their plans, take over the 50th State and pillage the land. Although this may be true, the government will soon retaliate by summoning the unconventional special agent Drew Sevano, who, in turn, assembles an invincible and well-equipped army of six other deadly agents; all assigned will their target of choice. But things are looking bleak and the mandatory half-hour time frame for the completion of the operation is already tight. Will Sevano's Seven succeed?

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Plot Keywords:

bodybuilder | shooting a woman | rocket propelled grenade | helicopter | female pilot | 

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Taglines:

When the going gets rough, send for Sevano's Seven!

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sevano's Seven

Filming Locations:

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sidan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 84 min (MGM HD print)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is one of the longest of Writer, Producer and Director Andy Sidaris at 101 Minutes. His films usually run uncut at around Ninety to Ninety-Five Minutes. Malibu Express is the longest of his career at 105 Minutes.

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Crazy Credits

As the closing credits are printed out, Christopher Joy's name is misspelled as "Christipher Joy."

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Alternate Versions

There are two versions of this film. One version that was available on the MGM digital cable channel which only runs 90 Minutes and missing eleven minutes. The uncut version which was just released by Kino Lorber is the complete uncut version that restores alot of scenes including Ed Parker killing both of Mr. Lee's henchmen, and a scene revealing that The Cowboy was still alive after Mailei double crossed him and shot him amongst the few scenes that were restored from the cut version.

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Connections

Referenced in Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987)

User Reviews

A grand diversion.

The almighty William Smith stars in this ingratiating action flick from cult filmmaker Andy Sidaris, known to his fans for following an exploitation film formula to the letter. Bill Smith plays Drew Savano, a loose-cannon government agent who recruits a seven-person team for the purpose of eliminating the criminal element that are poised to take over the state of Hawaii. His team includes Alexa (Barbara Leigh, "Junior Bonner"), the Cowboy (Guich Koock, "North Dallas Forty"), T.K. (Christopher Joy, "Sheba, Baby"), Kincella (Art Metrano, "Police Academy" 2 and 3), martial artist Ed Parker ("Curse of the Pink Panther"), playing a man named Ed Parker, and the "Professor" (Richard LePore, 'Switch'). Each team member is assigned to a different criminal figure.

Since we're discussing Andy Sidaris here, it hardly needs be said that among the assets involved are beautiful island scenery, equally gorgeous women who sometimes take off their tops, lots of action, and a generous dose of humour to let us know that this is all in fun, and that none of this is ever meant to be taken that seriously.

This viewer personally loves stories of the "assembling characters for a mission" variety, and Drew is there to narrate and therefore talk our way through the plot, giving us essential information. It's quite an engaging example of this sort of story, with excellent pacing and a fair amount of hard-hitting violence. Plus, it's not entirely unrealistic in the way that the mission won't go 100% smoothly.

Bright, sunny photography by a D.P. identified only as "Quito", and a vibrant music score (which may be stock music since there's no composer credited) help to make this superior entertainment. The aforementioned sense of humour extends to the movies' most memorable gag, when a hero eliminates a sword-wielding villain by simply shooting him, the same gag later made famous in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

A rich assortment of familiar faces - Reggie Nalder ('Salem's Lot' '79), Seth Sakai ('Hawaii Five-O'), Lenny Montana ("The Godfather"), Martin Kove ("The Karate Kid"), Terry Kiser ("Weekend at Bernie's"), John Alderman ("New Year's Evil"), and Tadashi Yamashita ("American Ninja") - further adds to the good vibes.

Classic exploitation entertainment, and one of Sidaris' best efforts.

Eight out of 10.