The Magnificent Seven (2001, DVD)

The Magnificent Seven is cool. The guys are good together. But they try to be too Japanese, when they are really Americans. I mean, who uses a stiletto in a gun fight. Someone tries to pull a knife on me, in the Wild West, when I have a gun in my holster, I shoot him. Isn't that how psychos were treated at that time? Although this seems like a small point, the film actually hinges on this brief one on one encounter because this character, this James Coburn character, is the best fighter in the film, the "Go to" guy. This is his introduction. This "Matt" character or whatever his name is, belongs in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

Jo Ou

Important to see because it is become a cinematic touchstone, but man is the acting awful except for Eli Wallach. He basically established his Good, Bad and Ugly "Tuco" character here and then cleaned it up a tad for the later movie.

The Elmer Bernstein soundtrack is a nice distraction from the corny dialogue and wooden actors. The DVD case is pretty, too, and makes a good coaster.