Analysis Of The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven is one of the most famous films from the American western genre, it was shot in 1960 and directed by John Sturges. The film tells the tale of seven gunslingers who are enlisted by a village on the border of the United States and Mexico to protect the villagers from a group of bandits who keep stealing from and causing pandemonium amongst the villagers. Although there are many scenes throughout the film that are worthy of an in depth analysis the particular scene being analyzed in this paper is the village shootout scene from The Magnificent Seven. The village shootout is a very key scene in The Magnificent Seven. The scene opens with Chris Adams coming face to face with Calvera, the leader of the bandits. Adams informs

The setting plays a significant role in this scene for both the gunslingers and the bandits. First off, the setting plays a significant role as the bandits come to the village expecting to be met with little to no resistance from the villagers and take what they please. However upon arrival the bandits come face to face with Chris Adams, the leader of the seven gunslingers. The rest of the seven are then positioned throughout the village whether on rooftop, or hiding behind walls and bars and using these features of the village as sort of bunkers against the on coming firing from the bandits. The bandits are then seen darting away from the confrontation and riding off into the vast frontier that village is in the middle of. So it is clear that the village itself plays a very key role in the scene as the gunslingers are able to use their knowledge and familiarity with the buildings and other elements of the village to their advantage while fighting off the bandits. On the other hand, the fact that the village is located in the middle of the desert, surrounded by nothing but open lands and mountains, allows for the bandits to make a quick escape via horse where they are then able to ride to safety and