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

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Must see for all fans, 21 July 2002
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Made 40 years after the film, this documentary uses interviews with some of the cast and the team that made the film, along with some famous fans, to repiece the history of the making of this film.

Too many `making of' documentaries are little more than featurettes to fill 20 minutes of TV or as poor DVD add ons. Many have the most tenuous links with the original makers and cast and offer little except second hand stories and observations. However this film sees many of the cast return (barring death) and plenty of the writers, producers etc. The story is told from many points of view and follows the casting through the shoot to the release.

The film had plenty of nuggets for me. From how people were cast and the legal fights over the film at pre-production stage through to how the cast got on. Most of it is very honest and we're told of how everyone wanted to steal the show from Brynner – I'd never noticed how McQueen would always be doing something (waving his hat or playing with something) to try and get attention in any shot! This has plenty of nuggets but also nice observations and stories from cast and crew.

I'm glad all the remaining cast did this as it adds interest to this film. The justification for having both Chazz Palminteri and John Carpenter comment is questionable – but both have brief and insightful comments to make.

Overall this is a welcome companion to the film. It isn't just an exercise in back slapping and plenty of stories emerge that only serve to enrich the film's history.

essential viewing for fans..., 10 September 2001
Author: Chevington from Newcastle,England

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.

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