All 5 Magnificent Seven Movies in Order
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One of the most famous Western movies of all time is Magnificent Seven. The tail of seven gunslingers was a remake of another famous movie of the 1950s era, Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa. The movie’s success prompted many adaptations and sequels, and Magnificent Seven suddenly became a proper film franchise that will stem to the 21st century. Magnificent Seven has a similar premise as the Japanese source material. Still, the American version follows the story of seven gunslingers hired to protect a small village in Mexico from a group of notorious bandits.
Magnificent Seven is considered one of the greatest and most successful Western movies of all time, and today has been lauded as a culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant film in American cinematography. We will include all Magnificent Seven movies that have been released to this day.
How many Magnificent Seven movies are out there?
There are five Magnificent Seven movies released today. The movie that kickstarted the whole plethora of M7 movies is simply called The Magnificent Seven, released in 1960. After the critical and commercial success of the movie, six years later, the sequel of the original movie Return of the Seven was released in 1966. In 1969, Guns of the Magnificent Seven was a second sequel to the original M7 movie without Yul Brynne as a star. Only three years later, in 1972, The Magnificent Seven Ride! is the third and last sequel of the franchise.
We waited for decades, and in 2016, a remake of the original Magnificent Seven movie was released by the same name. There was news of potential Magnificent Seven content in the future, but we will leave that topic for later.
Magnificent Seven movies in order (at glance)
- The Magnificent Seven (1960)
- Return of the Seven (1966)
- Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)
- The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)
- The Magnificent Seven (2016)
We will mention more details about each movie, how they were received by the critics and public, and conclude the article with potential news of Magnificent Seven content in the future. If you are interested, stay with us until the end of the article.
Are Magnificent Seven movies connected?
Magnificent Seven movies are connected, specifically, the first four movies released from the 1960s to 1970s. The 2016 remake is based on the original 1960 movie and doesn’t have any connections to other films.
Do you need to watch Magnificent Seven movies in a specific order?
For the best experience, we suggest watching the movies by release date. The first four movies are connected by the original character from the first movie, Chris Adams, a hired gun who travels across the deserts of Mexico and America. The 2016 movie is simply a remake of the original movie, and it’s appropriate to watch the movie last to see if it did a good job of capturing the greatness of the original movie.
What is the best way to watch Magnificent Seven movies?
The best way to watch Magnificent Seven movies is by the release date. Yes, the first four movies are connected by the main protagonist Chris Adams who continues to be a hired gun after the first movie, so the release date watch order is the best in this case.
Magnificent Seven movies in order (by release date)
1. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 American Western film and today is hailed as the best Western movie of all time. The Old West-style movies were really popular during the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s, but this movie overshadowed most of the Western content that was released at the time.
The scriptwriter William Roberts remade the original script from Akira Kurosawa and his iconic Seven Samurai and adapted it to American trends of Western films. John Sturges directed Magnificent Seven and ensembled the cast of Hollywood stars, including Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn, and Horst Buchholz. Magnificent Seven had one of the most star-studded casts of all time, and boy, was the movie good for it.
Magnificent Seven received both commercial and critical success, and today is praised as one of the greatest movies of the Western genre.
Synopsis: The movie follows seven gunslingers who are hired by a small farming Mexican village to protect them from a bandit that is extorting their money. Each gunman has their own reason for protecting the village and the inevitable gunfight against bandits that eventually come back to seek food.
2. Return of the Seven (1966)
The sequel Return of the Seven came in 1966, and it follows the happenings of the M7 movie. Yul Brynner reprised the role of Chris Adams and is the only returning cast member. Robert Fuller, Julian Mateos, and Elisa Montes replace the original cast from the first movie. Burt Kennedy directed the movie, and Larry Cohen was the writer for Return of the Seven.
The sequel didn’t enjoy the same success the original Magnificent Seven movie had, and it was criticized for its shallow plot and cliche-ridden script – not even Yul Brynner could elevate the sequel.
Synopsis: The movie kickstarts three years after the happenings of the original movie, and Chico, the surviving member of the Magnificent Seven, decides to start a family. However, one day a tyrannical rancher Lopez comes to the village and forces the villagers to build a church and a monument for his two dead sons. Chris Adams is once again called for help and returns to help the Mexican village.
3. Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)
In 1969, a new sequel came after the underwhelming Return of the Seven in the form of Guns of the Magnificent Seven. The movie was directed by Paul Wendkos and written by Herman Hoffman; for the first time, no one from the original movie returned to reprise their roles.
George Kennedy took over from Yul Brynner and portrayed Chris Adams. At the same time, the other new seven members included Monte Markham, Bernie Casey, James Whitmore, Reni Santoni, Jon Don Baker, and Scott Thomas. Guns of the Magnificent Seven had more favorable reviews from critics and the public than the previous franchise installment and was proclaimed a fun movie.
Synopsis: Guns of the Magnificent Seven is set in Mexico once again. This time, Magnificent Seven must help a Mexican revolutionary fight against a tyrannic dictator Diaz. Rebels needed hired guns to organize a rescue mission for the revolution’s leader. Chris Adams and his group of gunslingers are on a mission once again.
4. The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)
Three years later, 1972 brought us another Magnificent Seven movie called The Magnificent Seven Ride! The movie is directed by George McCowan and written by Arthur Rowe. The movie stars a completely new cast of actors, and the main protagonist Chris Adams is played by Lee Van Cleef, who succeeded Yul Brynner and George Kennedy.
Besides Lee Van Cleef, the cast includes Stefanie Powers, Michael Callan, Luke Askew, and Ralph Waite. The movie failed critically and commercially and is probably the most forgettable movie of the franchise.
Synopsis: After the happenings of the previous movie, Chris Adams is happily married and is serving as a U.S. Marshall. At first, Adams declines the offer from his old friend McKay, who asks for help to stop the outlaw De Toro and his bandits from storming the Mexican border town of Magdalena. After some time, Chris breaks his resolve and goes to Mexico to protect the innocent from the bandits.
5. The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Last but not least, after forty-four years, another Magnificent Seven movie graced us with its release. This time The Magnificent Seven is solely a remake of the original movie from 1960, which means that it doesn’t follow or continue the storyline of previous sequels.
Antoine Fuqua is the director of The Magnificent Seven movie, written by Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk. The movie’s cast is star-studded, including Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Peter Sarsgaard, and Haley Bennett. The movie received mixed reviews but decent box-office success. It wasn’t on par with the original movie, but the action scenes and the music score were the best parts of The Magnificent Seven remake.
Synopsis: The movie follows seven outlaws hired to protect the small town of Rose Creek under the tyrannical control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue. Each gunslinger has reasons why they want to come and help the townspeople, and soon the fight becomes more significant than it originally was.
Where to watch Magnificent Seven movies?
Since Magnificent Seven is a movie franchise that dates back to the 1960s, there are still available DVD copies in stores where you can buy them cheaply. If you don’t want to bother with DVD hunting, there is always a Prime Video option where you can rent the movies and Apple TV.
Will there be more Magnificent Seven movies?
In 2022, Ethan Hawke told Hollywood Reporter that he still begs Fuqua to release a five-hour cut of The Magnificent Seven movie. Interestingly, other movies throughout the years had the same problem: film studios “meddling” too much with the post-production and getting released in much worse shape. If we are to believe Ethan Hawke, there is great potential for the extended version of the movie, and we cannot wait for new content to come our way.
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