7 Men from Now (Widescreen Special Collector's Edition)

This first teaming of star Randolph Scott & director Budd Boetticher also finds them working from a script by Burt Kennedy - his very first screenplay, and impressive enough that he worked with this team three more times, eventually moving on to a prolific - if not quite exciting - directorial career himself.All the elements are in place: the lone, upright and indomitable man, with the tragic past and a taste for vengeance that keeps him going against all odds...a woman, no freer than he but just as determined, in her own way....her weak husband, prey to the villains that made off with the gold....a charismatic nemesis who may or may not be one of the killers that the hero has vowed vengeance on....seven bad men who must be brought to justice - his kind of justice.OK that makes it sound hokey, but let's face it an awful lot of westerns sound that way if you reduce them to basics. What makes this one stand out? The terrific widescreen color photography (by William Clothier) and Boetticher's exquisite framing and graceful camera movements -- little rapid cutting here, no scenes that don't play out as long as they need to, and yet the whole comes in at a perfect 78 minutes. The subtle sexual nuances between ex-sheriff Ben Stride (Scott) and strong-willed Annie Greer (Gail Russell) who Stride has joined with and is helping out - despite the presence of her weak husband John (Walter Reed)...the fabulous performance of Lee Marvin as Bill Masters, a likable rogue who may or may not be involved in the crime that took Stride's wife, the participants in which he will hunt down unto death.Boetticher does a lot with a smallish budget and the 50s standards of what you could show; his first action sequence is a tense little moment under a rock with Stride coming upon two men in the rain and stopping for coffee with them, until he finds out....and then we cut away as the shots ring out. The tension is built and released, and we really don't need to see the same standard gun play in every scene - so he doesn't give it to us. We have off-screen shots, quick cutaways between shooters, a reaction shot or two of victims without seeing the shots fired, a dynamic use of space in the many canyon sequences leads to odd angles and unpredictable shots -- really he does more with the few gunfights in this film than many directors did in whole careers.The characters, too, are beautifully developed from small nuances. Scott, typically, is the strong and stoic type, but the sexual tension expressed in all the early scenes between him and Russell is extraordinarily powerful with just an eyebrow, a smile communicating all we need. Marvin, too, is attracted to the sole female in this male world (apart from a very brief bar scene) but his is a predatory view, albeit couched in a touch of civility. His flamboyant dress, flip attitude, and egotism pretty much steal the show and make his final standoff with our hero all the more memorable, because we actually care at least a little about him.In the end, the hero must go it alone, and whether he prevails or not, and whether the woman he has come to love will be free - and willing - to meet him if he does survive the last showdown -- all that I will not reveal. See it for yourself, it's easily one of the best westerns of the 50s and a great start to a series of films that continued on a remarkably high level.

i like, can't tell the different

If you like Randolph Scott pictures, this will be no less satisfying than the rest. Like most marquee actors of their day. The main actor plays a man of a similar character in alot of their pictures. They do it because it works. You know what you're getting when you buy it. The surprises are minimal and the outcome is almost certain. Sometimes, it's good to get exactly what you expect. In, this particular case, it doesn't disappoint.

Good quality dvd, a treat to be able to see Randolph Scott and co. doing their thing. Good story, Love this movie.

In a brief span of four years, from 1956 to 1960, Director Budd Boetticher, writer Burt Kennedy and actor Randolph Scott collaborated on a series of seven "chamber westerns" which rank as one of the most rewarding achievements in the art of American Cinema.While a number of prominent film critics, historians and luminaries have rightly praised the "Ranown" series (named after Boetticher's production company), attention is often paid to the fact that Boetticher produced the series on a shoestring budget. Thus, despite praise, the series and Boetticher himself are relegated to a second tier, "B" level, as if the monies poured into these films somehow affect and dictate their intrinsic value.To the contrary, the Boetticher/Kennedy/Scott westerns are in every way equal to the larger budgeted collaborations of Ford and Wayne, Daves and Ford, Leone and Eastwood.With these sparse, psychologically complex works, Boetticher did as much for the American western as Val Lewton did for the American Horror film in the 40's.The breakthrough Seven Men From Now (1956) was a long way from Ken Maynard's white hat and bottle of milk atop a horse named Tarzan. It's also far more aesthetically modernist, more taut, more complexly developed in character than the later, ultra-stylish westerns of Peckinpah and Leone (the exception being Peckinpah's slightly overrated Ride the High Country, also starring Randolph Scott with Joel McCrea). Very few films in the genre can boast as richly developed characterizations. The Delmer Daves/Glenn Ford films along with the Anthony Mann/James Stewart cannon can arguably be mentioned in the same breath.Seven Men From Now establishes Boetticher's Ranown canvas. Randolph Scott was an actor of beautiful limitations and the director utilized Scott's mere presence to compositional advantage. The actor's weathered face parallels the expressionistic, Cezanne-like rocky terrains. Boetticher takes equal advantage of his hero's range to etch a morally ambiguous personification.Scott, out for revenge, seems, at first, to personify the mythological old west code of right and wrong. He is ancient, laconic, sips coffee, and projects a virtuous nobility with a mere shifting of the eyes. That is until his foil, Lee Marvin (superb here) astutely recalls how Scott had no qualms about stealing a friend's wife. Even Walter Reed, as Gail Russell's weak, cowardly husband, surprises in an act of redemption. The power in the Boetticher films lies in the riveting conversations and in a shrewd slicing of viewer expectations. There is a disconcerting, hushed quality throughout the film, even in those conversations, which project a tense, quiescent air of revelation.* My review was originally published at 366 Weird Movies

Just so great and compact. Awesome performances and is just essential viewing if you love westerns. All the actors are great but special shout outs to the amazing Lee Marvin, Gail Russell and of course Randolph Scott... Highly recommended.

I just like collecting old westerns. It is my down time viewing. This was rather average but rewatchable in the next year. Randolph Scott was just being an old Randolph Scott.

Todo perfecto

I now own a Budd Boetticher western and now I'm obsessed. I've got all the Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart beauties and now I have to find ALL the Boetticher/Randolf Scott westerns. These may be termed "small films" or even "2nd features" but therein lies their power and grace. Both Mann and Boetticher excel at the small, tight story with just a few characters and a couple of locations. The quality is way above any of the big studio A-list productions of the same time period. Fantastic. And... it's got one of my favorite types of commentaries... the film scholar who absolutely loves Budd Boetticher films. He never shuts up and it's all fantastic information... background info, historical (how the film got made), analysis on the semiotic level and commentary on the action on the screen. Just great.

Through the history of film there have been a few classic pairings of director and actor that have produced some out and out great films - Anthony Mann/James Stewart, John Huston/Humphrey Bogart, John Ford/John Wayne for example. I would humbly add Bud Boetticher/Randolph Scott to that list.Seven men from now is the first of seven films the pair would make together, and formed the bulk of Scott's work in the last six years of his career. Along with the magnificent Ride The High Country they form a body of work that equalled, if not surpassed anything Scott's career to date and provided a magnificent high note for him to finish up on.The story is a simple one, ex lawman Ben Stride (Scott) is on the trail of a gang who recently robbed the Fargo office, killing his wife in the process. He's got one thing and one thing only on his mind - death to the seven men who are responsible for him losing that which was most precious to him. On his quest he teams up with an unlikely motley crew, who it turns out are all linked to the missing gold and the killers in some way. The film winds its way at a brisk pace to the inevitable showdown, with a few nice plot twists along the way.This is a great film, an absolute classic. It is made so by an intelligent script, brisk direction that tells the story extyremely well, and fantastic central performances from Randolph Scott, Lee Marvin as the ambiguous Masters and Gail Russell as Annie. Scott portrays a very real hero - a perfect gentleman, but not without the flaw of pride. He blames himself for his wife's death, and his mission is as much to purge his feeling of guilt as revenge. It's a strong and memorable performance. Lee Marvin is on top form as Masters, his is a magnetic performance full of charm that has you rooting for his character. He's not a bad man, he just wants the gold. He doesn't want to go up against Stride, whom he likes, respects and whose life he saved and not just out of selfish reasons. Marvin is on equal footing with Scott in terms of strength of performance, and obviously relished the chance to play something other than a stereotypical heavy. It is these well scripted, ambiguous characters that help lift the film, and the blurring of the lines between good and bad that made the series such a memorable success. Not quite as deconstructively revisionist as Peckinpah or Leone, but a start along the road.Having languished in the Batjac vaults for along time (it was originally intended as a John Wayne vehicle before being turned over to Scott, Wayne took on producing duties - a fortuitous happening, as it started the fine Scott/Boetticher collaboration) this has now been recovered and a great restoration job done on it. The print on this DVD is crisp and vibrant, with a good sound quality. An excellent release for this classic of the genre. 5 Stars.

Better than average westernLee Marvin steals the showLizard

Magnífico western. Fantástica calidad de imagen.