Legend of the Magnificent Seven, The

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Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2016
Original Running Time:
133
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
135
Time Cut:
7
Time Added:
9
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
'The Legend of the Magnificent Seven' is a fanedit of Antoine Fuqua's reimagined vision of the western classic based on Kurosawa's 'Seven Samurai'. In this legendary retelling, seven gunslingers that consist of a bounty hunter, a gambler, an outlaw, a sharpshooter, an assassin, a native warrior and a tracker come together to aide a small town from being overrun by the ruthless corporate mogul Bartholomew Bogue. What starts out as just a job prospect for these men turns into something more meaningful as they discover what they have inside themselves to make them legends.
Intention:
Music Ed set out to achieve three major goals in his edit. The first goal was to remove the revenge subplot of the story as it took away from the message that these men put their lives on the line for this town and not for one of them having an ulterior motive. The second goal was to reincorporate most of the deleted scenes which helped flesh out some of the characters and helped slow down the pace of the film so it could breathe before thrusting us into the explosive finale. The last goal, which was the most challenging, was to re-score a good portion of the film using music from composer Elmer Bernstein and his work on the original The Magnificent Seven (1960), Sons of Katie Elder (1965) and Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969).
Other Sources:
The Legendary scores written by Elmer Bernstein:
- The Magnificent Seven
- Sons of Katie Elder
- Guns of the Magnificent Seven
Special Thanks:
Ironman23, TM2YC and BionicBob
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
A lot of work was put into rescoring this film and basically coming up with new arrangements of the music to crossfade into each other.
Cuts and Additions:
- Added a 3 1/2 minute overture utilizing the classic Magnificent Seven music to get you ready for what you'll hear in this version of the movie (Thanks TM2YC!)
- In some areas of the film I had to either cut, move around or slightly slow down shots so that they would fit with the rescoring
- Cut year and name of town in the beginning
- Cut massacre at the church. Now the screen goes to black once Bogue kills Matthew Cullen. No mention of the massacre ever occurs, just the death of Matthew.
- Due to cutting the massacre, I moved the shot of the teacher and his son running and hiding behind a wagon
- Cut the name of the town Sam is riding into
- Cut Sam's strange facial expression after the bartender tells him they don't carry the drink he ordered
- Cut Faraday saying "Bart Bogue?" For some reason I just hate hearing him referred to as Bart
- Cut shot of Sam sitting by the fire holding his neck (before Goodnight and Billy show up). His neck scars won't be explained in this edit
- Moved Faraday's joke about a bear wearing people's clothes earlier so I could keep it in since I am cutting Horne going off on his own
- Horne will now join the group (assumed) after Sam offers him a job. Him randomly showing up later feels off every time I watch. Sam mentions a job and then we cut right to the horses and characters riding through the cavern.
- Cut Jack Horne's line "now that's part of another story," since we, the audience, are unsure what this means and how it relates to Sam
- Trim the nighttime fire scene of all references to Sam's sister as well as shots of all of the current five members around the fire that have joined since we are supposed to assume Jack Horne is with them
- Muted the lines "he's been tracking us" and "I'll be damned" when Horne shows up since we the audience assume he was already there. He comes down and gets them quiet since he has spotted Red Harvest
- Cut Faraday's line "and you'll be murdered by the world's greatest lover." The line just didn't work for me and was not funny
- Cut Sam and the "Lincoln like the President" lines since Bogue and Sam do not have a connection anymore
- Trim up the scene of Bogue's men at the mine being killed since it would appear everyone is a sharpshooter. Instead, what I did was cut the 7 coming down from the cliffs and showed them coming up from a closer spot up the river.
- Removed Faraday's line "statistically speaking..." during shooting practice since we establish he doesn't know what a syllable is. (Thanks Bob!).
- Cut Bogue and the sheriff referring to the "Lincoln like the President" lines again.
- Trim Faraday showing off to Emma and his line about wearing pants. Now he just goes up to her while she is practicing, talks about how it takes 8 lbs of pressure to kill a man, and then she asks him why he is doing this and it lingers when she asks about the nightmares
- Try and cut down some of the slow-mo. One shot that has to remain is when Horne fires the little canon thing because all shots of the damage are in slow-mo.
- Cut one of the shots Faraday takes before falling off of the horse and the one after he is stumbling towards the gatling gun. Now, he gets shot once, falls off the horse and stumbles his way closer before dropping to his knees. I just felt that he was taking way too many shots, plus they were from rifles which should've ripped him up.
- Cut the cliche fake out when Bogue's last two men storm into the building that Sam is in and we hear a struggle and gunfire and then the men come stumbling out like we actually thought they killed Sam. Now, the men will go in, we hear the struggle, and Sam will emerge from the building
- Trim the exchange between Bogue and Sam during their showdown. I was able to change Sam's line "They were good people. Tryin' to make a life for themselves like these people here" to "these people here, good people, tryin' to make a life for themselves" to which Bogue responds "if God didn't want them sheered, he wouldn't have made them sheep." Then what remains is a classic showdown between them.
- Trim the choking of Bogue a little since it felt very brutal without the revenge subplot
- Cut around any dialogue about Sam's revenge to Bogue in the church. You can attribute Sam's strong anger towards Bogue due to all of the terror he has brought on the town and the people Sam knows died in the battle.
- Cut grave site. Emma's final narration will be heard as the surviving 3 members ride off.
- Cut original title from credits and insert "Legend of the Magnificent Seven"
- Change credits music to the Magnificent Seven music by Elmer Bernstein
Cover art by BionicBob (DOWNLOAD HERE)
image

User reviews

5 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.1
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.8(5)
Audio Editing
 
9.0(5)
Visual Editing
 
10.0(5)
Narrative
 
8.8(5)
Enjoyment
 
8.0(5)
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
7.0
I have wanted to enjoy this film since I saw the trailer for it in early 2017. Unfortunately, it didn't come together for me in the theater, but MusicEd's edit went a long way just by including the original theme tune. Nothing against the original composer or soundtrack, but the original film wasn't exactly fun. It was action-ful and whatever films these days are made to be, but it was bleak and gritty. It was missing a real spirit of heroism that the 1960's theme brings back in a magical way.

However, the film was still flawed starting in pre-production. MusicEd's edits are flawless and definitely improve the experience, but this is still a modern action movie wearing a cowboy hat and spurs. I personally believe that further reducing the screentime of Bogue and his men would help a lot; the film puts more time and effort into convincing you that these are wicked men than it really needs to.

But this is a review of MusicEd's edit, and it's a darn good one at that. I doubt I'll watch the original again, though I may trim MusicEd's just a tiny bit more.

Well done!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
T
1 reviews
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(Updated: July 04, 2020)
Overall rating
 
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
6.0
Credit must be given to MusicEd921, as this does replace the original film. Director Antoine Fuqua is never much given to subtlety, and there were many times in his film when it could easily have been The Ridiculous Six instead. Much of that is gone, and what's left is a film that isn't magnificent, but is...fine. I have to say that sadly this is just not a film that does much for me, no offense to the editor.

Many of the editor's changes are very smart, and I will say that all are incorporated flawlessly. But not all of them work for me. A big one is unfortunately the extensive reworking of the score, which I found overbearing here. Anyone who complains about the lack of hero themes in MCU films may change their mind after watching this, because there is such a thing as overkill. I really did not need to hear the Mag7 theme after every single member joins and at every "horses riding against the sun" moment. In addition, this was James Horner's final film, dedicated to him, and he's a magnificent composer in his own right. It honestly feels kind of disrespectful to trample all over his work rather than playing with it more subtly.

The primary issue holding the film back though is not anything the editor can fix: the script. While individual lines can be taken out, and characters can be made less invulnerable (though 1800s shooting accuracy is still ridiculous in this film), the editor can't add depth or character development where there is none. The deleted scenes were a nice try but honestly this is the least engaging version of Seven Samurai I've ever seen, and yes I'm including Battle Beyond the Stars.

No character besides Denzel's "Sam Chisum" has any backstory or depth (and his is removed), the writers instead settling for making them all different races and giving them "quirks". There's the noble savage, the alcoholic Irish gambler, the Mexican outlaw who respects parents, etc, etc...oh, and the widow who's dressed whorier than the actual whores in town, smh. (The movie's terms, not mine.) There really aren't any believable motivations for any of the seven, which I could let go if it were meant to be a pure action film. At 2h15 minutes though, and with few standout action moments, it feels like an attempt at both drama and action, not fully succeeding on either count.

You could do worse than this movie for a popcorn night at home, and you could do better. It's a shame with literally 9 or 10 super charismatic actors giving solid performances (Hawke and D'Onofrio are fantastic), the director couldn't come up with a better vehicle for them. I'd prefer to watch the original western, or Seven Samurai, or A Bug's Life, or Rogue One, or Battle Beyond the Stars, or Seven Swords...but if you're going to watch 2016's The Magnificent Seven, this IS the version to watch.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Amazing!!!

MusicEd has elevated a surprisingly fun summer flick into a deeper, richer and bolder viewing experience. In fact, I would go so far to say Ed's cut is superior to the theatrical version is every respect. The pacing is better. The characters are better. The plot is more iconic and worthy of the Magnificent Seven legacy. And the music.... the glorious, magical Elmer Bernstein music... sheer delightful brilliance! I can honestly say I will never watch the original theatrical cut again.

Accolades of the highest order! Thanks Ed for such a fantastically entertaining experience. :)
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Overall rating
 
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
7.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Just finished watching this edit, and I have to say it was incredibly enjoyable! It was gorgeous to look at, and the entire film flowed very well. After watching, I went to look at what changes MusicEd had made, and I was very surprised to find that the film was changed so drastically. It felt as if all of the pieces were arranged in the right order, with nothing missing. I loved the inclusion of the classic Elmer Bernstein music. The use of music in the movie was almost flawless. Unfortunately, some of the dialogue was a bit hard to understand. During action scenes, or when the music would swell I couldn't catch every word that was said. I found myself adjusting the volume a lot. The audio is my only real gripe with this edit, other that it was a fantastic experience. I would recommend this to anyone who felt the 2016 remake fell a bit flat.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
In last summer's slew of blockbusters, with superhero flicks, sci fi films and independents, only a few stuck out to me as refreshingly entertaining. One of them actually turned out to be "The Magnificent Seven", a remake of the 1960's remake with Chris Pratt and Denzel Washington at the helm, bringing us a fun gun slinging western and an overall crowd pleaser. Not much was to be seen as a deal breaker or downright bad, just felt like it could've used some more character development and a bit less of the cliche revenge plot. Lo and behold, here comes "musiced921" and his take on this western, addressing most of those gripes I originally had. Not only that, but in this new package comes a brand new score more reminiscent of the 1960's film (more bombastic and epic might I add) with a few trims to tonally confusing scenes and actions. Overall, a fun popcorn movie has been turned into something a bit more fresh, given a bit more humanity and dare I say it one step closer to the original.
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