Seven Samurai v.s. The Magnificent Seven

“The Seven Samurai,” an Akira Kurosawa classic and undoubtedly one of the greatest action movies of all time. The movie has inspired many people to do various things, the basic plot has been repeated numerous times. None more direct than the 1960 remake, “The Magnificent Seven.”
The basic story of the Seven Samurai is as follows, a small village i being harassed by a gang of about 40 bandits, who invade the village after they harvest, taking all their food and killing all who apose. The wide elder of the village instructs the villagers to go into town and recruit samurai to fight off the invaders. The Magnificent Seven is built in a parallel structure, set in the genre of westerns, MS finds a town of mexican farmers, being equally harassed by bandits, who find the same solution to their problems when they hire gunman.

Story Differences:
Although the remake of SS was relatively the same, certain subtle yet important changes were made in the plot. The major change to Kurosawas version was that the Mexican villagers were not told to hire men, but to buy weapons to defend themselves. In SS the village elder (Grandad) tells the men right out that they cannot win a fight, and that they must venture out to find someone who can, the warriors of that time, samurai. In order to film MS in Mexico, a sensor was to be present on the set at all times to make sure the Mexican people were depicted in proper respect. The Mexican Government thought it was belittling to say that the Mexican farmers would simply cower and give up, and go across the border to find Americans to fight their battles. The script was changed so that the farmers originally asked the first gunman (Chris) to help them buy guns, and he is the one who suggests that they hire men instead.
Another small difference, put in place to keep true to the setting, is that the samurai were not paid for their support. Samurai were not about money or fame, they valued honor. In the original movie the farmers claimed to own nothing of value, and that they could only give the warriors a place to sleep and three meals a day. In MS the gunman are offered the rom and food, plus an additional 20 dollars for their services. Although 20 dollars wasn't exactly a fortune, there were still a few characters, such as Bernardo O’Reilly, who accept the challenge because of their being low on cash.
When it comes to actual combat, the samurai utilize elaborate strategies and effective war tactics that come from experience. Although the gunman offer some strategic moves, many of which were taken directly from the Seven Samurai, the battles basically come down to unorganized, every man for himself, chaos. The samurai lead a pre attack on the bandits at their camp, the gunman have no such strategy.
A major plot twist (and I’m not sure why it wasn’t caught by the sensor) is when the Mexican farmers turn against the Gunman.

The Similarities and Differences Between the Seven:
(for this section i will list each character from the Seven Samurai and discuss their transition into the Magnificent Seven)
The first of the samurai, Kambei Shimada, is found when he poses as a monk to make a courageous move saving a young child's life. He is the leader of the seven, who was in charge of recruiting the team. Similar to Kambei’s discovery, the lead gunman, Chris Adams, in found with,Vin, the to-be second gunman, riding a hearse to the graveyard. There were people in the down ready to kill anyone who tried to transport this native american to the graveyard. Both Were found doing a selfless act. Like Kambei, he is an older warrior, not as physically fit as the others, who takes command of the group.
The second Samurai, Gorobei Katayama, is found when Kambei is testing random samurai. Gorobei proves himself worthy by detecting the test before he even enters the hut. He is depicted as the second in command. Vin however, had shared a brief past with Chris, he shared in the glory of Chris’ opening scene. Since Chris had worked with him before, he sought him out to ask for his help specifically.
Schichiroji, an old war buddy of Kambei’s, seeks out Kambei to selflessly offer his help. His western counter part Harry Luck also offers his help to his old comrade, but his intentions are more along the lines of personal gain. He thinks that Chris must have something else to gain from this job that 20 dollars.
Kyuzo, a thin samurai with a face of stone, is calm, cool, collective, and a high class amazingly skilled swordsmen. He is found dueling another man who claims to be better than him, and in an apparent tie which Kyuzo claims to have won, he infuriates the man. The man challenges him to a real dual to the death, and after killing the man with grace, Kyuzo is invited to the team. Britt, who is equally skilled as a first class gunman and a crazy knife throwing lunatic, is found the same way, with a fake dual, than a real one in which he kills his opponent. Britt's style is similar to that of Kyuzo, he will frequently sit up as if sleeping and relax, even in the midst of a combative situation. For example, when tailing the scouts, both men sit against the tree to seem either invisible or to appear as no threat. When they both die, they stammer and Kyuzo throws his sword unsuccessfully just as Britt throws his knife.
Heihachi Hayashida is found chopping firewood for money. He is a humorous man with high spirits, keeping the men cheerful. Bernardo O’reilly, is a much more serious character, whom is also found chopping wood.
The alterations begin with the apprentice to the samurai, Katsushiro Okamoto, and the hot headed samurai who was chosen as a result of him inviting himself, Kikuchiyo. The two characters were combined in the Magnificent Seven to make Chiko, a young kid who just like Kikuchiyo, follows the samurai after being turned away when he approaches them drunk and angry. They both prove their worth when on the road, they both catch fish with their bare hands. These characters were combined so a part could be written in for a well known actor. the part was that of Lee, a professional gunman who at firs seems scared, but later shows his skill.

Film Differences:
After all, The Seven Samurai was directed by Kurosawa, a very skilled director. SS was based on great filming. The camera angels and fantastic Black and White lighting help keep the audience watching, and help smoothly run the story along. MS relied mostly on catchy theme music and great screenplay. MS will also be remembered for its memorable one liners. Kurosawa has a distinct style, evident in all his movies, that includes breath taking visuals evident in such places as the field where the samurai search for the villager who ran off, angered by mention of his wife. Although the cinematography was good in the Magnificent Seven, the director, thank God, didn't try to mimic Kurosawa.
The Seven Samurai moves at a much slower pace, giving it time to develop all of the characters and their relations, creating round characters with in depth personalities. The Seven Samurai gets much more personal, for example when we learn of Kikuchiyo’s sad past.

I Have SOOOO much more to write but I have 2 min. left sorry :(