The other night I finally saw The Magnificent Seven (1960), and tonight (also finally) the film it was based on, Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai (1954).

I enjoyed both -- they're both masterpieces "they" say -- but I especially thought TMS had more dimension/storyline/interest to it. And talk about cast: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach (who played a tremendous Mexican bandit), Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn...

I had no idea how almost-identical these two films were actually going to be (me thinking TSS would be more martial arts than anything), but clocking in at 3.5 hrs I think TSS was a bit longer than necessary. I'm glad I saw the American version first, not that the plot was complex by any means, but it did help a bit.