Calvera

One of the larger differences between Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven is the role given to the bandits in the films. In terms of of the operation of the plot, both groups carry out similar functions, but they are given very different roles in the narrative as a whole through their relationship with the villagers and heroes.

The narrative difference can be ascribed primarily to a single character: Calvera, the leader of the bandits. The difference results less from a particular way he behaves as character and more from the fact that he is a character at all; his Seven Samurai counterpart has only a few barked lines, no trace of a personal relationship with the villagers or samurai and no name. It is through this character that the role of the bandits becomes defined: in The Magnificent Seven as "knowable," and in Seven Samurai as unknowable.

This dichotomy begins in the first scene of both films, with the approach of the bandits to the village. The scene is much more ominous in Seven Samurai, as the bandits ride fiercely under cloudy skies, silhouetted at first, the soundtrack dominated by pounding hoofbeats. They pause on a hill above the village, and a lieutenant asks, "Take this village too?" implying that there is no special relationship to this particular town, that it is only one of the many they pillage. "Take it! Take it!" screams the mob of bandits, before their leader (identifiable because of his horned helmet) instructs them to wait until the barley is ripe.

In The Magnificent Seven, the tone of the scene is dramatically different. The film begins much more upbeat, with a rousing soundtrack that turns slightly confrontational as the bandits appear, riding calmly into the village. Calvera dismounts as approaches the villagers directly–he seems to have a special relationship with Sotero as a kind of liason. He makes small talk as his men quickly plunder the villagers' houses, and though there is no mistaking his intentions, he seems to want everything to go smoothly for everyone. He slaps Sotero around a bit to demonstrate his power, but seems (almost) regretful at having to shoot an irate villager.

In this first scene Calvera is already developing as a major character, and more specifically as a type of movie villain. This is reinforced upon Calvera's return, when he meets Chris mano-a-mano, and they first exchange shots. There is a back and forth rhythm in their conversation which serves to confirm and strengthen their position as adversaries: "[the walls] won't keep me out," says Calvera. Chris responds, "they were built to keep you in."

This seemingly minor adjustment to the narrative actually changes the entire thrust of the film. With an identifiable "bad guy," the drama now unfolds between the heroes and villains, and the relationships between the cowboys and villagers are relegated to supporting subplots. One might assume that giving the antagonists a voice might result in a film that is less black and white in its moral judgments, but this does not seem to be the case with The Magnificent Seven. Though Calvera makes the mistake of assuming the cowboys share his motivation of material gain and lets them go, he justifies it by saying he fears retribution, another selfish motive. The script clumsily forces him to remain wicked at the moment he is most sympathetic, and this is necessary because of course the heroes betray his misplaced trust almost instantly and come back to kill him. Even as he dies, he cannot understand their ethical motivation ("You came back," he says in his final moment. "Why?")

Looking back at the simplified villains of Seven Samurai, there is a big difference in the direction that they push the focus of the narrative. In their one-dimensionality, they become almost abstracted, more representative of all the hardships the villagers have to face than of any specific group of people. Because of this, the actions of the samurai are not so much heroism in fighting against the bandits, but heroism in fighting alongside the villagers.

This is the reason that the ending of The Magnificent Seven rings a bit hollow. "Only the farmers won," he says. "We lost. We'll always lose." It is easy to see why the filmmakers would choose to pluck that line directly out of Seven Samurai, as powerful as it is in that context, but it doesn't make much sense in a film where the conflict has been a typical battle between good and evil. Though they took heavy losses, they killed their villain, and managed to ride off (or to stay behind and enjoy the fruits of their labors).