'The Magnificent Seven' Ranked Among Greatest Westerns-and You Can Stream It Free

The '50s and '60s were a formative era for cinema. The traditional Hollywood Western reigned supreme, especially in the 1960s, which also marked the birth of the spaghetti Western subgenre.

One particular movie kicked off the dominance of the Western in the '60s-and it's actually an Old West-style remake of the 1954 Japanese film Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa. The Magnificent Seven has been included in numerous best-of rankings and lists over the years and is lauded as one of the greatest Westerns of all time.

Hailed as a staple of the genre and helmed by John Sturges, the film also spawned three sequels: Return of the Magnificent Seven (1966), Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969), and The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972). On top of that, the franchise gave way to a two-season TV series of the same name and a 2016 remake.

The film stars Yul Brynner as Chris Larabee Adams, Eli Wallach as Calvera, Steve McQueen as Vin Tanner, Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly, Robert Vaughn as Lee, James Coburn as Britt, Horst Buchholz as Chico, and Brad Dexter as Harry Luck. Sturges directed from a screenplay by William Roberts (with Walter Bernstein and Walter Newman as uncredited writers).

For the uninitiated, the synopsis is as follows: Seven gunfighters ("magnificent" is implied here) are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits. The movie opened in theaters on Oct. 12, 1960, and grossed $9.75 million at the box office on a $2 million budget.

Recently, Time Out ranked The Magnificent Seven at No. 33 on its list of "The 50 Greatest Western Movies." The publication noted that while Kurosawa's epic influenced the film, Kurosawa himself derived inspiration from Hollywood Westerns. It added that the classic "is often the first Western many people see, and it's hard to think of a better introduction-huge in scope yet easy to digest, and cool as hell."

The word "iconic" gets thrown around a lot these days, but The Magnificent Seven truly fits that bill. It's "iconic" in every sense of the word. And guess what? You can stream it for free on Tubi.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 1:03 PM.