Magnificent Seven, The

In this modern version of the classic The Magnificent Seven, the desperate townspeople of Rose Creek employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers, and hired guns after the town falls under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Sarsgaard). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the interactive Vengeance Mode, where Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and the other members of the cast, together with Director Antoine Fuqua, breakdown key scenes, share their best memories from the set and reflect on the extraordinary experience of making a classic western; four deleted scenes (HD 07:29); the featurettes Gunslingers (HD 04:55), The Taking Of Rose Creek (HD 05:16), Magnificent Music (HD 04:10), Directing The Seven (HD 05:03), Rogue Bogue (HD 05:26), and The Seven (HD 08:36); upfront previews; and an UltraViolet digital copy. Also available in a 4K Ultra HD version.

The 2.39:1 1080p AVC picture is gorgeously stylized with an alternate warm and richly saturated color palette. The color grading creates an orange-tinted hue throughout, which is most prominent on facial tones and in a number of segments. The cinematography beautifully captures the vast, rugged western landscape with spectacular earth formations. The wooden town is realistic, with superb textural detail. Contrast is excellent, with deep blacks and dramatic shadow delineation. Fleshtones, as mentioned, are graded to appear unnaturally sun drenched. Resolution is excellent throughout, with fine detail revealed in facial features, hair and beards, clothing, and object textures. The detail is often amazing and realistically depicting of the western setting. This is an epic visual experience photographed on film in anamorphic Panavision®. The anamorphic format optically squeezes the wide image onto a standard-width 35mm film frame. Grain is barely noticeable. The result here is characteristic of a painting at times. The visuals are gorgeous. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1-channel soundtrack is quite dynamic, with tremendous explosions in the interior of mines and during the climatic battle scene. Of course, gunfire from pistols, rifles, and a gatling gun is prominent, with strong sonic impact and an aggressive directional presence in the surround channels. Atmospherics are excellent, with superb Foley and other effects, including nuanced sounds that enhance the realism depicted. Sound effects are boisterous with active and energized sub-25 Hz .1 LFE impact. The church bell sounds deep and loudly rings throughout the soundfield. The orchestral score is dynamic sounding and spread wide and deep across the soundstage and to the surrounds, with at times an aggressive presence. Dialogue is consistently intelligible, with generally good spatial integration. This is a dramatically exciting and robust holosonic® soundtrack that is reference quality. The sonics are a perfect showcase for a serious home theatre system, and finally, at the end, under the credit roll, The Magnificent Seven’s original theme. (Gary Reber)