Remake of a remake: 'The Magnificent Seven' hits cinemas

The latest remake comes across as politically correct. In the 1960 version, the seven gunfighters who are hired to protect a little Mexican village from a group of marauding bandits were all white, save for one half-Native American. This version boasts a multicultural group, including a Mexican and someone of Asian descent. The leader is black and the Super Bad Guy is a white businessman.

In John Sturges' 1960 version of "The Magnificent Seven," the director saddled up an international bunch: the then-popular, very balded Yul Brynner starred in the film. German Horst Buchholz also rode along - it was likely the latter's biggest role in a Hollywood film.

John Sturges wasn't the first to use the story in 1960. The pro at making Westerns modeled his version from a 1954 movie by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa called "Seven Samurai." However, Korosawa set his film in the 16th century. Whichever version, it all boils down to the same: A village is overrun and marauded by a gang; a group of seven men swoop in and save the day for the villagers.

Remakes can be found all over cinema history. Once a film is successful, many producers and directors are eager give a modern spin to the story, replete with contemporary film stars and modern cinema techniques. Viewing habits also change over the years, and remakes adapt to them. Stars such as Denzel Washington also attract a younger crowd.

The remake's director, Antoine Fuqua, who was born in Pittsburgh in 1966, has made quite a name for himself as a specialist in action films in the last few years in Hollywood. Before taking up cinema, the director made music videos for stars such as Prince and Stevie Wonder. "The Magnificent Seven" recently kicked off the Toronto Film Festival and now opens in cinemas around the world.

When John Sturges created his version in 1960, the Western genre's heyday was already winding down - but filmmakers did continue to make such movies. Following the success of Sturges' film, three sequels to the saga about the seven gunfighters were made between 1966 and 1972 - but they weren't able to stand up to the originality of the first one.

Today's viewers of the new movie "The Magnificent Seven" may not even realize that the film's story was originally brought to the screen by a Japanese director. "I used a great deal of Kurosawa's material because it was wonderful, and I was very impressed by his ideas and his dramaturgy," John Sturges once said about Akira Kurosawa's film mastery.