User:Vernajast/sandbox-calvera-magnificent-seven

Calvera is the leader of a Mexican gang of bandits in the 1960 western film The Magnificent Seven. He is the main antagonist of the film, and he was portrayed by Eli Wallach.

Appearance
Calvera was "the bandito with two gold-capped front teeth, a crazy beatnik beard and a flamboyant air". In the film, he is depicted with a wide brimmed hat, gunslinger's belt, pistol, and a leather vest and chaps.

Characterization
The Magnificent Seven is based on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, however, the characterization of Calvera is very different from Kurosawa's bandit chief, who is virtually an abstraction of evil ferocity. Calvera is a brutal yet complex villain who acts like a bandit but speaks the language of paternal authority--"I am a father to these men: they depend on me"--to justify his actions. .

The villagers know Calvera well; his plundering is a yearly ritual. To Sotero, the village leader, Calvera bemoans the changing times: In earlier years, cattle and gold and fruit from the trees were there for the picking, but now, even the poor boxes that Calvera steals from big churches are empty.

Role in The Magnificent Seven
In the film, Calvera's bandit gang is planning to invade and pillage a small village. However, due to previous raids on the same village having stripped it of resources, he decides to wait until the barley crop has matured. A villager overhears his plans and relays this news to the village leader Sotero, who in turn hires Chris (the main protagonist, portrayed by Steve McQueen) to defend the village.

Cultural references

 * In an episode of Futurama entitled That's Lobstertainment!, Dr. Zoidberg is dressed as a parody of Calvera in the fictional film, The Magnificent Three.
 * A Star Trek: Deep Space 9 character named Bernardo Calvera is a reference to Bernardo (Charles Bronson's character) and Calvera (Eli Wallach's character) from The Magnificent Seven.
 * An isolated neutron star discovered in 2007 in Ursa Minor was nicknamed Calvera by scientists. The seven other previously discovered stars of this rare type are nicknamed The Magnificent Seven.
 * The 1980 science fiction film Battle Beyond the Stars was "intended as a 'Magnificent Seven in outer space.'" The leader of the evil Malmori raiders, Sador, is similar to the character of Calvera and plays the same antagonist role.