The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 30, 2025

Graham Stark's "The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new program with director of photography Harvey Harrison; new program with actress Audrey Nicholson; new program with stills photographer Keith Hamshere; and vintage trailer. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Suddenly and viciously attacked

Graham Stark’s comedy The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins borrows the formula that various French and Italian producers used during the late ’60s and early ‘70s for the popular at the time ‘package’ films. However, instead of having a collection of segments unified by a common theme and directed by different filmmakers, The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins had only a big group of popular British actors contributing to each of its segments. Stark was the only director behind the camera.

Each of the seven segments delivers a ‘very British lesson’ about one of the seven sins from the Bible. The quality of the comedy material varies, but at the end of each lesson, there is always a twist urging one not to forget that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Avarice

A wealthy, slightly overweight snob (Paul Whitsun-Jones) becomes very upset when his slightly dim-witted chauffeur (Bruce Forsyth) accidentally drops a 50p in a sewage canal. The snob tells the chauffeur that it is his duty to retrieve it, and the poor soul goes to work. But the more he tries to catch and pull out the coin, the more he complicates things, and the coin moves further away from him. A lively group of ‘experts’ then gather around the scene of the ‘disaster’ and eventually a few even become involved in the rescue operation. At the end, the snob reappears and gets a dose of his own medicine.

Greed

Happy couple Stanley (Harry Secombe) and Vera (Carmel Cryan) are looking to purchase a brand new house. Vera eventually spots one she likes, but the owners (Geoffrey Bayldon and June Whitfield) refuse to sell it. So, Stanley and Vera decide to cheat to get what they want, but shortly after closing their dream deal, they realize that the value of their property is about to go down.

Gluttony

Quite possibly the funniest segment in the entire film. The brilliant Leslie Phillips plays a top executive in a company that sells healthy food. In front of his employees, the man pretends to practice what he preaches, but as soon as they leave his office, he brings out stacks of junk food and devours it in spectacular fashion. The liar’s problem with food is revealed when he goes out on a date with a sexy blonde (Julie Ege).

Lust

A middle-aged gentleman (Harry H. Corbett) enters a phone booth and then engages an attractive woman in another phone booth next to him. The surprised beauty very quickly becomes excited about the possibility of meeting him. Then, at the end of their conversation, the beauty confesses that she can’t stand the weird stranger in the booth right across her who has been undressing her with his eyes.

Pride

Two gentlemen (Ian Carmichael and Alfie Bass), heading somewhere with their ladies, get stuck in the middle of a very narrow country road. They both refuse to back up their cars and then engage in a passionate debate about their rights to go forward. When the ladies get bored with them and warm up to each other, they begin discussing their flaws. Eventually, a local police officer emerges and proceeds to fix the ‘problem’.

Sloth

Perhaps the most original segment in the entire film. A collection of silent black-and-white clips introduces several rather remarkably lazy people.

Wrath

Two aging loons (Ronald Fraser and Arthur Howard) become seriously upset with a park guard (Stephen Lewis) who keeps harassing them. They decide to get rid of the guy, but their supposedly witty plan for him backfires -- somewhat literally.

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Kino Lorber's release is sourced from the same older master that British label Odeon used to produce this Region-B release in 2015. Despite some obvious limitations, this master is pretty decent, so it makes it easy to enjoy The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins. However, in the United Kingdom, 88 Films has released several films from the Tigon Pictures catalog, all restored and included in the Tigon Collection line, and they all look very impressive on Blu-ray. I had hoped to see The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins look just as good. Regardless, in America, The Seven Deadly Sins has not had a high-definition release, so at least now one is available.

The bulk of the film looks slightly softer than it should. Also, the dynamic range of the visuals is not optimal. However, there is still plenty of decent detail and depth, and clarity ranges from good to very good. The black-and-white segment is intentionally tweaked to appear flatter, so while it can look fresher, like the rest of the film can, the drop in quality there is not a byproduct of digital trickery. Colors are stable. However, this is another area where meaningful improvements can be made so that primaries and supporting nuances can appear richer and better balanced. Image stability is excellent. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clear, sharp, and stable, so all exchanges are easy to follow. However, if you find some of the British accents a bit challenging, you can use the optional English subtitles. On the British release that Odeon produced, optional English subtitles were not included. There are no troubling age-related imperfections. The overall range of nuanced dynamics is limited, but this is hardly surprising. So, is there any room for improvements? Perhaps some rebalancing adjustments can be made, but I don't think that they will affect the overall quality of the audio.

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Harvey Harrison - in this new program, director of photography Harvey Harrison explains how he was offered to lense The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins, and discusses his interactions with director Graham Stark and other people that contributed to it, the quality of the animation footage, some interesting locations that were chosen, and the film's publicity and reception. The program was produced by James McCabe in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Audrey Nicholson - in this new program, actress Audrey Nicholson (Mrs. Ferris) recalls her interactions with Ian Carmichael and several other comedians and the scene they did together. Mrs. Nicholson also shares several interesting stories from her friendship with other fellow actors. The program was produced by James McCabe in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• Keith Hamshere - in this new program, stills photographer Keith Hamshere discusses his friendship with Graham Stark and his notorious sense of humor and contribution to The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins. The program was produced by James McCabe in 2025. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage trailer for The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Leslie Phillips, Ian Carmichael, Harry H. Corbett, Spike Milligan, Stephen Lewis, and Ronald Fraser are only a few of the big comedians that made The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins. However, this film is decent at best, not the minor masterpiece it should have been. I think that it is easy to recommend if you are a fan of any of its famous stars, but if you are not, consider picking up some of their classic big hits that you do not yet have in your library. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an old but mostly good master and has three nice exclusive new programs. RECOMMENDED.