fredgfinklemeyer
07/12/2018 I've watched alot of cowboy movies in my 69 years of life. The 1950's Gene Autry's, Lone Ranger movies in black & white, right up to the John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Steve McQueen and into Roddie Yates aka Clint Eastwood movies. Clint being my all time favorite old western actor as he played the hired killer in "The UnForgiven" my #1 favorite movie of all time in my book with at least a dozen Plus views by me and possibly more? This movie "Death Rides A Horse" is easily one of Lee Van Cleef's best movies that he ever made. He's on par with ol' Clint in his old western acting skills. Nothing more needs to be said after that. Watch for yourself and then you can decide??? Of course, I think this novie's great. Bon Appetit
LeonLouisRicci
If You are Seeking a "Spaghetti Western" Outside the Directorial Efforts of Sergio Leone, this is one that will No Doubt Satisfy and Solidify that the Sub-Genre might be Worth Exploring.Lee Van Cleef is here along with an Ennio Morricone Score. The Movie Maintains the Template and Style of the "New" Direction that was Forged by the "Man with No Name" Trilogy, but doesn't have the Artistic Depth of "The Good the Bad and the Ugly" (1966), or "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968).However it is a Better than Average Entry. Tarantino Loves it and Borrowed from it Freely and it has some Striking Set Pieces. The Opening is like something out of a Horror Movie and is Probably the Best Scene in the Film. But there are others that are Remarkable.It's Long at almost Two Hours and the Pacing and Editing are Clunky. But there is some Good Dialog and the Revenge Story is Visceral if Not Emotional.Artistic Touches Abound. Van Cleef is Fun to Watch and John Phillip Law makes Charles Bronson's "Act" look Sublime. And while We're at it, Clint Eastwood couldn't Act a Lick either, even in His Later Day.The Dubbing is Atrocious but doesn't keep the Movie from being Entertaining and Delivering what Fans of the SW Expect.
utgard14
A young man (John Phillip Law), whose family was murdered when he was a child, sets out to avenge them with help from a gunfighter (Lee Van Cleef) just released from prison. Good Spaghetti Western with a wonderful Ennio Morricone score. Kill Bill fans will recognize a lot of it. Lee Van Cleef is always awesome to watch. Luigi Pistilli, Mario Brega, and Anthony Dawson are all fine. A major negative is the casting of John Phillip Law. With his steel blue eyes and All-American good looks, Law was perhaps someone's idea of the next Paul Newman back in the day. Unfortunately he doesn't have one-tenth of the charisma of Newman. He's a very wooden actor lacking in the kind of screen presence needed to hold his own with the great Lee Van Cleef. Still, despite this drawback and a slower than necessary pace, it's a good movie. The story is simple but they generally were with Spaghetti Westerns. It's the appeal of Van Cleef coupled with the style of the sub-genre that should please most viewers.
ironhorse_iv
There is a reason why people love Spaghetti Westerns. Most of the time, the movies that came out of this era were a little bit more realistic then its American counterpart, in the way, the films are made. Most of the men have sun-scorched, dirty, sweaty, unshaven faces clothes in these films as it look like what an violent, anarchic wild west settling would look like. It doesn't look like the typical Hollywood movies at the time with clean-shaven, clean clothes, romantic boy-scout good guys VS evil guys. Most of the characters in a Spaghetti Western would probably have a shade of grey to their character. If you're a fan of Spaghetti Westerns like me, then this movie is a must-watch and it's pretty watchable. Death Rides a Horse is a very interesting movie, as it somewhat become more popular due to another way popular film call Kill Bill (2003). There are several influences from and reference of Death Rides a Horse in Quentin Tarantino's movie. Some good examples are this, both stories are really similar. The story of Death Rides a Horse, is about Bill Meceita, (John Phillip Law), a man who as a child, witnesses the slaughter of his family, is now a young adult bend to sets out to track down the outlaws that kill his family from the clues he remembers from that night. Whenever, Bill encounters one of the bandits that kill his family. The footage of the bandit attacking one of his family member in the past, is superimposed over Bill's face showing anger and memory. The same thing happens in Kill Bill whenever the Bride confronted one of the Deadly Vipers in that film. The scene where the young boy, Bill watches his family being killed off, in-part is reenacted in the animated scene of Kill Bill with a few changes like skull necklace is depicted as a skull ring, worn by the man who kills O-Ren's father. The theme song by Spaghetti Western legend Ennio Morricone is even use in Kill Bill when it relates to the relationship to the Bride character and O-Ren character. It's seem like they have a connection to each other. While, Bill search each member of the gang, Ryan (Lee Van Cleef), just got released from prison, is on the same trail like Bill to search for those bandits that has robbed and double-crossed him. What starts as a rivalry turns into a deadly cooperation, and the discovery of their linked pasts, and both hunters find himself having more in common, then they want to know. Like, Ryan and Bill; both Kill Bill and Death rides a horse has similar things to each other, and find themselves more in common, then it does seems to be. Directed by Giulio Petroni, Death rides a Horse has lapsed into the public domain and can be found anywhere from Youtube, libraries to DVDs. It's not too hard to find like the other Spaghetti Westerns due to its new found popularity with cult followers. Just be warn, that like other westerns of the time, the title of the film might be different depending where you live, as it had to be copy and translate back into English speaker language. Other names that this movie goes under is Viva Django, Man to Man or Two Deadliest Guns Alive. The original name for the film was 'Duel in the Wind', but Lee Van Cleef came up with the Italian title while discussing the movie with co-star, John Phillip Law who thought of the movie as a 'man to man' story by Luciano Vincenzoni. Hints why it's sometimes call 'Man to Man', but the title was subsequently retitled to 'Death Rides a Horse' to the English market. The English dubbing is pretty awful, as you can see people still talking in German or Italian in the background. Worth noting, the movie is a bit lengthy, but if you get the Italian version, it runs six minutes longer than the complete English assembly. There seem to be some scenes cut in the English version like when the Sheriff talks about Betsy. We never see Betsy in the English version of the film. The movie is far from perfect, as it has a clutter of clichés such as the one kill shots, and a high death count: 49 if you're counting. Why do some shooting victims have to do a little dance when they are dying? It just takes away from the realistic of the film. The intro was forgettable, and there were some bit boring parts toward the middle of the film, but it get better toward the end. I do like the sandstorm/ fort showdown, even if parts of it was a bit silly with identical shoots use multiply times. I don't know, why the villains took so long to attack them after retaking the fort. There were a few other problems, I notice as the movie scenes cut from day to night, back to day, and back to night. A good example of this is when Ryan is dumped by the bandits after the night of the robbery on the road to be captured by the Sheriff. Then the scene cuts back to the night of the robbery. What is going on here? I have to say that John Phillip Law's acting is mediocre. It kinda sank the picture in my opinion whenever they did a close up on his face and he reads his line out like a cardboard cut out. I do have to say, I did like the 'Revenge serve cold' speech between Ryan and Bill. Lee Van Cleef really made the film stand out. Overall: good movie at the time, and a lot better than some of the other films, I have saw. It's still have a few mistakes that hurt the film. This is truly a movie about revenge, and there is nothing sweet about it.
