Bill Meceita, a boy whose family was murdered in front of him by a gang, sets out 15 years later to exact revenge. On his journey, he finds himself continually sparring and occasionally cooperating with Ryan, a gunfighter on his own quest for vengeance, who knows more than he says about Bill's tragedy.
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Love this movie and have it in my archive. not sure why someone would call it a leone rip off. He just happens to be the most famous of the directors. But there were other influential ones created by the likes of Sergio Corbucci "Django" and this one by Giulio Petroni. All very entertaining all dubbed. If you say rip off then Leone rip offed Kurosawa .. but in my eyes its not rip off... remake or takings ideas is flattering in my eyes...Death rides a horse is great for a nice Spaghetti western marathon
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.
. . . where every woman was a rape-victim-waiting-to-happen; where bankers robbed their own banks (which sounds like a story ripped from today's headlines); and where the bad guys always waited one second too long to kill the good guys. Vengeance is a dish best served cold, but with plenty of salt. Two Americans bring relief to a gang-terrorized Mexican village, with Ennio Morricone contributing one of his 80 film scores from the mid-1960s. This is a low-budget film, so instead of the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN you have "the better-than-average two" (which is still double the number of stalwarts in HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, or any number of other Clint Eastwood solo acts). Climaxing with a mini-version of the Siege of the Alamo, DEATH RIDES A HORSE is not dissimilar from a samurai flick. Director Giulio Petroni uses red filters from time to time to denote flashbacks to "Bill's" childhood trauma, just as Alfred Hitchcock had done a few years earlier in MARNIE. (If ALIENS watch these two films, they might not "get" them, even if they're NOT color blind, as their blood is green!)
This movie started off with a great opening scene with a bad storm and a family who gets slaughtered this is typical for SW movies a revenge for a slaughtered family theme. I liked how it showed four men masked and each man shows the boy some distinguishing feature to help him later in life identify each of the culprits with the exception of one who loses the bandanna around his face and is an easy spot. Another man comes in and saves the boy from the fire. Its a great western of two men who both have a score to settle with the same men. It is director Guilio Petroni's best western by most critics, I have yet to see his Night of the Serpent which is told to be a great second of his work. Lee Van Cleef gives a great performance in this one and the famous Ennio Morricone gives another brilliant score. I actually always have enjoyed the villain roles of Anthony Dawson and he is good in this one as well.
