Death Rides a Horse (1968)

Lack of good storyline.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

As a western tale of menace and atmosphere, Giulio Petroni's epic reminded me of Hammett (for the plot of clever, cold revenge, a 'Yojimbo' flavor coming back to the Occident, but this tendency is soon dropped for good, as the two gunmen meet fiercer gangsters in Lyndon City, and the storyline is episodic, from one town to another, then across the border amid the frightened Mexicans), Bogart (by Van Cleef's endearingly careful role, but this is a limited resemblance or suggestion, since 'Ryan' hasn't the vulnerable and down to earth side of the silver screen Marlowe or Spade, though he is quite soon stripped of his seeming omnipotence and, in the scene after Bill rescues him, he appears as a vulnerable person indeed, still trying to patronize the cub with wisecracks; so just a hint of a resemblance, within different and dissimilar scripts), and the action starts with spurs, it has wholesome humor (the son's first entrance into Cavanaugh's saloon, there is a sense that this youngster has humor and a sense of fun, as in Nero doing an Eastwood role), there are satisfying twists (Cavanaugh's early demise), a less plausible idea (Walcott shows at the bank robbery). The movie is suspenseful, and, if couldn't term it stylish, it's eerie, grim and intensely dramatic; Van Cleef's role isn't the one he had in the Leone movies, and if, for some, those seemed really his movies, as opposed to the blander Eastwood's, this becomes Bill's movie. Which means Ryan isn't magically better than Bill. He's not that entitled to patronize the youngster.Ryan has the advantage of mysteriousness, so Bill has to be resourceful, which he is. And where Leone was playful, Giulio Petroni is dryly humorous. There's no spoof, I suppose, but a bit of comedy.

Fifteen years after the brutal massacre of his family by vicious outlaws, Bill (John Phillip Law) is finally ready for revenge, having perfected his gun-slinging skills; however, the young man finds himself facing competition from recently released criminal Ryan (Lee Van Cleef), who is also gunning for the murderous gang.Death Rides a Horse marks my very first foray into the spaghetti western genre outside of the relative safety of Sergio Leone's better known movies, and while it's not quite on a par with the Leone classics, the film is still a solidly entertaining adventure that certainly can't be accused of not trying…Between the film's brutal, rain-lashed opening massacre and its wind-swept gun-fight finalé, Death Rides A Horse delivers almost all the elements one might reasonably expect from the genre: a dashing, gun-slinging hero hell-bent on revenge, a grizzled ex-convict with a score to settle, loathsome villains, wonderful widescreen cinematography, a jail-break, a lynch-mob, fist fights, whisky drinking, poker playing, lots of rapid-zoom close-ups of eyes, a cool Ennio Morricone score, a village of scared Mexicans, and just a little gallows humour.Where the film suffers somewhat is with its rather pedestrian plot, that offers too few genuine surprises, and which, at almost two hours, resorts to padding out the action by having the lead characters take it in turns to put themselves in mortal danger, only for one to be saved by the other. This nonsense takes some swallowing, but director Giulio Petroni's stylish handling, some gritty violence, and a fine performance from Van Cleef ensure that the film never drags.While this might not be a top-tier spaghetti western, it's impressed me enough to make me want to check out further non-Leone movies.

As a child, Bill witnesses the murder of his family by four robbers.Fifteen years later, he embarks on his revenge. During his quest, he crosses paths with Ryan, an ex-con who wants the money the robbers owe him.Saw the good reviews. Let me say up front the version I saw had the worst dubbing ever. People's mouths would move and no voice would come out until 4 seconds later. It was like some bad Japanese dubbed movie!That said, it's well made and apparently influenced Tarantino in Kill Bill. John Philip Law cannot act but Lee Van Cleef saves the day.I'm not a huge fan of spaghetti westerns, but I liked this movie. If you ARE a fan, you'll probably love it.

Two Italian guys who once made some good movies about a guy who stands around and sometimes shoots people decide that they are going to do another movie about a guy who stands around and sometimes shoots people.For the guy who stands around and sometimes shoots people they selected John Law. My understanding of this decision is that they saved money by hiring a model since he wasn't going to be acting anyway.So the guy who stands around and sometimes shoots people decides that the next people he shoots are going to be other guys who shoot people.To help him out he finds another guy who stands around and sometimes shoots people. The Italian guys cast Van Cleef in that role, because he built a career out of standing around and sometimes shooting people. Plus he's bald, which makes it a lot easier to tell which guy standing around and sometimes shooting people is which.The Italian guys decide that the plot is going to be the same basic plot as their big hit -- but they put a big twist in it. Oh, my.The twist is that Van Cleef isn't the Bad. This time, he is the Ugly.He lives up to it.Oh, and the guns sound just like the guns in the Italian guys hit movie. You know, the one with the plot and the good actor.