User reviews

When Bill (John Phillip Law) was a young child he witnesses a gang kill his father, and rape and kill his mother and sister, while he was spared. Now Bill is a young man who is now intent on exacting revenge on those who were responsible for killing his family. He also meets a gunslinger/ex-con Ryan (Lee Van Cleef) who has just been released from jail and who's out to even the score with those exact outlaws, which betrayed him. So, now the two, tussle with each other to see who'll get to them first, but with the time they spend with each other, Bill also learns some valuable tips from Ryan.

As a kid growing up I loved my Westerns, but they had to be Cowboys and Indians, if there were no Indians, I just didn't give a damn. But how have times changed. I have just started to get back into the genre (and no, I don't care if there ain't no Indians), and lately the spaghetti western sub-genre. I'm a big fan of Sergio Leone' s Dollar films, which people say are the catalyst for spaghetti westerns. I didn't know anything of this film and probably wouldn't have paid much attention to it, but since I read some positive comments about it on a thread (in the horror board, of all places), I thought it would definitely be worth a look. But, I didn't have to go out of my way to find it, as it pop up on TV a week or two later. Anyhow, I've babbled enough about my personal experience, back to the film.

What gripping stuff! It surly was better, than I expected. A lively spaghetti western that had plenty of surprises along the way and it just wasn't a shoot-'em-up story with plenty of violence, but the cleverly laid out plot, builds on the revenge tale with some mystery and panache and kept the violence within the story's limits. Everything comes together rather perfectly with such a dark and macabre opening to its fitting finale. The story did kind of reminded me off Leone's "For A Few Dollars More", which Luciano Vincenzoni who penned this film, was also co-writer in the last two Dollar films. As for the script, there is lot spite, wit, but also it was rather standard and stiff dialogue. There probably could've been a bit more flair, especially from American actor John Phillip Law who was basically dead as wood in delivery and probably the film's weakest point. But the same can't be said of legendary actor Lee Van Cleef's performance. He brought a hard-boiled character that also added some dry humour and sizzling skills that ideally fitted in the overall tone. Combination between Cleef and Law goes down quite well and adds another dimension into the film (father and son figure). The rest (especially, the villains) gave your usual mean performances. Though, throughout the film, those Mexican outlaws seem to find the funny side of things, out of really nothing. I just find it rather amusing, especially because of the irony of it all. Ennio Morricone (also from the Dollar films) came up with a standout music score, which mixed some soothing Mexican music with an uplifting and rousing western score. The camera-work isn't that potent, but it still gets some flashy treatment. With its sharp and encroaching shots. It also captured the vastly desolated landscape that sprawls on the screen. Direction by Giulio Petroni keeps the film grounded and keeps a rather brisk pace. He creates some well-designed shootouts and sequences. One being the eerie opening and another an explosive showdown amongst an empty town during a dust storm. By the way, it's a great title isn't it?

A must-see for any Western or Lee Van Cleef fan.

From the stark opening, director Giulio Petroni lets us know that he is going to take us on an interesting ride. The sequence for which we watch through Bill's eyes as his family is brutalized and murdered is one of the most disturbing ten minutes ever put on film.

Even more stunning is the sequence for which there is jump cut from Bill as a child after the carnage to Bill as an adult, as a living killing machine. It plays like a version of THE TERMINATOR if it was set in the 19th Century American West.

What progresses from there is a very interesting revenge film, loosely patterned like POINT BLANK (1967) where Bill is the wild card in the middle of Ryan's quest for vengeance.(Watch both films....Van Cleef and Marvin's characters function the same way...."All I want is $15,000...nothing more, nothing less...)

What I found the most interesting is the way Petroni chose to photograph the three sections of the film. They are all visually distinct and this change seems to map the character's journey through out the film, that being Bill's progression from a traumatized child to a hate-filled adult on the road to hell.

My only complaint is the quality of the prints.

I hope MGM manages to track down a decent negative and have this film restored.

It deserves it.

Death Rides a Horse is one that Spaghetti Western fans (and fans of Lee Van Cleef) would thoroughly enjoy. The FILM is most watchable (read below about the DVD and possible hopes for a Region 1 letterbox DVD release), and Van Cleef is at his best in this one, playing a thug who is betrayed by his com padres. We usually see him playing the ultimate bad guy in most of his films, with his knife-deep stare filling the screen. At times, though, Van Cleef exposes his compassionate side for just a tease, and then just as quickly masks his inner humanity behind The Stare, as he plays Ryan, who arm-wrestles throughout the movie with stubborn youngster Bill (John Phillip Law), who has forsaken his lady and his life by embracing only revenge - and a single spur - after watching his father murdered, only to then bear witness to his mother and older sister brutalized at the hands of an out-of-control gang, greedy for gold.

The match-up between Ryan and Bill is one that plays itself out quite well, as Ryan acts as surrogate father, dishing out advice through some memorable quotes, teaching young Bill with his words and actions. Bill's anger is worn heavily on his sleeve, while Ryan steadily and calmly works out his own dishes of revenge, suppressing his anger even better than his empathy for Bill, which he touches on even as the pair first meet. Phillip Law was okay, but not thoroughly convincing as a bitter young man who witnessed his family's killing. Every once in a while, he might could have done just another take or two, but it's an easy pill to swallow since Van Cleef balances him out.

I wouldn't want to go deeper into reviewing the movie, except that there's a nice plot twist somewhere inside the film. Many of the actors seen in this 1968 film have been in films by the great Sergio Leone. It seems that there was a core of actors who performed in a number of Italian Westerns, and for good reason: the chemistry was there. Add a good dose of Ennio Morricone film scores, and you have the potential for a quite watchable film. Most spaghetti's would be overcooked and unpalatable if not for Morricone music, which acts as an unseen, yet incredibly talented main character.

Once in a while, the dialog (like Bill's off-balance delivery: "I'll find out who he is. If he is who I think he is...get ready to get mad") detracts from the slow and steady pace of Death Rides a Horse (that line makes me want to Kill Bill, myself), but the overall storyline works well enough to entertain Spaghetti Western fans. There are very few plot holes to pick at in the film, which has an air of dread or darkness throughout much of its length. A lighter moment always seems to pop in just when the viewer might like to come up for air (like a character who offers Bill a kiss).

For those concerned about bad or unbelievable endings, Death Rides delivers without disappointment.

Now, for the DVD: Sadly, there seems to be no Region 1 release that does this nice yet overlooked film, justice. Mine, which is a 2-4-1 DVD with "God's Gun" on the same side, and "Quality" as the title logo, is horribly lacking in everything but bad quality, perhaps one of the worst DVD productions I have EVER seen. The letterboxed original, cropped to pan/scan, suffers from multi-generational degradation of image quality.

One particular scene that makes the argument to respect the director's intent by preserving a film's original screen aspect ratio is the card game between Bill and Burt Cavanaugh (Anthony Dawson). Watch as the camera pans the players. Terrible cuts were placed into the scene at the card table as the camera panned the players, in order to preserve timing since the film transfer is a TV format crop from letterbox. It's an unforgivable way to present such a scene, which can lead the viewer to believe that it was the fault of a lazy film editor, or an incompetent director . I can't wait to see the film in its original format.

There is not one frame in my DVD that has any kind of decent image quality with respect to color, tone, or saturation. Its terribly washed out and either too contrasty and bright, or too muddy and dark, and neither extreme results in any texture. And in some scenes, the image degrades to a pixelated mess, which you'll see in the opening scene, and it returns of and on throughout the presentation. The only reason I watch it again and again is to enjoy the Morricone tracks and view an entertaining film. MGM has released a PAL-Region 2 DVD, and subsequent DVD reviews suggest that they finally did "Death Rides a Horse" justice. It has the original letterbox (2.35:1) and infinitely better video quality. Search online for some businesses in the UK as I will, and once I get it, I'll burn my copy and play it in my region-free DVD player.

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.

It's hard not to think of Sergio Leone when watching 'Death Rides A Horse', and not just because Leone is the king of spaghetti westerns. The connections are even closer than that. Lee Van Cleef ("Angel Eyes" in 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly') co-stars, and the supporting cast includes Mario Brega and Luigi Pistilli, both familiar faces from Leone's Dollars trilogy. Plus it was written by Luciano Vincenzoni and scored by Morricone. Giulio Petroni however is the director instead of Leone. Maybe that's why it isn't as impressive as one might expect. Even so it's an underrated revenge thriller, and Van Cleef gives an excellent performance. He plays Ryan, an ex-con wanting some payback from a group of outlaws who double crossed him. John Phillip Law ('Diabolik') is Bill, a young guy obsessed with avenging the rape and murder of his mother and the slaying of his father and sister. Pretty soon Bill crosses paths with Ryan and comes to realize that they after the same men. The two form an uneasy relationship which in many ways is that of a surrogate father and son. 'Death Rides A Horse' may not be quite as great as Leone but it's still very good, and one of the better spaghetti westerns. It's particularly recommended to fans of Lee Van Cleef, who is just wonderful to watch.

This is one of the most legendary Spaghetti Western titles (also because, until recently, it was so difficult to watch in decent form having fallen into the Public Domain), a fine revenge drama well handled by former documentarist Petroni (this was his first genre effort) - though it's somewhat overlong and slowly-paced to boot!

Once again, we have the tension-filled relationship between two unlikely characters - one the experienced and betrayed ex-con Lee Van Cleef and the other the brash and hate-filled youth John Philip Law - both gunning after the same gang seeking revenge. They're not exactly allies but when one hasn't preceded the other and their paths cross, they tend to help each other out (though it's more often Van Cleef who has to watch over the still-green Law); in one memorable and oft re-used scene, the latter is interred up to his neck and left to the mercy of insects, vultures and the scorching desert sun! The villains include Euro-Cult favorite Luigi Pistilli (his role here was basically replicated for Sergio Corbucci's THE GREAT SILENCE [1968]) and veteran British actor Anthony Dawson.

The twist at the end - also one which has seen much service, particularly in recent thrillers - is very effective, threatening to dissolve the growing friendship between the two men (Van Cleef has actually come to consider Law as the son he never had!) and which compels them to a face-off (with surprising results). Ennio Morricone's odd and mostly vocal score was actually utilized by Quentin Tarantino for his KILL BILL (2003/4) saga.

I had first watched this via a PD-release and this re-acquaintance came by way of a VHS recording off Cable TV, still in an English-dubbed (though, at least, featuring the leads' own voices) pan-and-scan version; I was aware that the film had been issued on R2 DVD by MGM, though I wasn't sure if the Italian track was included. Still, in spite of the lowly price, the utter lack of extras has dissuaded me from a purchase - given that it's yet to receive an official release on R1 and it may very well turn up in a SE from Italy (the director's subsequent film, TEPEPA [1968; reviewed below], received the deluxe 2-Disc treatment, with Petroni himself contributing an intermittent Audio Commentary!)...

Can you beat a title like that? 'Death Rides a Horse...' Only the Italians could come up with something like that.

Western vengeance tale with John Phillip Law going after those who murdered his family, 15 years after the fact. Van Cleef has a connection to these murders which will become apparent towards the end of the film. I won't give away the spoiler, here.

What must have been shocking and brutal for 1967 was the fact that white men were shown to gun down women and children, something a Hollywood western would never touch unless they were depicting the Indians doing it. That was OK since they were bloodthirsty, heathen savages who had no morals and could be portrayed as such.

But for 'civilized' white men to do so, that was a no-no. No wonder John Wayne hated these kinds of westerns. They threw the 'code of the west' right out the window.

Putting aside Van Cleef's appearance in Leone's westerns, I would rate this one as high as 'The Big Gundown' (1967) and 'Sabata' (1970) as my all-time favorites.

And yes, the Morricone score goes well with the film. Especially the scenes where Ryan (Van Cleef) has just walked out the door of a prison and is buying the horse, and later when he meets Bill (Law) for the first time (as an adult) on his farm. Man, that score is unnerving. If you can track it down on old vinyl or CD, buy it. Nothing beats those soaring choruses or Spanish guitars, jangling tensely in the background.

Get's an 8 out of 10 for sheer entertainment value...

This is a revenge movie, a Spaghetti Western with full of thrills, shootous and follows the wake of Sergio Leone . It starts with impressive scenes , death all a beloved family by a killer gang , there only escapes a little boy. Some years later, the survivor named Bill (John Philip Law) seeks vengeance . Meanwhile , a convict (Lee Van Cleef) goes out of prison where he was for fifteen years and he also wishes revenge and reckoning. Mysterious gunman Ryan acts as protector of the young gunfighter and vice versa , Bill also saves him when Ryan is falsely accused of bank robbing. Duo starring undergoing a strange relation of comradeship and paternal-filial feeling .

¨Da Uomo a Uomo¨ that was subsequently retitled "Death Rides a Horse" is a "man to man" story; being one of the best spaghetti western of the film history in connection Sergio Leone's universe by intervention of writer Luciano Vincenzoni and musical score by Ennio Morricone, both of them are habitual Leone's collaborators , and artificers of 'Trilogy of dollars' : ¨A fistful of dollars¨ , ¨A few dollars more¨ and ¨The Good , Ugly and Bad¨; besides , other Leone flicks as ¨Duck you, sucker¨ and ¨Once upon a time in the West¨. Duo protagonists are frankly magnificent. A serious and smooth-talking Lee Van Cleef as an experienced gunman and cool John Philip Law as a brave young , though impulsive and revenger ; at the same time (1967) he starred various hits , such as : ¨Diabolik¨ by Mario Bava , ¨Barbarella¨ by Roger Vadim, ¨Red Baron¨ by Roger Corman, among others . Furthermore, there appear other usual secondaries from Spaghetti , such as Luigi Pistilli , Mario Brega , Jose Torres , Romano Puppo, Bruno Corazzari, Ignazio Leone, Guglielmo Spoletini or William Bogart and special acting by Anthony Dawson (no confusion with Italian director Anthony M. Dawson-Margheriti), famous strangler of Grace Kelly in Hitchcock's ¨Dial M for murder¨. The film displays adequate cinematography by cameraman Carlo Carlini and powerful soundtrack by the great Ennio Morricone. The motion picture whose original title was "Duel in the Wind¨ or "Da Uomo a Uomo" was well directed by Giulio Petroni, author of another excellent S. W. titled ¨Tepepa¨ (with Orson Welles and Tomas Milian) and two minor Italian Westerns, such as : ¨Night of serpent (with Luke Askew, Luigi Pistilli) ¨ and ¨A sky full of stars for a roof (with Giuliano Gemma, Mario Adorf)¨.

This is the masterpiece of a peculiar sub-genre dealing with master-disciple gunmen relationship, Spaghetti's ordinary plot, such as : ¨Day of anger (by Tonino Valeri)¨ with Van Cleef-Giuliano Gemma ; ¨Bandidos (Massimo Dallamano)¨ with Enrico Mª Salerno-Venantino Venantini , and ¨Allómbra di Colt (Giovanni Grimaldi)¨ with Conrado San Martin-Stephen Forsyth. Rating : Better than average Spaghetti, the film will appeal to Lee Van Cleef fans. It is essential and indispensable to see it for Spaghetti Western enthusiasts, being considered worldwide one of the best, usually being among the first on the lists that are usually made.

"Death Rides a Horse" AKA "As Man to Man" (1967), directed by Giulio Petroni, is among the best Spaghetti Westerns. Leen, mean and with with plenty of action, it never slows down from the brilliantly executed murder and rape during a thunder-storm that sets in motion Bill Meceita

(John Phillip Law)trail of bloody vengeance. Of course the real star of this film is Lee Van Cleef. Tougth and savage, this master thespian can easily hold his own against scowling villains One-Eye (Mario Brega) or Walcott (Luigi Pistilli). The photography is fine and the screenplay by Luciano Vincenzoni is a mini-masterpiece of revenge-drama.

But now, the vices. Quite a few shots of "canyons" seem to have been filmed in quarry's, some of the supporting cast are weak, notably Carlo Pisacane and José Torres. Also, the one real weakness that detracts from this otherwise great movie is when, each time Bill sees someone who was involved in killing his father, there is a quick, red tinted flash-back showing what evil crime they had committed against his family. As there are five people to kill, this soon becomes rather monotonous.

Apart from the few flaws mentioned, this is a almost perfect example of a normal Spaghetti Western. A sheer joy to watch.

They came in the window. It wasn't to wish me pleasant dreams After thieves steal $200,000 awkwardly expositioned by one of the keepers, they attack a home, kill the husband and... I don't know, it may be inferred that there is suggested rape of the wife and daughter, but if so, they're the fastest guns in the state(see what I did there?), so more likely, they're just messing up their clothes some. Anyway, fifteen years later, the surviving boy wants revenge, and so does the bad-ass Lee Van Cleef who was framed and has been in jail for stealing the cash. Other than that the subtitles are hilarious(they write *everything* - including almost the entirety of the credits, as they're on the screen - and the punctuation is lazy), this is a pretty dependable 114 minutes of spaghetti Western. Gunslinging, card games, a saloon with doors that swing open, a sense of honor and even hot chicks. In best Leone style we have close-ups(and the great faces that make these work), build-up, genuine tension and a nice climax. The coolness is also very much present, and the dialog is good and well-delivered, and some of it clever. This is filmed and edited well, with occasional odd framing. The humor has strong moments. This has really solid acting for all involved. The DVD comes with a trailer for other works from the period. I recommend this to fans of the genre. 7/10

Death Rides a Horse (AKA: Da uomo a uomo/As Man to Man) is directed by Giulio Petroni and written by Luciano Vincenzoni. It stars Lee Van Cleef, John Phillip Law, Carlo Pisacane, Luigi Pistilli, Anthony Dawson, Jose Torres and Carla Cassola. A Technicolor/Techniscope production, music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Carlo Carlini.

As a young boy Bill Meceita (Law), hidden away and cowering, was witness to the rape and murder of his family. 15 years later he is out for revenge against the gang who committed the crimes. Also after the same gang is Ryan (Cleef), fresh out of prison and with his own reasons for vengeance. Two men with the same objective, but not "exactly" working together even as they keep crossing each others paths…

Highly regarded by staunch Spaghetti Western fans, Death Rides a Horse has all the staple requirements in place to understand why that is the case. However, and it is a fun, violent and technically smart picture, it still comes across as a little jaded, even unadventurous. Certainly as an appetiser to the more well known Spaghetti's from the houses of Leone, Corbucci et al, it's filling for sure, a good starting point in fact for those exploring the sub-genre for the first time. But it hardly transcends Spaghetti Western World.

It's ripe with scope landscapes, sweaty close ups of hard bastard anti- heroes and low life villains, violence that grabs the senses as Morricone whirls his musical baton of sublime distortional sounds, and of course there's Van Cleef doing what he does best, acting with a visual skill that says so much whilst actually doing very little. The by-play between Cleef and Law, a future Sinbad no less, is truly enjoyable, as their characters get caught somewhere in the middle of a dusky void that asks them to help or hinder their respective rival.

It all builds to the big finale, where a pretty gentle twist fails to derail the momentum of the action and tension. While Petroni drops in some visual flares which obviously had future directors taking notes. All told it isn't that great a film to feel confident enough about recommending it to the casual film fan, but anyone with an interest in Spaghetti Westerns will find rewards. On proviso that is, that expectation level is set at a suitable level. 7/10

First the good news: This is a decent revenge yarn with a standout performance by Lee Van Cleef. And there are some creative touches like the red tinted flashback scenes, which were famously copied by Tarantino.

Now for the bad news: The editing is awful, the acting is mediocre (aside from the aforementioned Van Cleef), and the score by Ennio Morricone is surprisingly ordinary. Also the DVD I rented looked like a transfer from an old VHS tape.

If you like spaghetti westerns you should find something to enjoy here, but this should not be your introduction to the genre.

On a remote Firebase in Vietnam, we received a 16mm movie each day by helicopter. We typically watched about 3:00AM in our small fire direction center (FDC). "Death Rides a Horse" was delivered at least 15 times in 10 months. We were moved by the expressive eyes and dramatic stares throughout the movie. After several viewings, we'd decided to leave the sound off and provide our own dialog. This movie was a great tension buster in the middle of undesired action. Thank you Lee VanCleef!

After Lee Van Cleef scored in the Clint Eastwood spaghetti western films and after years of support he became a star on his own. Not exactly leading man material, Van Cleef became a kind of lower case Lee Marvin for the rest of his career. His first starring vehicle was Death Rides A Horse where he plays an old outlaw who has a score to settle with an outlaw gang that betrayed him.

Also having a score to settle is young John Phillip Law who as a child saw the same band murder his parents and sister. One of the outlaws feeling sorry for him, carried him from a burning building.

This is hardly an original plot and has been done in American and spaghetti westerns a Gazillion times best known as the storyline in Once Upon A Time In The West. Still veteran westerner Van Cleef and Law carry it off with aplomb.

I'm not a big fan of spaghetti westerns, but this one is all right.

A small boy Bill (John Phillip Law) witnesses the extermination of his entire family by a gang. But our boy succeeded in memorizing all the signs n symbols of the culprits so that he can exact revenge. Maybe Liam Neeson from Taken taught him that. One has a tattoo of four aces on his chest, another a scar, one a distinctive earring, one a chain with a skull pendant n one fella's mean face was visible. 15 years later n all the fellas r still carrying on with the same signs n symbols but in the meantime our boy has grown into a man with solid gun practice n has a penchant for toothpicks. A gunfighter named Ryan (Van Cleef), recently released from a prison aft serving 15 years wants to track down the same gang which Bill is after. We r never shown how n why Cleef's character got betrayed by his gang. The climax scene is shot in a Mexican village wher the wind storm seems to happen only around a small compound. Even during the entire shootout, the wind storm is present n the moment the shootout ends, the storm stops. What happens to the men from the village is never explained cos suddenly everyone disappears n we have only Phillip Law n a shirtless Van Cleef fighting off the entire gang.

There is a scene where the fella who is wearing the earring is shown facing forward n when he removes the hat he faces sideways as if he purposely did that to show his earring. Ther is action but no impactful shootout or showdown but the innovative torture method of burryin alive from the neck down n then thrusting salt in the mouth n keeping the water bowl in front of the head in the scorching sun is brutal. I first saw this in the 90s on a vhs. Revisited it few days back.

One can hardly blame young Bill Meceita (John Phillip Law) for wanting vengeance. As a child, he'd had to watch while a particularly rotten gang of bandits murdered the rest of his family (taking the time to rape his sister and mother first). As an adult, he hooks up with a stranger named Ryan (Lee Van Cleef), who has his own reasons for wanting to get back at the gang.

As Luciano Vincenzonis' script plays out, Bill and Ryan will take turns bailing the other out of trouble. Ryan warns Bill that his lust for vengeance could be deadly, but as it turns out, the two of them do need each other. Among the targets of their missions: banker Walcott (Luigi Pistilli) and saloon owner Burt Cavanaugh (Anthony Dawson).

"Death Rides a Horse" is an awesome title (although Law himself is not fond of it) for this very long, meticulously paced Spaghetti Western saga. Gorgeously shot by Carlo Carlini in Technicscope, it features yet another grandiose and effective soundtrack composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone. Violent without being gory, it's still pretty grim and powerful. This doesn't mean, however, that the script is without a sense of humour.

Van Cleef, showing us what screen charisma is all about, once again gets to play a character who is a truly cool customer. He remains a pleasure to watch, but is very well supported by the sincere Law. Dawson ("Dial M for Murder", "Dr. No") and Italian cinema veterans Pistilli ("Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key", "A Bay of Blood") and Mario Brega (Leones' "Dollars" trilogy, "Once Upon a Time in America") are villains par excellence.

At the core of this film is the interesting relationship between the older and younger man, as Ryan imparts wisdom and becomes something of a father figure in Bills' life.

Stylish and exciting, "Death Rides a Horse" leaves a vivid impression on the viewer.

Eight out of 10.

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.

No Indians in this spaghetti Western. It's about revenge and hunting down the killers of one man's family.

All the ingredients of a watchable Spaghetti Western including a well cast Lee Van Cleef. Music by the talented Ennio Morricone adds to the film.

As far as Spaghetti Westerns go this is one of the better ones.

This is without question one of the best Spaghetti westerns. Where is a decent print of this movie? The print quality form the ones for sale on DVD are atrocious! I had to borrow a decent vhs taped off AMC to see how it should really look. Lee van Cleef is superb, one of his best jobs after "For a few dollars more" Also fantastic score by Morricone, almost avant garde in some spots. Great one liners abound and special kudos to veteran bad guy Anthony Dawson for the most histrionic death scene ever, which is preceeded by three overly dramatized notes on the piano. And the ending manages to be quite touching. Brilliant!!

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.

I'm a big fan of Sphagetti Westerns but for some reason I didn't watch this until today. Lee Van Cleef is always a joy to watch. One of the greatest western star(no matter nationality) and he keeps it up in this one too. However the rest of the cast, safe a few bad guys, does a pretty poor job. I mean seriously, any chance of John Phillip Law being Steven Seagals father, lol. Same face through the whole damn thing.

I hadn't seen anything from Giulio Petroni before so I had no idea what to expect. I must say I'm not likely to check out any of his other films. He takes the simplest, most cliché shots and manages to even screw up some of them. The films look is just completely unspectacular and far below average. Of course this can be blamed on camera men, the editing room, etc. but it's still the directors job to make sure everything turns out alright.

Now it wasn't horrible. Far from it, pretty OK actually. It's a pretty cool and entertaining, less than I had hoped for, but still very enjoyable. Sadly the poor direction is not the only problem, the films plot and dialog just yells simplicity and thoughtlessness. Silly one-liners and everything falls into place perfectly.

I watched the English version (mainly because the Italian one doesn't appear to exist) and the dubbing was pretty darn weak. There's even scenes were people are "talking" without moving their lips. I'm not sure how much this is a fault of the actual film as every film should be viewed in it's original language. And though this is partly American it is possible that the Italians but more work into their sound. If you are a Spaghetti fan you will probably check it out, but I wouldn't recommend it to people who aren't familiar with the genre.