Death Rides a Horse
Death Rides a Horse

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- 71/100 based on 8,876 votes

Before his very eyes, a young boy watches the cutthroats of a small gang raid his humble home, rape and slaughter his whole family. Fifteen years later, Bill Meceita, the once-helpless boy and the sole survivor of the massacre, has now become a cool and skilful sharpshooter, seeking revenge against the band of unknown killers. In the meantime, the seasoned gunslinger and freshly out of prison, Ryan, has already embarked on a journey of sweet retribution, unaware that before l... (Full plot summary below)

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Actors in Death Rides a Horse:

Lee Van Cleef
John Phillip Law
Mario Brega
Luigi Pistilli
José Torres
Anthony Dawson

Full Plot Details

Before his very eyes, a young boy watches the cutthroats of a small gang raid his humble home, rape and slaughter his whole family. Fifteen years later, Bill Meceita, the once-helpless boy and the sole survivor of the massacre, has now become a cool and skilful sharpshooter, seeking revenge against the band of unknown killers. In the meantime, the seasoned gunslinger and freshly out of prison, Ryan, has already embarked on a journey of sweet retribution, unaware that before long, he will cross paths with Bill, sharing the same desire for justice. But what could possibly unite the two unlikely companions?

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Movie Reviews

Ozus' World Movie Reviews - 7/10 by Dennis Schwartz...the film has the allure of watching Van Cleef and Law team up.
CinePassion - 6/10 by Fernando F. CroceIf not as luxuriant as Leone or as politicized as Corbucci, the film boasts its own blunt poetry
User Review - 10/10 by Christopher JOne of the best spaghetti westerns, hands down. Great stuff.
User Review - 10/10 by Van R"Death Rides A Horse" ranks as one of the best non-Sergio Leone/Sergio Corbucci spaghetti westerns. The chief reason that many conssoisseurs lump Giulio Petroni's suspenseful but savage horse-play in the same league with Leone may owe to the fact that scenarist Luciano Vincenzoni, who penned this inventive Lee Van Cleef oater, collaborated with Leone on "For A Few Dollars More," "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," and "A Fistful of Dynamite." Vincenzoni was a talented writer in his own right and his contributions to the Leone westerns appears more obvious in his solo scripting here. Like "FAFDM," "Death Rides A Horse" explores the relationship between an older man and a younger one in their mutual pursuit of men that have wronged them. Indeed, the John Phillip Law gunslinger wears apparel similar to what the Clint Eastwood bounty hunter wore in the "Dollar" epics. Conversely, Lee Van Cleef is not a former Confederate officer in "Death Rides A Horse," but an ex-con outlaw who has completed a long stretch in prison. Composer Ennio Morricone,who scored all Leone's westerns, provides a flavorful but downbeat orchestral soundtrack that captures the savagery of the action; Morricone's score differs thematically from his Leones because it lacks the lively bells and whistles. Skull-faced Luigi Pistilli and barrel-chested Mario Brega, who appeared in Leone's westerns, are the villains. Of course, Lee Van Cleef played in "For A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." He gives a terrific performance in one of his better spaghetti western roles as Ryan, a hardcase outlaw condemned to serve a fifteen year prison sentence for a prison for a crime that he did not commit. "Danger: Diabolik's" John Phillip Law co-stars as sharp-shooting tinhorn gunslinger Bill Meceita; Bill has sworn a vow to avenge the murders of his father, mother, and sister since the night that he witnessed the atrocity. Indeed, the same dastards that framed Ryan for the Meceita Ranch massacre and robbery butchered Bill's family. The Meceita Ranch slaughter could only have occurred in an abrasive Italian western. The "Death Rides A Horse" villains are unrepentant bastards. They don't topple like ten-pins when the heroes cross their trails with guns blazing. The grim, unsavory opening scene where this evil gang steals $200-thousand dollars and then murders an innocent family, molests the women, and burns down the house almost as afterthought, gets the action off to a grisly start. Vincenzoni earmarks each amoral malefactor by body jewelry, tattoos, facial scars, or parts of their apparel. As with most westerns, the wardrobe and appearance of each individual tells us volumes more about them than they would ever be allowed to reveal in dialogue. The most important example of body jewelry is the Death's Head pedant that dangles from the neck of the outlaw who pulls young Bill out of the conflagration and conceals him from his cohorts. Vincenzoni's clever screenplay pays off this mystery in the last half-hour and furnishes a surprise ending to top it off. This high body count sagebrusher can be divided roughly into two acts based on its settings. The first half takes place in Texas after Bill has grown up and Ryan has gotten out of jail. The second half occurs in dusty Mexico and blends elements of "The Magnificent Seven" when Ryan and Bill organize the peasants to fight Walcott's gang that has terrorized them for too long. The shoot'em up finale where the villains serenade the heroes the night before with a funeral march, such as in both versions of "The Alamo" and "Rio Bravo," is genuinely atmospheric. You don't see stuff like that in most Hollywood westerns. Petroni goes even farther with the finale by staging the gunfight in a sandstorm, just to make sure that nobody has the easy way out. Ryan and Bill both qualify as sympathetic, outnumbered heroes, but they are vulnerable, too. Vincenzoni's screenplay is not a straightforward revenge melodrama where the heroes kill the villains one by one. The villains, who have become pillars of the community during the fifteen years that Ryan rotted in prison, commit an even greater crime, and they frame Ryan for their latest crime. Similarly, Bill runs into trouble in Mexico and winds up buried up to his chin in the parched earth with the sun blazing down on him and fistful of salt crammed in his mouth. The scene when Ryan shows up at the mission, masquerading as a peasant himself, and meets Bill again is the only time that Petroni allows humor in this abrasive western. Essentially, while they are capable heroes, they are not unrealistically invincible, and this makes them believable. The cat and mouse relationship between Ryan and Bill enlivens the action. At first, Ryan leaves Bill afoot in the middle of nowhere, and then later Bill rescues Ryan from jail but strands him. They indulge in a constant game of one-upmanship with the older man pointing out the youngster's error, a staple theme in most Hollywood westerns. There are some neat little touches here that stand out. In a similar saloon scene where the younger hero helps out a less fortunate individual, there is a shoot. In this scene, a derringer flies out of a dead man's grip and lands on a piano and strikes a dramatic note. Before this shoot-out, the hero calls for the pianist to hit three notes and then the gunplay can commence something like the finale in "For A Few Dollars More" with its timepiece melody. When "Death Rides A Horse" ends, Ryan and Bill havemade reconciliation, but when Bill rides off, the feeling is one of finality rather than renewal. Anybody that considers himself or herself a Lee Van Cleef fan should watch "Death Rides A Horse."
User Review - 10/10 by david tThis is Lee Van Cleef at his finest, it really deserves a more decent DVD than the ones that are out. The score by Ennio Morricone is exceptional, obviously. The plot is great, the acting is perfect and the shitty dubbing is awesome.
User Review - 10/10 by Bill BOne of the finest spaghetti westerns ever made. An unbelievable score from Ennio Morricone and a double serving of revenge.
User Review - 10/10 by DC FOnly thing worthwhile about this love is Lee Van Cleef of course. Boring low budget western.
User Review - 10/10 by Dimitris LBadass spaghetti flick, really underrated!
User Review - 10/10 by Cassandra MDeath 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.
User Review - 10/10 by Jeff WVery underrated Spaghetti Western film starring the great Lee Van Cleef.

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