Vivo pela Tua Morte

Great movie that's been down played and over looked for years. Reeves was born to make Westerns. If you loved his "Sword and Sandal" films this one won't let you down. Cool action, great shoot outs and that classic build that put's his contemporaries to shame. On the other hand, if you like the Westerns that were coming out of Italy at the time, you've got to check this one out. Not going to go so far as to say he rivals Eastwood but Reeves is heads above most of the guys who tried their hands in the genre. Best of all it shows off Revee's horse riding skills that were only hinted to in the "Hercules" type films. Very hard to find on tape but well worth the effort once you get your hands on a copy.

In his last film, Steve Reeves played his usual hero number (though a bit too sombre, with no glimpse of humor, as in the adventure films he starred in), doing not too different grimaces and acrobatics as the ones he performed for his incarnations of Romulus, Sir Henry Morgan, Hercules and Sandokan. It was adapted from a novel, and probably the scriptwriters (including Reeves) were too respectful of the original (written, as told by other reviewer, by a specialist in western novels) and took little advantage of the European western film craze of the 1960s. Even in the more serious western dramas (as Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West"), there were always bizarre elements and even a bit of Brechtian estrangement, making it obvious that it was a foreign concoction turning a classic genre upside down, every now and then revealing something that had not been told in the classic American westerns (although I believe the real revisionist westerns were made by American filmmakers, as Penn, Peckinpah, Altman and Gries). This one plays it straight, and maybe Reeves wanted to do a real western, but it just comes out as an average European western without zest.

Usual western spaguetti played by the unforgetable Steve Reeves, already stigmatized character on those Peplum and Sandals pictures from the glorious past years, now Steve Reeves tries out on western proves that he can makes easily another genre, also allowed to us a strange offering, the plot is average also commonplace, framed in a train robbery he and his young brother were sent to the jail at impregnable fortress Yuma, there was a riot and he escapes, but his brother didn't make and the revenge just began, if we consider it as last picture of Reeves, we must be carefully, actually he was the great Hercules, so demands some kind of assessment, in fact I really love those magnificent epics, this western for Italian standard is plentiful acceptable and Reeves makes the best he could and quite enjoyable job indeed, due he wounded his shoulders previously he had to quit to make pictures unfortunately, meanwhile it wasn't a great picture, it's just the final movie of the great and legendary Steve Reeves, the good news is about the DVD, was fully restored!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 6.25

While this is one of the better "spaghetti westerns" from the 1960s, it is little known in this country despite the presence of Steve Reeves in the starring role. Reeves' looks and presence here indicate that he could have had a post-Hercules career in the movies and it's both sad and puzzling that this career never evolved.

The movie itself lacks the flamboyant, even operatic style one often associates with these westerns, but unlike some of its competitors, this has a solid, well-constructed script which effectively uses the "revenge" theme without any digressions or detours. By some standards, this movie might even be labeled "minimalist!"

There is one missed opportunity, however. Reeves spends an entire reel laboring on a rock pile in one of those primitive, scorching-hot desert prisons manned by sadistic guards who are quick to dish out brutal punishments. (One is reminded of "Hellgate" or "There Was a Crooked Man.") He sometimes works with his shirt off -- giving us a look at that glorious, suntanned, sweat-streaked torso -- and he's sometimes given a punch or a kick or a shove. However, there's no scene of Reeves being tied to a post and given a savage flogging across his bare back. Since Reeves had one of those born-to-be-whipped bodies, it's unfortunate the makers of this movie didn't take advantage of this resource.

Good gracious!!! Steve Reeves in a western movie??? It's really hard to find this movie on DVD, i need to wait for a long long time to get a chance to watch this movie. Luckily i found it on You Tube and download this as well. Honestly, I'm not disappointed after watching it! Steve Reeves came up with his final movie and quit acting after this movie, i wonder why??? The way he acted in a cowboy movie was surprisingly good and he could turn out to be a lot better if he further his career. It's too bad he quit earlier..I wish he acted more in spaghetti western movies..he could be as popular as Franco Nero or Lee Van Cleef! A Long Ride From Hell is just one of the best western movies i have seen so far. In my opinion, this one surpasses Django and The Great Silence. I just thought that A Long Ride From Hell is better.

10/10 stars (excellent)