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.

I saw this recently for the first time. Reeves is great in his final film, what a shame he was unable to continue making films because of an injury. He looks good and acts well in this revenge story which is head and (very broad) shoulders above of most of the post 66 Italian western output. Reeves could have been one of the great western stars but it wasn't to be. A glimpse of what he could have achieved can been found in such films as 'Sandokan' and 'Morgan the Pirate', non-sandal films that were great fun. I was glad to discover that his post-movie life was a success and that he was a happy and wealthy man. He is much missed by his fans.

Steve Reeves only made one spaghetti western, but it's a good one. VIVO PER LA TUA MORTE was made in 1968, a golden year for the Italian Western, and many of the genre's favorite sons appear in this tale of revenge and redemption, among them Aldo Sambrell, Nello Pazzafini, Spartaco Conversi, and Silvana Bacci. Reeves makes a good western hero, losing his shirt at times to give us a glimpse of his splendid physique; at age 42 he was still in great shape and spends lots of his screen time running, jumping, engaging in fist fights and carrying on like a much younger man. The film's depiction of Yuma Territorial Prison is good also, replicating the feel of the prison remarkably well. A very minor knock is that the pistols are of the John Woo variety, shooting fifteen or sixteen times as needed, particularly noticeable in the prison break. The music by Carlo Savina is outstanding, but that's as usual for this genre. A lesser gem, in a nice package from Wild East including an interview with Mimmo Palmera.

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

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)