Uma Dupla de Mestres - Viva a Morte... Tua

"¡Viva la Muerte... Tua!" - Italy (original title) or "Don't Turn the Other Cheek" - USA title or ¨Viva La Muerte Tuya¨- Spanish title , is an amusing Western plenty of action , shoot'em up , humor and fun . A radical journalist , A Russian prince , A Mexican bandit team up seeking a cache of gold . They turned a fun filled fight for gold into a riotous revolution . A spaghetti/Paella/Schnitzel western in which three adventurers join forces during the Mexican Revolution . It deals with a man calling himself Prince Dimitri Vassilovich Orlowsky (Franco Nero) who claims to be a Russian prince as he is aware a treasure has been hidden in Mexico territory , and along with a redheaded Irish girl named Mary O'Donnell (Lynn Redgrave) who wants to foment a peasant revolt in Mexico enlist other rogue character , a selfish bandit locked in Utah . Both of them , reunite the help of a humorous Mexican outlaw named Lozoya (Elli Wallach) , by saving him from a death sentence in Fort Yuma . Wallach pretends to be a Mexican folk hero named El Salvador . The trio teams up and crosses the border, the two men seeking a loot while the Irish reporter goes after her Mexican revolution . Lozoya has the key to the treasure , but Nero knows where the other half of the map is , both of whom seeking a lost gold located in Piedras Negras and confronting a cruel Mexican general (Eduardo Fajardo) .

This Zapata Western displays noisy action , thrills , stirring adventures, shoot'em up , riding pursuits and is pretty amusing . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shots or stunts every few minutes . Funny and thrilling screenplay by Massimo De Rita and Juan De Orduña , also producer , and based on the novel titled "The killer from Yuma" by Lewis B. Patten . This is an acceptable S.W. full of action , shootouts , fist-play and some touches of humor in charge of Elli Wallach character . Wallach portrays similarly to his popular "Tuco" character from ¨The good, the ugly and the bad¨ . Elli Wallach is very fine, he ravages the screen as a seedy bandit , he hits , shots and runs ; plus jokes , laughs , he's a complete show . While Franco Nero as a Russian prince is a type of selfish adventurer of the West , an elegant and resourceful ¨Bon Vivant¨ , being stunningly played by Franco Nero . Eduardo Fajardo as a cruelly baddie role as Mexican general is terrific , subsequently the would play similar role in other Spaghetti , mainly directed by Sergio Corbucci . In the movie appears usual support actors as Spanish : Victor Israel , Lorenzo Robledo , Jose Jaspe , Jose Moreno , Tito Garcia , Rafael Albacin , as Italian players : Mirko Ellis , Marilu Tolo , Gisela Hahn and German : Horst Janson and Dan Van Husen who acted as secondary in many Spaghetti . It's a co-production Spanish-Italian-German and of course shot on location in Almeria and Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy that is well photographed by Jose F. Aguayo , though is necessary a fine remastering because the film-copy is washed-out . There are many fine technicians and nice assistant direction and excellent production design , a magnificent scenario on the villages , ranch , forts and barren outdoors , dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun and fine sets filmed in Almería, Andalucía , Spain . As always , the musician Ennio Morricone, composes a nice Spaghetti soundtrack and well conducted and splendid leitmotif ; it's full of enjoyable sounds and lively score .

This Italian writer / filmmaker Duccio Tessari so consistently mixed the good with the mediocre that it became quite impossible to know what to expect from him next . He wrote several Western as ¨A fistful of dollars ¨, ¨A train to Durango ¨Seven guns for McGregor¨ , ¨The return of McGregor¨ . He directed five Western with abundant touches of humor as ¨Vivi o Preferibilment Morti¨, ¨Don't turn the other cheek¨ and ¨Zorro¨ with Alain Delon and of course ¨Ringo ¨and sequel , mostly starred with his fetish actor Giuliano Gemma . Rating : 6 , acceptable and passable movie that will appeal to Spaghetti Western buffs .

So the Spaghetti Western as a comedy. You know whatever, there are some great examples of the approach; the TRINITY films, the priceless TOO MUCH GOLD FOR ONE GRINGO, Giulio Petroni's under-appreciated TEPAPA, various parts of DUCK YOU SUCKER ... The formula works best when the filmmakers don't try too hard, simply allowing the conventions of the genre to be as absurd as they are naturally. Terence Hill's bottomless plate of beans from THEY CALL ME TRINITY comes to mind. Beans. Eating. Cowboys. Get it? LONG LIVE YOUR DEATH tries to announce itself as a "funny" movie from the first frame with an oddball musical score and still images of Franco Nero yukkin' it up as a Russian Prince pretending to be a minister and holding up the congregation at a wedding ceremony for what turns out to be proceeds to help fund the Mexican Revolution. He drives a car instead of riding a horse, packs an automatic pistol instead of a six-shooter, and after his automobile is wounded during a shootout he puts it out of it's misery with another bullet to the engine block.

Eli Wallach was of course hilarious as THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY'S "Tuco", the poster child misfit Spaghetti Western serio-comic leading man, and is probably the film's greatest asset. Here he plays a two bit Mexican chicken thief who may or may not know the location of a fortune in gold, but finds himself sprung from jail by a pretty, perky Lynne Redgrave, who wants to find the revolutionaries a hero to lead their struggle & write a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper story about it. Nero and Wallach are good, but Redgrave is excellent and took her only Spaghetti Western performance to heart, trying a bit too hard, but we appreciate the effort.

So already we have several "fish out of water" plot threads, a couple of "mistaken identity" skeins, and ample opportunities for Wallach to mug for the camera while he eats food, tries to proposition Redgrave, and form an uneasy buddy alliance with Mr. Nero to find the gold. Just for added effect, Horst Jansen apes his rather wooden cinematic persona as a corrupt sheriff with back problems, Victor Isreal pops up as a mining executive with some rather eye opening thoughts about the Mexican workforce, and Eduardo Fajardo wanders in from some other film as an unscrupulous cavalry officer bent on capturing the mischievous trio & keeping the gold for himself. As usual.

A musical stopwatch gives composers Gianni Ferrio & Ennio Morricone an excuse to work yet another glockenspiel theme into their somewhat rushed sounding musical score, a sexy mute Spanish supporting actress gives Franco Nero someone to make googlie-eyes at, and director Duccio Tessari had a stable filled with scriptwriters to come up with all sorts of double-entrade laden dialog for Eli Wallach to belt out as quickly as possible when not running around jabbering excitedly and waving his arms in the air trying to be funny instead of just standing there being himself, which is hilarious all on it's own. What is amazing is that he manages to be constantly upstaged by Lynn Redgrave even though she never displays her breasts.

I am fairly certain the filmmakers had good intentions and talent to spare when cobbling this movie together and if it seems like I am just not getting into the spirit of things you are correct. I have nothing but respect for everyone involved in the production, which is a nearly tactless, transparent attempt to cash-in on the notoriety of DUCK YOU SUCKER, TEPAPA, ARRIVA SABATA!, HEADS YOU DIE TALES I KILL YOU: THEY CALL HIM HALLELUJA and every other would-be gonzo Mexican Revolutionary Spaghetti Western made between 1968 and 1974 or so.

The problem is that the number of jokes to be had about that conflict and it's ramifications was pretty much tapped out before DUCK YOU SUCKER entered it's fifteenth reel (I personally prefer TEPAPA with it's outrageous Thomas Millian performance as a prime example of the comic possibilities of the genre). And come to think of it, why do these Mexican Revolution Spaghettis all turn out to be social satires with gonzo comedy broken up by spats of war atrocity scenes? Are the Italians trying to tell us something about Mexico or the Mexicans that perhaps my liberal Eastern education failed to point out? Don't get me wrong, LONG LIVE YOUR DEATH is a fine movie with some entertaining parts, including another great Eli Wallach meal as he scarfs down some form of stew while describing his childhood kills to Nero in his cell. The problem is that this exchange -- the funniest in the movie -- happens in the first twelve minutes, and ninety minutes of additional "repeat and rinse" developments becomes nothing more than a bunch of Euro genre actors running around waving their arms & jabbering excitedly after a while. It gets old quickly, and as such this rather tired example of the later period of the Spaghetti boom is perhaps as obscure & hard to find as it deserves to be. Recommended for die-hard fans of the genre or those who have never seen one of the other examples. They shouldn't care.

4/10; You know your Spaghetti Western is in trouble when your best asset is upstaged by Lynn Redgrave with her shirt on.

This one really needs a good DVD release. To my knowledge it's only available on an old VHS tape called DON'T TURN THE OTHER CHEEK, with animated asses (donkeys) wiggling their behinds, totally out of character with the film, which is an action filled Eurowestern by the director of the popular Ringo films, Duccio Tessari. Franco Nero plays another of his European adventurers, this time a Russian, who is seeking a lost treasure. Eli Wallach portrays another version of his popular "Tuco" character, this time once more a Mexican after playing the Greek version in ACE HIGH. Throw in Lynn Redgrave (slightly out of place in a spaghetti) as an Irish revolutionary and you have a film that is reminiscent of Sergio Corbucci's two popular political westerns THE MERCENARY (1968) and COMPANEROS (1970), both of which are superior to this. However there's a lot to be said for LONG LIVE YOUR DEATH, especially since it's so hard to find; you'll find the search worthwhile, and in the meantime let's hope Anchor Bay, Wild East, or Blue Underground release a definitive DVD version.

Long Live Your Death is a western comedy. This film tries to pin down the staples of the genre while being funny, and it has to be said that in doing so it pretty much misses both targets; but thankfully, Duccio Tessari's film is entertaining in it's own right and the central cast is just about talented enough to pull it through. The film takes obvious influence from the greatest of all Spaghetti Westerns; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and it could be said in fact that the film is basically a complete rip of the earlier film. The film takes place during the Mexican revolution. Mary O'Donnell, an Irish journalist, wants to inspire a revolt in Mexico and pays for a revolutionary to be released from prison; but unfortunately the man in question is already dead, so another Mexican is freed in his place. He escapes along with a Prince Dmitri Vassilovich Orlowsky, who has designs on finding some buried treasure. He teams up with the bandit and the two pursue the treasure; one knows the town where the gold is buried, the other knows the location.

It's the central pairing of Franco Nero and Eli Wallach that ensure the film works; neither one delivers their best performance, but the pair is constantly entertaining on screen together. They are joined by Lynn Redgrave (apparently Franco Nero's sister is law) and she dons an annoying Irish accent. Thankfully, her role in the film is rather short compared to the other two. The film does have a sense of humour, and at times it is rather funny (the location of the treasure maps, for example) but it's never overly funny, and I'd still call it more of a western than a comedy. Duccio Tessari (who also directed Giallo classic The Bloodstained Butterfly) packs his film with plenty of action and this does ensure that the film is entertaining. The film only runs for just over ninety minutes and it never gets boring enough to really start dragging, so that's a positive. It all boils down to a decent conclusion and overall, while I certainly wouldn't call Long Live Your Death a classic or a must see; it is at least worth a look.

This film begins in the early 20th century on the American side of the Rio Grande with a Mexican bandit named "Max Lozoya" (Eli Wallach) having been captured, tried and subsequently sentenced to hang the next morning. As it so happens, however, an Irish journalist named "Mary O'Donnell" (Lynn Redgrave) wants to start an uprising in Mexico so that she can get an exclusive story and bribes the local constable "Sheriff Randall" (Horst Jansen) to free a popular Mexican revolutionary named "El Salvador". What she doesn't know is that El Salvador has already been executed and since she doesn't know what he looks like the sheriff convinces "the Warden" (played by Jose Moreno) to allow Max Lozoya to escape in El Salvador's place. In the meantime, a Russian con artist named "Prince Dmitri Vassilovich Orlowsky" (Franco Nero) has learned that Max Lozoya has knowledge of some stolen treasure and masquerading as a priest is allowed entry to the prison to attend to Lozoya's final confession. It's during this time that Lozoya is allowed to escape and Dmitri, quite naturally, goes with him. But even though the sheriff has allowed Lozoya to escape that doesn't mean that he will be allowed to remain free-especially since there is a bounty on his head which the sheriff wants to collect. Not only that, but Mary also wants her revolution which only El Salvador can provide. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, even though it was supposed to be a parody of a number of other famous "Spaghetti Westerns", this was still a difficult film to watch due in large part to the meandering plot. Likewise, I didn't particularly like the rather preposterous action scenes which only served to lower my regard for the overall film as well. In any case, those who enjoy Spaghetti Westerns might like this film but having said that I didn't especially care for it that much and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Below average.