great revenge film. lee van cleef is always excellent.

Lee Van Cleef!!

I think revenge films may be one of my favorite genres - I don't think I've ever admitted that to myself before. So I have a lot of good will towards Death Rides a Horse, a spaghetti western about a young boy whose family is raped and killed by evil men, and he must take revenge after growing up to be John Phillip Law. Things get complicated when he finds out Lee Van Cleef is ALSO on their trail because they cheated him out of some loot. This is good because 1) it makes the revenge plot more interesting and 2) Van Cleef is awesome and nuanced, while Law is, well, a terrible actor. I can't stand his John Wayne drawl in this and he's as stiff as a board. One is raw talent, the other experience, and still the bad guys give them a good run for their money. The direction features some stylistic flourishes, and the sandstorm climax, especially, has a lot of fun gags. I've seen better dubs, of course, it's almost like they went out of their way to de-sync some of the dialog, but that sort of disappears into the background as Morricone's driving strums hit, and Van Cleef gives you a naughty wink.