''A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die'' (originally titled ''Una Ragione Per Vivere E Una Per Morire'', also known as ''Massacre at Fort Holman'') is a

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

Italian Spaghetti Western movie starring James Coburn, Bud Spencer and Telly Savalas. Many exterior scenes were filmed at the Fort Bowie set built in the Province of Almería,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where the desert landscape and climate that characterizes part of the province have made it a much utilized setting for Western films, among those ''

A Fistful of Dollars ''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, ...

'', ''

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...

'', ''

Once Upon a Time in the West ''Once Upon a Time in the West'' ( , "Once upon a time (there was) the West") is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Leone ...

'' and later '' 800 Bullets''. The Fort Bowie set was originally built for the film ''

The Deserter The Deserter or Deserter (s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Deserter'' (1912 film), a silent film by Thomas H. Ince * ''The Deserter'' (1933 film), a film by Vsevolod Pudovkin * ''The Deserter'' (1971 film), a film by Burt Kennedy ...

''. There are two different English language versions of the movie, shorter with James Coburn's own voice and longer with different voice actors and music. James Coburn was not involved in longer cut dubbing. It also features some of the same songs from ''

Day of Anger ''Day of Anger'' ( it, I giorni dell'ira, lit. "The Days of Wrath") is a 1967 Spaghetti Western film directed and co-written by Tonino Valerii and starring Lee Van Cleef and Giuliano Gemma, and features a musical score by Riz Ortolani. The film c ...

'' starring

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, parti ...

Plot

The plot line is derivative of ''

The Dirty Dozen ''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy ...

'', but set during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Disgraced former US colonel Pembroke ( James Coburn) wants to recapture Fort Holman, which he had previously surrendered to the Confederate army without a shot having been fired. He has a scheme that might enable him to accomplish it with a small force. Pembroke arranges for the liberty of a number of men who are about to be executed. Eli (

Bud Spencer Carlo Pedersoli (31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016), known professionally as Bud Spencer, was an Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player. He was known for action-comedy and Spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partn ...

) was a looter. The other "volunteers" are a deserter who killed two sentries, a soldier who murdered his commanding officer and raped his wife, a horse thief, two other looters (one of whom stole medicine, which caused soldiers to die), and an Indian "bastard" who had killed a white man who sold alcohol to Apaches. The man presented as "the worst of the bunch" – a religious pacifist agitator – declines the offer of freedom and is hanged. Pembroke holds the motley group together by saying he is really after a treasure of gold that is hidden inside the fort. Eli uses a stolen uniform to gain entrance. He soon realizes that there is no gold, and later learns that the present commander of the fort, Major Ward (

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on th ...

), had blackmailed Pembroke into giving up the fort by threatening his son’s life. Ward then had the son killed anyway. Eli produces a paper that shows he is an officer sent to check the fort’s security. It works, but Ward plans to execute the "security officer". Before he can do so Eli triggers a massive explosion that lets the others in, and they attack the garrison. After an explosive battle only Pembroke, Eli and Ward are left standing. Pembroke kills Ward with his own sword and the two survivors leave together.

Cast

* James Coburn as Col. Pembroke *

as Eli Sampson (one of Pembroke's unit to take Fort Holman) *

as Major Ward * Fabrizio Moresco as Ward's Assistant *

Reinhard Kolldehoff Reinhard Kolldehoff (29 April 1914 – 18 November 1995) was a German film actor. He appeared in 140 films between 1941 and 1988. He was born and died in Berlin, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The Gasman'' (1941) - Polizeibeamter (uncr ...

as Sergeant Brent (one of Pembroke's unit to take Fort Holman) * José Suarez as Major Charles Ballard *

Georges Géret Georges Géret (18 October 1924 – 7 April 1996) was a French film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1954 and 1992. He was born in Lyon, France. Selected filmography * '' The Unfrocked One'' (1954) - Un militaire à l'Oflag et � ...

as Sergeant Spike *

Ugo Fangareggi Ugo Fangareggi (30 January 1938 – 20 October 2017) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Genoa, Fangareggi worked as a dental technician when in 1961 he was noticed by Luigi Squarzina who chose him to act in the play ''Ciascuno a suo ...

as Ted Wendel (one of Pembroke's unit to take Fort Holman) * Guy Mairesse as Donald MacIvers (one of Pembroke's unit to take Fort Holman) *

Benito Stefanelli Benito Stefanelli (2 September 1928 – 18 December 1999) was an Italian film actor, stuntman and weapons master who made over 60 appearances in film between 1955 and 1991. Biography and career Stefanelli is best known in world cinema for his ...

as Piggott * Adolfo Lastretti as Will Fernandez (one of Pembroke's unit to take Fort Holman) * Joe Pollini as Jeremy (Indian) (one of Pembroke's unit to take Fort Holman) *

Ángel Álvarez Ángel Álvarez (26 September 1906 – 13 December 1983) was a prolific Spanish film actor. He made over 205 film appearances between 1945 and 1982. He is probably best known for his western films of the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in Spaghe ...

as Scully the Monger * Francisco Sanz as Farmer * Sharin Sher as April * David Landau

Release

''A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die'' was released in Italy on 27 October 1972 in Italy where it was distributed by Cidif. The film had a domestic gross of 1,960,071,000

Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

. The film was later released on 27 December 1972 in West Germany, 6 August 1973 in Spain, and 29 May 1974 in France. It received a released in the United States 1974 August 28.

Reception

In his investigation of narrative structures in Spaghetti Western films, Fridlund discusses ''A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die'' mostly in terms of the "infiltrator" plot introduced in ''

'', where

the Man With No Name The Man with No Name ( it, Uomo senza nome) is the antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "''Dollars Trilogy''" of Italian Spaghetti Western films: ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), '' For a Few Dollars More'' (196 ...

joins a gang with hidden agendas of his own. Eli is an infiltrator entering the fort and piling one false motive on top of the other to cover his true intentions. In fact, the same goes for Pembroke - pitting his rather involuntary companions against the Confederates with a false monetary motive beside the official, to re-conquer Ft Holman for the Union, while his real hidden motive is vengeance.Fridlund, Bert: ''The Spaghetti Western. A Thematic Analysis''. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company Inc., 2006 pp. 15-35.

Home media

Wild East has released the full uncut version with around 30 minutes extra footage on an out-of-print limited edition R0 NTSC DVD in the film's original widescreen aspect ratio with the title ''A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die''.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* * *
Fort Bowie/Spanish on-location set
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reason to Live, a Reason to Die 1972 films West German films 1970s Italian-language films Films directed by Tonino Valerii American Civil War films Spaghetti Western films Films scored by Riz Ortolani Films shot in Almería Italian films about revenge French films about revenge Spanish films about revenge Films with screenplays by Rafael Azcona English-language French films English-language German films English-language Italian films English-language Spanish films 1970s American films 1970s Italian films 1970s French films