Streamer Vitaliy “Papich” Tsal has shared his impressions after watching the 1967 western film “Death Rides a Horse”. The content creator rated the movie 4 out of 10.
Papich described the film, which he noted was partly inspired by Quentin Tarantino for “Kill Bill,” as extremely poorly made, like many westerns from that era. He cited poor camera work, a lack of gore, and characters having seemingly infinite ammunition as significant flaws.
He found the plot primitive, straightforward, and dull, and the movie itself quite drawn out and boring at times, stating he watched it over 3+ days. Criticisms also included repetitive, unimpressive locations and uncharismatic villains with foolish dialogue. According to Papich, 99% of westerns from that period are “garbage,” often featuring primitive action, poor cinematography, a lack of realistic damage from gunshots, and invincible protagonists.
He felt there was little of interest in the film except for a specific music track used in “Kill Bill” and the good performances from the main actors. He highlighted Lee Van Cleef, who starred in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” which Papich considers one of the few good westerns of that time among many similar “pieces of garbage.” The main actor in “Death Rides a Horse” reminded him of a young, less masculine version of Clint Eastwood, though still far more masculine than average actors today by the standards of that era.
Papich concluded that watching westerns from the 60s to 80s feels like a lottery, searching for a small piece of worth (like copper) within an enormous pile of uninspired, mass-produced films.
He contrasted this with what he calls the greatest western of all time, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” He stated it`s impossible to convey the vast difference in quality between “Butch Cassidy” and the works of Sergio Leone (whom he claims made “garbage” in 2 out of 3 trilogy films) and his imitators. According to Papich, the 1969 film was 15-20 years ahead of its time in terms of filming quality and directing, featuring an incredibly engaging story, phenomenal location shooting, and highly charismatic protagonists. He added that some segments, like the chase scene, remain unsurpassed even after 50+ years and represent some of the best 20 minutes of cinema he has ever experienced.
Regarding “Death Rides a Horse,” he reiterated his score of 4 out of 10, stating the only redeeming quality was the main actors. He summarized the film as primitive, boring, and poorly made.
Released in 1967, “Death Rides a Horse” holds a user score of 7 out of 10 on IMDb and 7.2 out of 10 on KinoPoisk.
Finley Holt