"A Taste of Death" aka "Cost of Dying" is a solid eurowestern with a great story for those who like a gritty, dark, yet redemptive tale told in typical spaghetti western fashion.
John Ireland is great as El (I love the names they give to some of the characters in these movies). His presence is strong, and he gives the best acting performance in the film. Bruno Corazzari does an excellent job of portraying the main villain, Scaife. This is a role that seems like it was written for Klaus Kinski, and Corazzari does indeed remind me of Kinski when playing this part. Scaife is a very dark, over the top, and ruthless character. He is the kind of antagonist that suits the genre so well.
The music is also just what one would expect from a film of this type, and although nothing about it makes it stand out from other spaghetti western scores, it fits the movie and the genre well, and it shouldn't disappoint the hardcore spaghetti western fan. It begins and ends with one of those wonderful over-the-top cheesy theme songs with vocals, and has plenty of short spaghetti-sounding guitar bits in between.
The movie also has plenty of action, violence, and a great showdown at the end. This one definitely gets an overall thumbs-up.
John Ireland is great as El (I love the names they give to some of the characters in these movies). His presence is strong, and he gives the best acting performance in the film. Bruno Corazzari does an excellent job of portraying the main villain, Scaife. This is a role that seems like it was written for Klaus Kinski, and Corazzari does indeed remind me of Kinski when playing this part. Scaife is a very dark, over the top, and ruthless character. He is the kind of antagonist that suits the genre so well.
The music is also just what one would expect from a film of this type, and although nothing about it makes it stand out from other spaghetti western scores, it fits the movie and the genre well, and it shouldn't disappoint the hardcore spaghetti western fan. It begins and ends with one of those wonderful over-the-top cheesy theme songs with vocals, and has plenty of short spaghetti-sounding guitar bits in between.
The movie also has plenty of action, violence, and a great showdown at the end. This one definitely gets an overall thumbs-up.