A Taste of Death (1968) User Reviews

Decent Spaghetti with thrills , violence , shoot'em up and set in snowy mountains of Colorado

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 18 March 2014]

This French-Italian co-production is an acceptable Spaghetti Western in average budget by Sergio Merolle , being highly rated by some critics , though other ones considerate it as mediocre . ¨Cost of dying¨ packs thrills , action , and lots of shots and gunplay . It takes place in the snow-filled outdoors of a Colorado mountain and based on violent events starred by Scaife (Bruno Corazzari) , the sadistic chief of a gang of cattle thieves, as they lay siege a village and terrorize the villagers . Bill Ransom, (Raymond Pellegrin) the retired sheriff, is the only one to stand up against Scaife and his hoodlums , among whom is Dan El (John Ireland) , a former friend . Sheriff Bill has a natural daughter (Betsy Bell) and an adopted son named Tony (Andrea Giordana). The sheriff gathers the townsfolk together and tries to get them to take up arms to fight the gang but the events go wrong . Scaife makes the villagers his slaves by forcing the men to work making a corral for the cattle . Then Tony doesn't hesitate to prosecute to hell Scaife , being only helped by Dan El . Meanwhile , Scaife and his band go on harassing the people village until a final fight .

It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonists Andrea Giordana and his preceptor John Ireland against his enemy , a gang of cattle rustlers led Bruno Corazzari and underlings . There is a huge shootout in the village and a breathtaking face off between Scaife and Dan . There is plenty of action and crossfire in the movie , guaranteeing a shootout or stunt every few minutes along with a lot of violence , including killings in cold blood . This widely deemed picture , unlike most conventional Spaghetti Western , contains exceptional setting , colorful images with an atmospheric cinematography by Benito Frattari, though being necessary a correct remastering , and features a sensitive musical score by Francesco De Massi , including emotive songs . This is a passable Spaghetti Western with some moment entertaining if you can avoid thinking too much . Nice production design and the snow in the village was created by gallons of shaving cream . Settings bear remarkable resemblance to other notorious Spaghetti Westerns such as ¨The great silence¨ and ¨Nine cutthroats¨. Good cast as Andrea Giordana who starred ¨Massacre at Grand canyon¨ , "The Dirty Outlaws" and ¨Johnny Hamlet¨ at his best . Bruno Corazzari as a cruelly baddie role is terrific, he steals the spectacle as a crazed psychopath ; former and subsequently he would play similar characters in various oaters . Furthermore, there appears usual American secondary actor , John Ireland , who starred some Spaghetti Western as "Gatling Gun" , "Bordello" , ¨Challenge of the McKennas¨ ,"Vengeance for Vengeance" , "Run, Man, Run", "Pistol for a Hundred Coffins" .

The picture also develops a peculiar paternal-filial relationship between Andrea Giordana and John Ireland , teaching about art of killing and shooting . Other films dealing with the gunslinger/student theme and among them are the followings : "In a Colt's Shadow" by Gianni Grimaldi with Stephen Forsyth , Conrado San Martin and Aldo Sambrell ; 'Beyond the Law(68)' by Giorgio Stegani with Lee Van Cleef and Alfonso Sábato ; ¨Bandidos¨ by Massimo Dallamano with Enrico Maria Salerno , Terry Jenkins , Venantino Venantini ¨. And the best are ¨Día de Ira¨ or I Giorni Dell'Ira (original title) with Lee Van Cleef and Giuliano Gemma , this Spaghetti Western along with 'Da Uomo a Uomo¨ by Giulio Petroni with Lee Van Cleef-John Philip Law ; all of them led to recovery in the popularity of 'horse opera'

Director Sergio Merolle achieved in "Cost of dying or Taste of death " possibly his best and only work of a modest career , with some memorable scenes and regular camera movement , such as the ending duel with surprise included and that makes only can say that this movie seems to be a passable story . Merolle worked as a Production Manager in such an important films as ¨Queimada¨, ¨Battlee of Algiers¨, Sandra¨, and epic movies as ¨Poncio Pilatos¨, ¨Battle of Siracusa and ¨Sign of Rome¨.

a riveting and entertaining revenge tale

[spider89119 · 7/10 · 11 June 2014]

"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.

A Taste of Mediocrity

[zardoz-13 · 4/10 · 30 December 2007]

This Spaghetti western differs from most in one chief respect. Instead of the dusty Southwest as the setting, "A Taste of Death" takes place in snow-swept Colorado. Moreover, no insanely laughing Mexican bandits rear their ugly heads. In fact, the characters here are primarily Americans. Scaife (Bruno Corazzari of "The Violent Professionals") rides up to a cattle camp and without warning guns down the four men huddled around the fire. Afterward, Scaife and his rustlers take charge of the herd, but his second-in-command, Dan El (John Ireland of "Spartacus"), informs him that snow has blocked the pass so they will have to spend the winter in a nearby town until spring comes. Initially, Scaife asks the local lawman Bill Ransom (Raymond Pellengrin of "Bitter Victory") for permission for his men to hang around town for a couple of days. Ransom allows them a couple of days, but then Scaife kills him because they will need more than just a couple of days. Indeed, after killing Ransom, Scaife decides to take over the town. He enslaves the local men to construct corrals for the cattle, and he moves in with a lonely woman. Meanwhile, Bill's adopted son Tony (Andrea Giordana of "Johnny Hamlet") escapes and sets out to kill all of Scaife's men. At first, Scaife threatens to kill Ransom's daughter, but nothing come of that. Dan El tracks Tony down and gives the rebellious twenty-something kid the benefit of his many years as a wandering gunman. "You know, revenge serves no purpose," Dan El informs Tony, "you're just adding death to death." Dan El teaches Tony how to kill with a pistol and a rifle. Eventually, Dan El and Scaife kill each other and Tony drives the rest of the outlaws away.

"A Taste of Death" lacks any sense of style, and director Sergio Merolle doesn't do anything that has been done before. According to IMDb.com, Merolle directed only one movie and spent most of his career as a unit production manager on "Burn!" and "The Battle of Algiers." Evidently, based on this information, it would appear that Merolle was better suited to working as a production manager than a director. A bearded John Ireland is the only Anglo in the cast; Ireland appeared in a handful of Spaghettis and "A Taste of Death" is nowhere near as entertaining as "Dead for A Dollar." Mind you, Bruno Corazzari makes a worthy villain, but there isn't that much excitement on hand. The screenplay by Biagio Proietti is one of those anti-violence westerns where everybody has to kill each other to make a point. At fade-out, our hero Tony throws down his six-shooter in disgust. There's nothing carefree or fun about this Italian western. Only hardcore aficionados of the genre will find time to tolerate this oater. The stunt work with bad guys getting shot and smashing through roofs as they plunge to the ground is okay.

A Hero Dies Only Once.

[FightingWesterner · 8/10 · 22 May 2014]

Cattle rustler John Ireland and his creepy gang-leader try to drive a herd of stolen cattle through a blocked mountain pass. Planning to take over a nearby town until the spring thaw, Ireland discovers an old friend and partner has become it's sheriff and his own long-lost son in the middle of it all.

A compelling, though low-budget spaghetti western, this has lots of gun-play, a great, well-written role for an aging Ireland, and an equally entertaining villain who mixes violence and cruelty with moments of elegance and philosophical musings. The plot may be standard and the direction unimaginative, but there's some surprisingly strong observations made by these two!

A great scene involves the showdown with the sheriff, in front of the shuttered doors and windows of the town, where the villain orders the townspeople dragged out into the open to witness the lawman's demise, while he chastises them, telling them just how disgusted he is by their cowardice! Another gentler scene involves Ireland and his son, as he examines his life as an outlaw and the price it has taken on his soul.

This is a good example of how a B-movie can possibly promote and/or be elevated by decent writing.