7 cabalgan hacia la muerte (1979) Poster

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2/10
Lousy and in very low budget Chorizo Western with assaults , gun-down , lots of shots and fights
ma-cortes9 October 2019
Inferior and low-budgeted Spaghetti Western in which a band pursues a rebel Indian who allegedly committed a killing . Run-of-the-mill paella Western with usual elements , such as extreme baddies , betrayers , noisy action , turns and some action scenes . Unknown actors and very bad filmmaking , without familiar faces ,and with some looks that say it all , including a surprising and twisted ending that is the best part of the movie . It deals with a wealthy rancher named Zachary (José Luis Merino himself) about to marry a young girl (Assumpta Serna) is surprisingly murdered . Then the bride , his sons and other people set out in pursuit the alleged criminal , an Indian chief . The posse carries out the search for the stranger Indian chief who has gotten a stolen fortune . They are seven pursuers , and they represent the 7 capital sins or seven deadly sins. Then, there happens a relentless and merciless chase.

It is a habitual Spaghetti Western including thrills , regular scenarios , nail-biting action , go riding , shoot'em up , and an unexpected final twist .This moving Tortilla Western packs shootouts , exaggerated characters , noisy action , riding pursuits , but being an inferior and twilight entry in this prolific Spaghetti genre . Being a Spanish production filmed in Desierto de Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain . Cast and support cast are very bad , there aren't familiar faces , exception for Assumpta Sernana who has a got a decent career . Her career has spanned over 103 films and TV projects in over 20 countries. She has won more than twenty best actress awards throughout the world (Spain, France, Italy, USA, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay...). She has worked as an actress in all six of the languages she speaks: Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and English. Here appear as secondary actors : Manuel Díaz Velasco, Tony Valento , Carlos Tristancho who married Assumpta Serna and director José Luis Merino himself in a brief role as a rich owner who is early killed .

There are regular technicians , embarrassing assistant direction and very mediocre production design , creating an atmospheric scenario across the Almeria outdoors , including the stark landscapes , dunes , rocks , and mountains . Faded cinematography , but a perfect remastering being necessary . The motion picture was lousily directed by Jose Luis Merino , under pseudonym Joseph Marvin , and resulted to be below average . Merino is a skill and successfully craftsman . He often uses same actors , such as Stelvio Rossi , Peter Lee Lawrence , George Hilton and Charles Quiney . He has written/directed numerous films of all kinds of genres , such as Terror : Ivanna , The hanging woman ; Euro-spy : Colpo Sensazionale Al Servicio Del Sifar ; Chorizo/Spaghetti Western : More Dollars for the MacGregors , Frontera Sur , Réquiem for the gringo , Gatling gun , Seven ride to death , ; Wartime : Last Panzer battle , Hell commandos , A Bullet for Rommel , When heroes die ; Musical : Europa Canta , Aquellos Tiempos Del Cuple , and his most successful films are the fresh and diverting adventures : Tarzan and King Salomon's mines , Robin Hood , Rebelion De Bucaneros , El Zorro De Monterrey , and Last adventure of Zorro. Rating : 2.5/10 . Disconcerting , absurd and ridiculous Paella Western
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8/10
A Top-Notch Spanish Western
zardoz-131 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Merino's third western "Seven Ride toward Death" is far more sophisticated than "Requiem," concerns a larger group of characters, and scrutinizes the motives of the seven. This soap operatic sagebrusher deals with a duplicitous family that wreaks vengeance on a Native American, White Buffalo, after he kills a New Mexico wealthy patriarch. The surprise is the villain really isn't the villain, while those seeking vengeance really lack virtuosity. Indeed, "Requiem" and "Seven Ride toward Death" depict revenge, but the details differ entirely. Like "Requiem," "Seven Ride toward Death" conforms to Wright's vengeance variation. Merino has condensed the plot in the lyrics of the theme song during the introductory credits. "They were seven, and they rode at random. Each was a deadly sin. They rode without rest for death, not knowing how they would end."

An agile Native American kills affluent rancher Zachary Carter (writer & director José Luis Merino) the day before his marriage to a younger woman, Ann (Assumpta Serna), and the bride and family pursue the Indian recklessly into the wilderness. During a banquet the night before the nuptials, Carter reveals he has cashed in his wealth so everybody in his family, including himself, will have a quarter of a million dollars. Outside, after stampeding Carter's horses, the Indian sneaks into the house, douses the lights, and steals Carter's money. When they light a candle, the sight of Carter face down in his own pool of blood shocks the family. The seven ride out for revenge, but a sheriff's posse advise s them to disperse. "When a man is killed, it is the law's business," the sheriff informs them. He orders them home. Nevertheless, the family ignores him and each succumbs to one of the seven deadly sins, while the Indian emerges unscathed and triumphant. Once again, the moral universe that damned Carranza in "Requiem" also dictates who is punished in not only "More Dollars" as well as "Seven Ride toward Death," a tragic revenge melodrama bristling with treachery and mayhem. Merino's underrated western shares something in common with British director Michael Winner's "Chato's Land" (1972), co-starring Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, and Richard Basehart. Merino keeps the family in the foreground, while he confines the elusive Indian to the periphery. While the early part of "Seven Ride toward Death" occurs in and around the landowner's hacienda, the rest of the film unfolds in the desert where the Indian exploits the best tactical use of the terrain to defeat the vengeance driven family.
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