A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die

"A handful of condemned men on an impossible mission, against hopeless odds..."

1972 1h 32m IT

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 73

WesternActionWar

Synopsis

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A dishonored Union Army officer leads a group of convicts to retake Fort Holman from the Confederate Army.

“A handful of condemned men on an impossible mission, against hopeless odds...”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

James Coburn
Colonel Pembroke
Bud Spencer
Eli Sampson
Telly Savalas
Major Ward
Reinhard Kolldehoff
Sergeant Brent
José Suárez
Maj. Charles Ballard
Francisco Sanz
Farmer
Ángel Álvarez
Scully the Monger
Mario Pardo
Roger, Farmer's Son

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tonino Valerii
Writers: Rafael Azcona, Ernesto Gastaldi, Ernesto Gastaldi
Languages: Italian
Countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tonino Valerii, shot by Alejandro Ulloa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Riz Ortolani. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Franklin Boll shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

James Coburn and Bud Spencer and Telly Savalas carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A handful of condemned men on an impossible mission, against hopeless odds...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0069159 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tonino Valerii directs. Alejandro Ulloa behind the camera. Riz Ortolani scores. Franklin Boll cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, Germany, Italy, Spain. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

154 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2International production across 4 countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain.
3Directed by Tonino Valerii, shot by Alejandro Ulloa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Riz Ortolani. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Franklin Boll shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6James Coburn and Bud Spencer and Telly Savalas carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A handful of condemned men on an impossible mission, against hopeless odds...".
8IMDB entry: tt0069159 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 73 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Alejandro Ulloa
Original score: Riz Ortolani
Editing: Franklin Boll
Production design: Elio Micheli
Costume design: Elio Micheli
Makeup / hair: Luciano Giustini
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: IT
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (1972)

Also by

Tonino Valerii

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-02-09
★ 7/10
The Dirty Seven. Una ragione per vivere e una per morire (AKA: A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die & Massacre at Fort Holman) is directed by Tonino Valerii, who also co-writes with Rafael Azcona and Ernesto Gastaldi. It stars James Coburn, Telly Savalas & Bud Spencer. Cinematographer is Alejandro Ulloa and the music is scored by Riz Ortolani. Plot sees Coburn as Union Colonel Pembroke, who during the Civil War is given a rag-tag group of criminals to go win back the fort he lost to Confederate Major Frank Ward (Savalas). For him it's a chance to regain his honour, for them it's a chance to avoid execution for their crimes. Joplin Gazette, Joplin Missouri, April 10, 1872 ---Today I walked through the ruins of what was once Fort Holman. 10 years ago, this Civil War fortress, thought to be impregnable, was destroyed by a wild bunch of marauders. Eli Sampson, a survivor of that massacre, revealed in an interview that the raid was the result of a blood feud between two bitter men: Colonel Pembroke, a Union officer, thought to be a traitor and a coward, led the mission to recapture the fort he had once surrendered. Major Ward, a ruthless "Mad Genius," who joined the Confederacy solely to gain command of Fort Holman, so that he could rule the vast surrounding Santa Fe territory after the war. But what motivates these two men and what caused this incredible blood bath, was explained by Eli Sampson in the story that follows--- It's a written opening that grabs the attention straight away, it has all the promise of a spaghetti western done Peckinpah style. Then early in proceedings a grizzled James Coburn walks along a line of men about to be hanged, being introduced to them and calmly wondering if said scum-bags would like to stave off execution by accompanying him on a suicide mission? OK, it's derivative of The Dirty Dozen five years earlier, but if this is blending Peckinpah with Robert Aldrich at his best then it will be worth every second spent with it. Sadly it doesn't come close to living up to that particular promise. But it does have points of worth within. If you are willing to invest some patience with the slow narrative and get to the carnage finale unscathed? Then it's actually worth the wait as regards action. There's also some fine photography from Ulloa around Almeria in Spain, while Ortolani's soundtrack score blends well in context to the story. However, away from Coburn the acting is sub-standard, especially from Savalas who is miscast, while some suspension of disbelief is needed once the group reach the fort. But all in all it's a safe recommend to fans of Westerns, spaghetti or otherwise. And certainly a must for Coburn fans. 6.5/10 Footnote: The full cut of the film now runs at just shy of two hours in length, film buyers should ensure that they buy home format discs that run at around the 113/114 minute mark.
CinemaSerf2026-02-14
★ 6/10
This might have worked better had it not taken us forty-five minutes to get to the business end - there is just way too much explanatory preamble telling us why disgraced “Pembroke” (James Coburn) is determined to recapture a fortress he was compelled to surrender during the US Civil War. It’s now occupied by “Maj. Ward” (Telly Savalas) and a platoon of very heavily armed Confederate soldiers. What does “Pembroke” have? Well broke would seem to be operative word, as his tally of men would make the “Dirty Dozen” look like the Blues and Royals. One of his number, though, might just have the guile to help him pull it off. “Sampson” (Bud Spencer) isn’t exactly a law-obedient citizen, but he is the best the Yankee can find to help him lead his men to their hilltop New Mexican target. The last twenty minutes liven it up nicely, with plenty of pyrotechnics, Gattling gun activity and there’s even an early example of a burglar alarm - that does a lot more than beep if it goes off, but the rest of this is all pretty formulaic. On the production side, what really drags it down are the appalling standards of the continuity and the editing. We see the same things blown up, the same soldiers (who couldn’t hit a barn door with an Howitzer anyway) get killed over and over again and the man with the razor blade in the cutting room has clearly not had the time nor the inclination to see the film flow. Savalas barely features at all, Coburn isn’t anywhere near his understated best and it’s really only Spencer who looks like he is at all invested in this. Maybe just watch the last half hour?