A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die

A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (Massacre at Fort Holman) is a 1972 Spaghetti Western directed by Tonino Valerii and starring James Coburn, Telly Savalas and Bud Spencer. James Coburn is another of my favorites, and I'd like to eventually see all his films. This one is a Civil War period revenge drama. I enjoyed it; it was a bit different while still being a good standard Western.

from the Imdb:

Branded a coward for surrendering his New Mexico fort to the Confederates without firing a shot, a Union colonel attempts to redeem himself by leading a band of condemned prisoners on a suicide mission to recapture it.

trailer:

This Spaghetti-Western.net reviewer doesn't like it and includes this piece of trivia: "Coburn had a bad relationship with Valerii. Apparently he lost all interest in the production and irritated most other actors with his Yoga routines." A different Spaghetti-Western.net reviewer likes it, saying, "The directing is absolutely great! Valerii puts in all the right ingredients to make a good dish of pasta. Here we have drama, action, tension, emotion, and revenge." A Fistful of Pasta calls it "a mixed bag" but recommends it and says, "it's a bit different than the usual genre plots, Coburn's fantastic as always, and Spencer shows that he knows how to do something other than comedy quite well." DVD Talk says, "A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die represents a near perfect example of the kind of big-budgeted action extravaganzas that flourished during that decade."