Ah. A Reason To Live, A Reason To Die (aka The Massacre At Fort Holman). A brilliant film by Italian director Tonino Valerii (Day Of Anger, The Price Of Power). He cut his chops as an assistant director on Sergio Leone’s “A Fistful Of Dollars,” and Valerii’s spaghetti westerns certainly owe something to Leone’s style. Hell, he even chose desert locations in Spain like Fort Bowie, where both “…Fistful” and “The Good The Bad And The Ugly” were filmed. The plot is pretty much “The Dirty Dozen,” where a general takes a platoon filled with criminals to fight a big battle.
The score was composed by Riz Ortolani. Ortolani passed away yesterday at the age of 87. During his career, he wrote some truly memorable music for classic films. La Vergine Di Norimberga. La Piovra. Cannibal Holocaust. Nella Stretta Morsa Del Ragno. I Giorni Dell’ira. All told he scored over 200 films including German Westerns, Italian giallos, spaghetti westerns, mondo and exploitation films. His works appeared in memorable American films (Tarantino was a fan) like the Kill Bill movies, Drive, and Django Unchained. He won a Grammy Award (and was Oscar-nominated) for the Mondo Cane theme “More”. Mostly he’s known for his powerful guitar compositions, and for the synth-heavy Cannibal Holocaust score. I think this one is underrated, beautiful, and at times haunting. Except for “La Festa,” which is your typical bizarro fiddle tune that you’re more likely to find in a cheeseball American western than an epic Italian film.
His loss is a tragic one for both music and cinema fans. Hopefully by sharing some of his work we can ensure that his legacy is celebrated for years to come.
Riz Ortolani
Una Ragione Per Vivere E Una Per Morire
(Point, 1994)
MediaFire DL Link
01. Overture
02. Attesa
03. Una Ragione Per Vivere (Titoli) [MP3]
04. La Grande Ombra Della Morte
05. Eroicamente Insieme
06. La Festa
07. Il Forte
08. Una Ragione Per Vivere
09. Preludio Alla Battaglia
10. Valzer Messicano
11. Azione Bellica
12. Uomini Dimenticati Da Dio
13. Una Ragione Per Vivere (Finale)
