A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 18, 2015

A variation on “The Dirty Dozen” set during the Civil War, 1972’s “A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die” is an admirable attempt to launch an adventure starring a cast full of grizzled, beefy men, each scripted with quirks and a secretive history. While James Coburn takes top billing, the feature makes room for its ensemble, making up for a lack of action by emphasizing juicy personalities colliding in a spaghetti western-style production.

“A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die” displays style from director Tonino Valerii, who fails to sell Spanish locations as the American west, but finds beauty in mountain ranges, establishing an open playground for the characters as they make their way to remote military fort that holds special meaning for leader Pembroke (Coburn). Skills of survival are tested along the way, and camaraderie is developed amongst the brutes, who’ve been spared the noose in exchange for compliance. Shootouts are common, but “A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die” doesn’t snowball as expected, saving most of its firepower for the grand finale, where explosions are plentiful. Instead of chaos, the screenplay holds on brawn and paranoia, replacing excitement with welcome grit.

A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation doesn't start off with promise, opening with a flash-forward scene that feeds into the main titles, which immediately makes the feature resemble an upconvert. Mercifully, the viewing experience returns to relative stability after the first five minutes, offering an older but adequate scan that brings out a satisfactory amount of detail, capturing textures in grizzled faces and fort architecture. Colors are on the muted side, but not completely wiped away, finding costumes communicative and skintones stable. Delineation isn't a concern. Grain is chunkier but holds filmic presence. Source displays speckling and scratches, but nothing extreme.

A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA track struggles throughout the listening experience, with scoring cues sounding shrill and unsteady, emerging without definition. Dialogue exchanges are dubbed, leaving them thick and direct, but intelligibility is never an issue. Sound effects are equally blunt, delivering heavy explosions and chirpy gunshots. Hiss and pops are detected throughout, and levels need some volume riding to help even out.

A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die" is a solid vehicle for Coburn, who gets to show off his most leathery looks, and villainy is provided by Telly Savalas, who chews a little scenery, milking a climactic scene for everything it's worth. As spaghetti westerns go, this isn't a major addition to the subgenre. Despite Riz Ortolani's driving score, "A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die" is merely serviceable, locating surges of inspiration instead of sustained display of cinematic mastery.