Laikals
The greatest movie ever made..!
Marketic
It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.
Platicsco
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Billie Morin
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Leofwine_draca
TOUGH TO KILL is a nihilistic Italian war film, following a bunch of soldiers as they trek through the South American wilderness in a hunt for bounty money. It's one of those films with a small cast and plenty of action, featuring characters double-crossing each other throughout. The whole thing has a gritty and downbeat atmosphere that somehow combines with the visuals to offer better than usual entertainment.The film feels a little bit like the Italian WW2 movies of the late 1960s, updated with a downbeat '70s vibe. There are some touches of the Italian cannibal genre, such as the character with a wounded leg, which is no surprise given that the director is none other than Joe D'Amato, the notorious exploitation stalwart. The action is low rent but effective, and the fast pacing means at least that it's never boring. The movie was shot in the Dominican Republic and features Luc Merenda as the amoral hero and Donald O'Brien as the tough major. It reminded me of THE DIRTY SEVEN, a later D'Amato movie with Laura Gemser, which is even better.
Michael_Elliott
Tough to Kill (1978) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Italian war flick has Luc Merenda playing our military hero who joins a bunch of cut-throats being led by the evil Major Hagerty (Donald O'Brien). Soon the men head out through the jungles into enemy territory so that they can blow up a dam but along the way they learn that one of the men are wanted and have a million dollar price tag on their head. While this film is certainly forgettable in the long run, there's no doubt that it's pretty entertaining to watch. D'Amato does a pretty good job at keeping everything moving after a slow first twenty-minutes. We don't really get much character development but the actors at least bring their characters to life and make them fun to watch. The film has an ultra low budget so one shouldn't expect anything on a grand scale but I admire the film for doing so much for such a little price tag. The movie manages to be entertaining thanks in large part to the actors who really dig deep in their roles and at least seem to be having fun. Pretty much each character is some sort of stereotype but that's okay simply because of the fun factor. O'Brien really stands out as the evil Major who likes proving his braveness by challenging men to stand on top of a grenade. Merenda is also entertaining as the rebel fighting who stands up for whatever is right and doesn't care who he battles. The actual story isn't the greatest in the world but it at least gives the characters something to do and gets us through the 90-minutes. There's certainly nothing groundbreaking or special here but if you're looking for some Euro fun then this movie is certainly better than a lot of the stuff out there.
andreygrachev
Among hundred of porno drama's and pure hardcore, Aristide Massachessi made some non-sexual films. This one is the example of non-sexual Caribbean action-adventure film. It was the first film that the director made on the locations of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic in 1978). Great exhausted of heat and voodoo faces of Donald O Brien and other members of crew did their best to make a pure fighting and absorbing hallucination-film. The story is about Africa The plot takes place in Africa, although you can see a lot of 100% Caribbean views those tiny streets, jungles, too much light and extremely good Caribbean funk music as score. The great deal of black actors, make this film look cool. There is a magnificent scene with soldiers going through river when terrible rain is falling- which looks better than such moments of "Nowdays Apocalypse". So, for all Damato's fans- this one is highly recommended.www.myspace.com/neizvest
bob wolf
Duri a morire (a.k.a. Tough To Kill) is a movie with a set of balls so large that they drag on the ground. Sam Peckinpah probably would have left the theater with a tear in his eye if he had ever had the chance to see this D'Amato outing.The story, a simple one, concerns Martin, a small-time mafia hitman, who receives word on where he can locate a high-profile political assassin. The bounty on the man is up to one million dollars. The assassin has been doing mercenary work in the jungles of Africa to earn some extra cash. With very little effort, Martin manages to infiltrate the merc squad and gains access to the assassin.Martin, and four others, use a routine attack on a bridge to take the assassin hostage. They set off into the jungle for their rendezvous in Georgeville. They won't all make it. Along for the journey is a congenial villager who seems to act as the group's guardian angel.. or is he?Excellent cinematography helps to pump this film up a little but the bad dialogue manages to deflate it again. What I really enjoyed about Duri a morire was the way D'Amato introduced each of the mercenaries, gave them each a distinct personality, then played with them. He never allows the audience to form a solid opinion of them. I also enjoyed the ending which took me completely by surprise, even despite DAmato's various hints throughout the movie.In closing, Duri a morire is a gritty, low-budget film about brooding men with enough machismo, chest-beating and testosterone for any two Nick Gomez movies. If you you can get around all the violence and silly, tough-guy, one-liners you might actually get a kick out of this film. I sure did!