Introduction

Tough to Kill (Italian: Duri a morire) is a 1978 Italian action film shot in the Dominican Republic written and directed by Joe D’Amato and starring Luc Merenda and Donald O’Brien.

Outline

A hit man joins a band of mercenaries for a mission in an African jungle during a civil war. His goal is to bring back a wanted mercenary dead or alive, for whom a huge reward has been offered. The members of the squad all wind up fighting with each other over the prize.

Cast

• Luc Merenda as Martin.
• Donald O’Brien as Major Hagerty.
• Percy Hogan as Wabu.
• Laurence Stark as Mike O’Sullivan.
• Piero Vida as Leon.
• Wolfango Soldati as Polansky.
• Isarco Ravaioli as Captain Duscheff/Duchesne.
• Alessandro Haber as Papadinos.
• Lorenza Rodriguez Lopez as Stella.

Release

The film soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani was released on CD by Digitsoundtracks on 7 February 2019.

Trivia

• The whole thing was shot without sound, with the actors looping their lines in post-production.
• In addition to star Merenda, the movie’s poster features the likenesses of Michael Sopkiw, Tony King, and Stefano Mingardo even though none of them appear in the movie.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Joe D’Amato.
• Producer(s):
  • Giuseppe Zaccariello … producer.
• Writer(s):
  • Giuseppe Zaccariello … (written by) (as Joseph McLee).
  • Sergio Donati … (written by).
  • Joe D’Amato … (uncredited).
• Music:
  • Stelvio Cipriani.
• Cinematography:
  • Joe D’Amato … (as Aristide Massaccesi).
• Editor(s):
  • Francesco Malvestito … (as Francesco Malvestiti).
• Production:
  • Compact.
  • Nucleo.
• Distributor(s):
  • Filmhansa (1985) (West Germany) (theatrical).
  • Internacional Films Distribución (Spain) (theatrical).
  • Geiselgasteig Film (1985) (Germany) (VHS).
  • General Video (1979) (Italy) (VHS) (Dubbed).
  • Great Movies (2016) (Germany) (DVD).
  • Italian Stallion Productions (1979) (World-wide) (all media) (dubbed).
  • Video Screen Play (VSP) (1985) (Greece) (VHS).
• Release Date: 15 March 1979 (Italy).
• Rating: Unknown.
• Running Time: 83 minutes.
• Country: Italy.
• Language: Italian.

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