I quattro dell'apocalisse (1975)

Note Générale:

6,3/10   

Réalisateur:

Lucio Fulci

Scénaristes:

Ennio De Concini (writer)
Bret Harte (story)

Date de sortie:

12 août 1975 (Italy)

Genre:

Drame | Western

Intrigue:

Four petty criminals, three men and a woman, wander through the trackless terrain of the Wild West Utah and are hounded by a sadistic bandit.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Gambler | Prostitute | Female Nudity | Straight Razor

Avis des utilisateurs:

Good western from Fulci

Ensemble

Fabio Testi	...	Stubby Preston
Lynne Frederick	...	Emanuelle 'Bunny' O'Neill
Michael J. Pollard	...	Clem
Harry Baird	...	Bud
Adolfo Lastretti	...	Rev. Sullivan
Bruno Corazzari	...	Lemmy
Giorgio Trestini	...	Saul
Donald O'Brien	...	Sheriff of Salt Flat
Tomas Milian	...	Chaco

Autre(s) titre(s):

Four Gunmen of the Apocalypse
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Four of the Apocalypse
The Four of the Apocalypse... (USA) (DVD title)

Durée:

Italy:104 min (uncut version) | USA:87 min | France:80 min

Pays:

Italy

Langue:

Italien

Couleur:

Couleur (Technospes)

Rapport de forme:

1,85 : 1

Son:

Mono

Classification:

West Germany:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Italy:VM18 | Norway:16 (cut)

Lieux de tournage:

Austria

Société:

Coralta Cinematografica

Goofs:

Continuité: While wandering through the cemetery, Bud reads a tombstone aloud: "Mary Donahue, died in childbirth, February 1884." However, the tombstone he is looking at clearly reads "Mrs. J. Camarray".

Guillemet:

Chaco: Chaco is the name my friend, and I would be very happy to join your group.
Stubby Preston: Nobody invited you.
Chaco: But I did. I'm a damn good hunter you know. Wherever you go you'll have a piece of meat every day.

Connexions:

Edité en Fulci of the Apocalypse (2001) (V)

Good western from Fulci

Four unfortunate souls seek a better existence after narrowly escaping a town wipe out, each of them flawed in their own way. After a deadly encounter with a devil in human form they pursue their goal more scarred than before. The journey proves fateful and maturing for the only one left.

I'm trying to be philosophical, although this is maybe not the best way to describe Lucio Fulci's "Four of the Apocalypse". Testi plays a card shark who gets saddled with a loony tune, a miserable drunk and a prostitute after being thrown out of a town that's just suffered some "righteous" massacre. On their way to another town they encounter Chaco, a vicious madman who leaves them for dead after looting them. What happens next is something I did not expect from Lucio Fulci.

Although the dubbing here is pretty bad, the acting uneven at best (though I did think Testi did perform admirably) and the music score horrendous the film possesses a strange kind of charm with it's humane unexpected twists. I don't want to blow the ending but the film's philosophical tone really hits home. Ultimately this film is about Testi's maturing along the way, a lawless land that still possesses a good dose of humanity when it's required and a solid revenge/redemption theme as well. Again, not what I expected from Fulci, but then he continually surprises with each film I decide to check out.

There are at least two somewhat horrific sequences that Fulci manages to squeeze in here but in the end that's not what stays with you after this film. I'm not a western freak at all but I really liked this film and those who are partial to Fulci will surely enjoy it as well.