Blood River (1974) Poster

(1974)

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6/10
Violent Spaghetti/Paella Western with elements of Greek tragedy
ma-cortes13 July 2022
Spaghetti Western with unusual Indian theme , including lots of shots , thrills , action , including a twisted and bloody final conclusion. This thrilling and tragic film packs noisy action , shoot'em up , high body-count and it's fast moving , being entertaining enough and made in Italian style more than American one , approaching increasingly Sergio Leone manners , and keeping some details that make it off-the-wall in this particular genre . At the beginning a gory massacre takes place at an Indian village, in which the women are raped , and being burnt down , but one little kid witnesses the violent deeds . The surviving child , once grown-up becomes Indian chief Condor (Daniel Martín) and decides to take a merciless vendetta and to kill the White Men responsible of the horrible massacre . Meanwhile , baron land Abel Webster's (John Ireland) wishes anxiously a heir and he's hellbent on having his son, Ben (Michael Rivers) , marry half-breed Katherine (gorgeous Rosalba Neri) , though she's in love with her half-brother, Ringo (Fabio Testi) . Then , things go wrong.

This obscure and outlandish Spaghetti/Chorizo results to be an exciting Maccaroni western that contains a story full of violence , family drama , so-so dramatic pace and slick but amateurish direction . It follows the Sergio Leone wake , including close-ups , shootouts , choreographic confrontation and that's why being proceeded in Italian style . It's a thrilling western with spectacular scenes and breathtaking showdown among protagonists . There are loads of violent deaths , in which the wealthy land baron's underlings are murdered one by one , they are stabbed, hanged , shot, drowned , slashed and gored . It's a middle-budget film with usual actors , technicians, production values and pleasing results . Charismatic interpretation from Paella/Spaghetti's customary actors . Stars Fabio Testi giving a passable acting as a half-wit outlaw, at the beginning his long careet he performed some Spaghettis , such as : Cemetery without crosses ,At the End of the Rainbow , Django Meets Sartana, Zorro Justiciero, I quattro dell'Apocalisse , Red Coat and Clayton Drumm. While the Spanish Daniel Martin is so-so as a young Indian desperately wanting justice and revenge after witnessing the slaughter of the people of his village, he played a lot of Paella Westerns , usually as Indian role such as : The Last Mohican , Too Much Gold for One Gringo, Watch Out Gringo! Sabata Will Return , Man Called Gringo, Fall of the Mohicans or Uncas, el fin de una raza and had an important secondary role in Leone's Fistful of Dollars . And special mention for the Italian cult actress Rosalba Neri as half-breed daughter , she's is excellent , as always . Being the typical European co-production appearing regular Spanish secondaries as Luis Induni , José Canalejas , Miguel de la Riva and Italian ones as Luisa Rivelli , Attilio Dottesio . Vittorio Richelmy and Giovanni Cianfriglia or Ken Wood.

Colorful and evocative cinematography by Leoploldo Villaseñor , though being necessary a perfect remastering . And Morricone style musical score with catching leitmotif by Piero Umiliani . The motion picture was regularly directed by Gianfranco Baldanello . He was assistant director and subsequently directed some films . Gianfranco made several Spaghettis , such as ¨Uccidete Johnny Ringo¨ , ¨This man cant die¨ , ¨Son of Zorro¨ , ¨The Cry of the Wolf¨, ¨Black Jack¨ , ¨Blood River¨ and ¨30 Winchesters for El Diablo" - International title- or "Gold Train" . Rating : 6/10.
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6/10
An unusual spaghetti western with horror elements
melvelvit-111 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Many years later, the survivor of an Indian massacre takes revenge on the white men responsible...

Payback for the past is more-or-less wrap-around to a fairly entertaining soap opera subplot: Abel Webster's (John Ireland) empire needs more male heirs and he's hellbent on having his son, Ben, marry half-breed Katherine (Rosalba Neri) to get the party started but she's in love with her "brother", Ringo (Fabio Testi), a half-wit outlaw who impregnates the new bride on her honeymoon. Meanwhile, a secret from Abel's past catches up with him when his ranch hands are stabbed, shot, drowned and gored one by one as the stories converge for an unexpectedly upbeat ending ***spoiler*** where the Indians take their land back.

There's an Indian witch using death stones to make predictions, talk of a Manitou protecting the avenger, thunderstorms, and visions of bloody hands but calling this "horror" would be a stretch even though I've seen the movie advertised as such in DVD catalogues. It's unusual, anyway.
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3/10
Muddled Multi Layer Drama
cengelm20 December 2001
After a massacre where an Indian village is burnt down, the women are raped and the men are mostly killed one surviving kid decides to take revenge and to kill the '10 White Men' after he has grown up. If you expect the usual revenge story you are wrong, though. The killing native is nothing more than a running gag in a family drama where the father(one of the killers) wants his half-breed daughter to marry a wealthy men but she loves Ringo and wants to be together with him. Acting is OK and the story has a certain depth but overall the film makes a cheap and amateurish impression. Art direction is severely lacking and cinematography isn't satisfying, either. Hardly recommended for fans of Italian cinema, Western fans better look elsewhere for pleasure.

3 / 10.
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