I quattro dell'apocalisse (1975)

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Ennio De Concini (writer)
Bret Harte (story)

Release Date:

12 August 1975 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Plot:

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

Cast

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

Also Known As:

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

Runtime:

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

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technospes)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Austria

Company:

Coralta Cinematografica

Goofs:

Continuity: 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".

Quotes:

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.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Fulci of the Apocalypse (2001) (V)

Low voltage "shock western".....

I'd imagine Lucio Fulci was developing his taste for the bizarre with "Four of the Apocalypse". In 1975, skin peelings, cannibalism, and stylized rape in a "spaghetti western" probably was shocking. Unfortunately today, these seem rather tame, and are little more than curiosities. What we are left with is a very un-western-like western. The film plays like a cross between a western, a weak horror spectacle, and a 70s flower power message movie. The four strangers wander aimlessly, mostly on foot, wandering almost as much as the very weak script. While the acting, and main character development is acceptable, long scenes such as the endless child birth, tend to drag the movie down. One other thing, the music seems totally out of place for a western. "Four of the Apocalypse" is a very slow western with a few outdated shocks, that simply doesn't hold interest because of the meandering script. - MERK