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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Lenzi's costume epic World War II parable gone awry, 8 May 2001
9/10
Author: Michael A. Martinez (aylmer666@juno.com) from Los Angeles, CA

Umberto Lenzi has almost always been one of Italy's better "B-movie" directors, delivering consistently entertaining films throughout his career right up to the mid 80's. Ironmaster was a bit of a turning point, with Lenzi working with smaller and smaller budgets and with lesser and lesser known actors.

With this dead-serious caveman adventure, we have most of the old regulars from Lenzi's crime films like Nello Pazzafini, Giovanni Cianfriglia, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, and Riccardo Petrazzi (most of whom were primarily stunt men)... a couple other familiar faces like William Berger (KEOMA), George Eastman (KING DAVID), Danilo Mattei and Walter Lucchini (both from CANNIBAL FEROX) and that kid with the wounded leg in NIGHTMARE CITY. But who did Lenzi's producer Luciano Martino cast as the lead? The answer is the pretty mysterious case of bodybuilder Sam Pasco, who seem to have appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared (having never acted in a film since) even though he really isn't bad at all in this movie.

Anyway, the whole thing is a pretty obvious parable of WW2 with Eastman's character Vood as basically Hitler's caveman equivalent, though he goes around smashing things while his lady friend does all the talking for him. It's actually not a bad plotline either, aided by some sumptuous photography, decent special effects, some really energetic editing, and one of Guido and Maurizio De Angelis's best forgotten scores (omitting the really lame title theme). The movie's main weakness is the heavy-handedness of everything, with morals being pitched left and right when the movie is really too low budget and silly to be taken seriously.

Almost universally, this film is trashed as one of the all-time worst but it really isn't that bad at all. Much like Bruno Mattei's much-maligned ROBOWAR and Sergio Martino's SLAVE OF THE CANNIBAL GOD (which this film recycles some music from) IRONMASTER really would have been given a lot more credit had the producers put a little more money into it. It's still quite a lot of fun, and pretty far from boring to say the least.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Intriguing (albeit erroneous) vision of Iron Age man, 27 June 2005
6/10
Author: HaemovoreRex from United Kingdom

This was directed by prolific Italian filmmaker Umberto Lenzi who boasts numerous directorial credits in a wide array of film genres including a number of (in)famous horror outings and some very gritty crime dramas.

Fans of Italian B-movies will instantly delight in seeing big George Eastman in the role of the main villain (as he is very often type cast) who, inadvertently brings about the inception of the Iron Age(!)

Scouring the internet, I have found nothing but disdain and vituperation for this film with some reviewers even going so far as to apply the ignominious label of 'The worst movie ever made' upon it. Whilst the film is admittedly certainly no masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it is in fact not nearly as bad as it's sullied reputation would have us believe.

What we have here in effect is a sort of semi-documentary detailing the sudden great psychological and sociological evolution of early human kind as precipitated by the discovery of more puissant weaponry.

OK, so it is somewhat base in it's linear execution, logic is not a trait it is particularly rich in, the acting is not exactly Oscar material and the special effects are shall we say, severely wanting, but despite this, the film is actually rather intriguing.

The ending especially, is surprisingly rather poignant for this genre and is quite refreshing.

Special mention must also be made of the title score for the film, which is one of those tunes you'll find yourself humming for days!!!

Overall then, whilst woefully inaccurate in its historical context, this film is nonetheless rather fascinating in its inimitable depiction of a bygone people and their turbulent way of life.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Entertaining for those who can appreciate it, 14 May 2000
Author: Ivan Ravenous from California

I originally bought this movie, having never seen it, strictly for laughs. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it's really and engaging movie. Now, it does have its dumb parts, but for the most part I was riveted. The story is simplistic, but this isn't trying to be anything incredible. Once again a film is made which most people just can't appreciate.

Also, I love the weird naked monkey guys.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
I own a copy of the movie and love it., 16 April 2005
10/10
Author: hagan31904 from United States

Right you are commenter's that Ironmaster is low-brow and or low-budget but I really like this kind of sword and sandal, cave dwellers, Hercules, and or Tarzan movies that are no longer made except very rarely. Morality and a keeping of the body in this case Sam Pasco as Ela and others though less so are entertaining, inspiring, and for me hope giving in life. With the comments of some others I read I think Sam Pasco nor any of the cast were bad at all. In fact they're quite good including Vood, the women, and their followers on both sides. Much thanks to whomever inspired the making of this film. It is not a waste in the slightest.

Good afternoon or late night escapism that does not need thinking.

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1 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Not the WORST film I've ever seen..., 10 January 2001
Author: overkill-6

...but much further away from being the best. Funny, I didn't know buffalo "moo"ed. They do in this film. A touching, moving story of two tribes of primitive humans (who have apparently already invented steroids) who touchingly, movingly kill each other over newly-developed weaponry...perhaps an allegory of the dangers of the arms race...and perhaps just a mediocre barbarian film. I tend to think of it as the latter. Too bad neither side thought of asking for help from Ator ("The Blade Master," a.k.a. "Cave Dwellers")...he probably would've made a hang glider and dropped bombs on the "bad guys" again. Whoever they were.

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2 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A saucy spaghetti romp through 1,000,000 BC, Planet of the Apes and Ator., 16 March 2006
2/10
Author: Celluloid_Rehab (lelnu@yahoo.com) from Hell's Kitchen, NYC

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

That sounded so good, I'm going to repeat it : A saucy spaghetti romp through 1,000,000 BC, Planet of the Apes and Ator. I have recently seen a few Italian "imports". Jewels such as Super Fuzz, Raiders from Atlantis and 2020 : Texas Gladiators. This movie is part of that same prime lineage.

We start this masterpiece with some rhythmic chanting. Feel free to join in. It's quite easy to do (hum hum hhaa hum hhaa hum hum). This chanting happens a few times during the movie. You should probably create a game out of it; like doing shots or chugging beers at the beginning, chant along, and then do some more drinking (or whatever your drug of choice is) at the end. This will keep everyone from hurting themselves or anyone else. It is also a good way to keep from getting into a coma or deriving some enjoyment from a really bad movie. This movie is not that bad, I merely state this as public service announcement. So if a bad movie happens to you, you'll know what to do.

After the chanting is done, we get a narrator telling us whats going on. We are somewhere in prehistory, and there's this tribe. They seem friendly enough. They're no cannibals or anything. Actually they're in a bit of a crisis for food. During the ensuing hunt, the leader is murdered by his son (and soon to be announced heir), Vood (the infamous George Eastman - think of a white Wilt Chamberlin). You may remember George from such classics as the Barbarian Brothers or 2019 : After the Fall of New York. At the leader's funeral Vood is exposed as a murderer by Ela (the very sweaty and buff Sam Pasco). Vood is banished. This leads into the longest and most painful scene of the entire movie : the erupting volcano scene.

In this scene Vood is walking around in exile, around volcanic mountains (that coincidentally looks like my baking soda and vinegar mountain from my 8th grade science project). We get some stock footage of volcanic eruptions and lava flow from what looks like a 1969 collegiate project. Lava is on the ground and lightning strikes it. This somehow creates iron. The thing that is formed looks like a giant stick, or a really, really amateurish looking sword. Vood goes ape and starts breaking stuff with his new rock staff. On the way out he encounters and kills a lion. Lith (the very attractive Pamela Prati, a.k.a Pamela Field) then shows up and gives him the idea to conquer. Vood shows up back at his tribe wearing the most ridiculous lion suit he made out of the beast he killed. There's this giant lion head he wears. For reference, remember Montgomery Burns from the Simpsons except this is much sillier (the episode with the greyhounds, where he sings the "wear my vest" song). Vood and Ela fight. Vood wounds Ela and banishes him to what looks like the Planet of the Apes. He then takes over and begins the war effort. This is Lith's ultimate scene. She goes into this tirade that had me laughing for 2 full minutes. The only way I can describe it is if you think of Valaria's way of speaking from Robot Holocaust.

I call the next scene the forging scene. Somehow they figure out how to melt the rocks, create molds for the molten iron, and a hammer to further shape the rock. Apparently they "guessed" all this in the missing scene the director cut out. Ela then meets Isa (the other hottie in the movie, Elvire Audray). The first time she said her name, all I could say is "Her name is Pizza ?". Strangely enough in this Italian exploitation movie, both attractive female leads never bare it all.

This all leads to an eventual conflict between Vood & Ela. I won't spoil it. This must be seen to believe. It is nice that they used the same choreographer from 2020:Texas Gladiators. Unfortunately, that man flunked out of the William Shatner School for Acting and Stunts.

The movie has some nice footnotes :

1) Nice use of roaming buffalo throughout the Dakotas. This included making the actors run through the pack.

2) Almost a total rip of the bone smashing scene from 2001, except with George Eastman in fur leggings and a club.

3) Anatomically correct shot of a lion - twigs and berry shot.

4) Prehistoric leper clowns.

5) George Eastman discovers a new way to get high : eating volcanic rock.

6) Numerous homo-erotic imagery.

7) Ela runs and sits quite daintily for a caveman.

8) These cavemen sure look good. They must work out in the cave's gym. They also wear these adorable rabbit slippers throughout the movie.

9) Mad lib dialog. Vood (verb of motion).

10) RUNNING !!! and MORE RUNNING !! There's a lot of running in this movie. I haven't seen so much running since Run Lola Run, however, in that movie there was a purpose to all that running. All this running is reminiscent to all the driving in Manos, the Hands of Fate.

This movie is terrible on all fronts. It is so bad, that it has actually become one of my favorite Italian exploitation movies. Try not to watch this movie alone or if you are in a bad mood. I could not control my laughter or disbelief. This is definitely great for the disaster watcher.

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3 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Entirely spectacularly rivetting depiction of filmmaking gone awry, 11 August 2000
Author: ^James^

This movie is a stirring epic set amongst the backdrop of the transitional period between the advent of the cro-magnons and the extinction of the neanderthals. The polar opposition between the two races is clearly shown, especially when the neanderthals attack by simply throwing rocks and the cro-magnons finish them off with their newly invented lightsabres.

Cro magnons were the intelligent ones remember

You see this movie is so rivetting simply because it sucked so much

That Ela guy is beefed up on some anabolic substance and when Eastman finds a large chunk of iron (what was he doing at the volcano anyway?) and with that piece, they invent a way to melt it, cast it, then fashion it into broadswords, which they then use to hack and slash their way through every tribe for no reason

A vey bad movie

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3 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Nothing redeemable, 11 April 1999
1/10
Author: Phroggy from Paris, France

Lenzi has done excellent action thrillers and great gialli, but here, there's nothing worth losing 90 minutes over. Even George eastman isn't very good. And the plot ? An outcast from his tribe discovers the sword ; a beefy hero (steroids were already invented ?) discovers the bow and arrow (though he looks like he wouldn't invent his way out of a paper crate) and defeats him. The end. That's it. No more time too waste on this one. See Lenzi's seventies thrillers with Thomas Milian (one of the most under-rated actors of all time)

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1 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Friends Cursed With The existence of this Movie, 1 May 2005
1/10
Author: damien_tyira from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is the most awful movie of all time. No movie surpasses this movie in horrible horrible badness. Nothing can even come close to the story of Vudd discovering I-ron. I will call this "I-RON". From a superheated volcanic eruption... minutes later giant metal shard... hiding underneath rocks. He touches it and its hot so he hits it with a rock and its cool. Cmon, really. Then he kills the national geographic lion and when he stabs it is paper mache. I'm not even going to get into the monkey men and the katanas he forges near the end of the movie. Where did he get the knowledge on how to forge master crafted samurai swords? And the cover has NOTHING to do with movie at all.

THE END

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0 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Two tribes massacre each other for a piece of iron, 1 December 1998
1/10
Author: anonymous

Big joke! Not even bad enough to be interesting.

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