IMDb RATING
6.3/10
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In 1873, four petty criminals - three men and a pregnant woman - wander through the trackless terrain of Utah, where they are hounded by a sadistic bandit.In 1873, four petty criminals - three men and a pregnant woman - wander through the trackless terrain of Utah, where they are hounded by a sadistic bandit.In 1873, four petty criminals - three men and a pregnant woman - wander through the trackless terrain of Utah, where they are hounded by a sadistic bandit.
Charles Borromel
- Montana - Altaville Townsman
- (uncredited)
Massimo Ciprari
- Salt Flat Deputy
- (uncredited)
Michael Janisch
- Altaville Townsman
- (uncredited)
Salvatore Puntillo
- Recovering Man
- (uncredited)
Lorenzo Robledo
- Sheriff Being Tortured
- (uncredited)
Claudio Ruffini
- First Shot Gunman
- (uncredited)
Goffredo Unger
- Betting Man
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Ennio De Concini
- Bret Harte(Italian, English version)
- Lucio Fulci(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTomas Milian patterned his portrayal of Chaco on Charles Manson.
- GoofsThe opening narration states that the story is set in 1873. However, when Bud is wandering through the cemetery, reading tombstones aloud, he says, "Mary Donahue, died in childbirth, February 1884."
- 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.
- Alternate versionsThe original US release cut the most graphic moments from a scene in which Tomas Milian cuts some skin off of a man's stomach, as well as cutting some dialogue from the climactic scene in which Milian taunts Fabio Testi about Milian's earlier rape of Lynne Frederick. Both scenes have been restored in Anchor Bay's recent DVD release. However, because neither scene was ever dubbed into English for the original release, these scenes are in Italian with English subtitles.
- ConnectionsEdited into Fulci of the Apocalypse (2001)
- SoundtracksMovin' On
Music by Franco Bixio, Fabio Frizzi, & Vince Tempera
Words by Rink Greenfield & Peter Cook
Sung by Rink Greenfield (as Greenfield) & Peter Cook (as Cook) and Benjamin Franklin Group
Featured review
One of the best Spaghetti westerns.
Utah, 1873. A young card-sharp named Stubby Preston arrives in a small town called Salt Flat. On his arrival, the town sheriff (Donald O'Brien) throws him in jail with 3 petty criminals - a pregnant prostitute (Frederick), a hopeless drunk (Pollard) and a mad black slave (Baird). That night, KKK-masked gunmen wipe out most of the town, and the next night, the four are put on a cart and forced out of town, into the bandit-filled wilds. One such bandit (Tomas Milian) forces himself upon the group, soon revealing himself to be a wicked sadist. After kneecapping Pollard, raping Frederick and torturing the other two, Testi swears revenge if he is left alive. Milian heads off, and the four characters set out to follow their dreams and destinies - in Testi's case, a slow, violent death for the bandit...
This unusual, horror-tinged effort suffers from slow pace and some awful music ballads, as well as Frederick phony Transatlantic accent. Where it does score highly, is in the 'feel' of the film. Sergio Salvati's photography is superb, and really presents the Old West as a desolate wasteland where only the most ruthless will survive. Also, Milian's villain is superbly evil, and there are some excellent action sequences, such as the opening purge of the town, and Testi's score-settle.
Some of the violence is truly shocking, and all prints of the film were cut down - Milian gouging into a man's stomach with a knife after pinning a sheriff's badge into his chest (commonly seen in stills), and some of Frederick's harrowing rape ordeal.
Don't get the Swedish Sun Video entitled 'CHACO' - it's heavily cut down. This version misses out some gory bullet-hits at the start, much of Milian's torturous antics (including him stamping Testi's testicles), and Testi cutting Milian's face open with a razor. The most complete version available at present (though it still misses out the pre-studio cuts described above), is the Japanese AT International tape.
Even with what does remain, it's a nihilistic, grim piece of work, and remains one of the most violent of the Spagwests. It's a shame that Fulci, after this and the excellent MASSACRE TIME, would disgrace himself with his third western effort, the limp SILVERSADDLE.
This unusual, horror-tinged effort suffers from slow pace and some awful music ballads, as well as Frederick phony Transatlantic accent. Where it does score highly, is in the 'feel' of the film. Sergio Salvati's photography is superb, and really presents the Old West as a desolate wasteland where only the most ruthless will survive. Also, Milian's villain is superbly evil, and there are some excellent action sequences, such as the opening purge of the town, and Testi's score-settle.
Some of the violence is truly shocking, and all prints of the film were cut down - Milian gouging into a man's stomach with a knife after pinning a sheriff's badge into his chest (commonly seen in stills), and some of Frederick's harrowing rape ordeal.
Don't get the Swedish Sun Video entitled 'CHACO' - it's heavily cut down. This version misses out some gory bullet-hits at the start, much of Milian's torturous antics (including him stamping Testi's testicles), and Testi cutting Milian's face open with a razor. The most complete version available at present (though it still misses out the pre-studio cuts described above), is the Japanese AT International tape.
Even with what does remain, it's a nihilistic, grim piece of work, and remains one of the most violent of the Spagwests. It's a shame that Fulci, after this and the excellent MASSACRE TIME, would disgrace himself with his third western effort, the limp SILVERSADDLE.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Four of the Apocalypse
- Filming locations
- Austria(Altaville scenes)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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![Lynne Frederick, Tomas Milian, Fabio Testi, and Michael J. Pollard in The Four of the Apocalypse... (1975)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTIyOTAwMjAtZDRiMi00Y2M5LWI1NmItNTYxN2M4ODkzZDJmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTE2OTg4Mjg@._V1_QL75_UY133_CR2,0,90,133_.jpg)