Some of the songs in this one are a desired taste.
There’s that, too, but, to be honest, the songs didn’t bother me a whole hell of a lot…
Must admit, i don’t mind the OST to this one, except for “Bunny”!!! For some reason that song has always annoyed me 
This is one I do not like…BUNNY !
Ok, I watched this one a couple of days ago and it has taken me this long to really work out how I feel about it.
Overall I enjoyed it and it would just about scrape in to my top 30 at this stage. But I felt that Fulci wasn’t quite sure where to go with this film. I had heard much about the violence and it was quite graphic but, to be honest, I felt it was kind of out of place with the film as a whole. For me this was primarily a story about redemption which repeatedly highlighted the importance of fellowship and community. I’m thinking in particular about the lengthy sequence with the baby’s birth in the miners camp but also just the strength the four found in their unity as a group in the face of all kinds of adversities.
In this context, the scenes of torture, rape and cannabalism seem a bit incongruous. Almost as if Fulci couldn’t help himself from putting them in.
Having said all that, it is Milian as Chaco, the most sadistic character in it that really stays in the mind. Considering this was just a Kinski type 5 day cameo for Milian he leaves a real impression and gives one of his most memorable performances in my opinion.
I definitely recommend this one. I just think it is a bit confused is all.
That’s a pretty good, all-around assessment.
[quote=“flynnparadox, post:20, topic:507”]Here’s a good-looking SW that is just not very engaging for me. I like Tomas, but he’s hardly in it. Lynne Fredrick is good but her character (like most women in Fulci movies) is in the film primarily to be raped and die. Michael J Pollard is good, too. It’s a strange film because every time I started to like it, there would be some cinematic gesture that just seemed completely out of place. For example, what’s with the ending with the dog?! The film builds to its sad, heart-breaking conclusion then we have that moment with the dog. Is it supposed to be funny? I don’t know. I found myself shaking my head in confusion. Was this dog in the film earlier and did I just miss him? An odd film - not bad but not great. Certainly memorable, though…
Flynn[/quote]
Wow! You pretty much took the words right out of my mouth regarding this one, amigo!
But, I have a feeling you ended up liking it a bit more than I did.
[quote=“Chris_Casey, post:27, topic:507”]Wow! You pretty much took the words right out of my mouth regarding this one, amigo!
But, I have a feeling you ended up liking it a bit more than I did.[/quote]
Yeah, I didn’t hate it and there was a lot to like in it, it just wasn’t that engaging, like I said.
[quote=“Phil H, post:25, topic:507”]I felt that Fulci wasn’t quite sure where to go with this film. I had heard much about the violence and it was quite graphic but, to be honest, I felt it was kind of out of place with the film as a whole. For me this was primarily a story about redemption which repeatedly highlighted the importance of fellowship and community. I’m thinking in particular about the lengthy sequence with the baby’s birth in the miners camp but also just the strength the four found in their unity as a group in the face of all kinds of adversities.
In this context, the scenes of torture, rape and cannabalism seem a bit incongruous. Almost as if Fulci couldn’t help himself from putting them in.
Having said all that, it is Milian as Chaco, the most sadistic character in it that really stays in the mind. Considering this was just a Kinski type 5 day cameo for Milian he leaves a real impression and gives one of his most memorable performances in my opinion.
I definitely recommend this one. I just think it is a bit confused is all.[/quote]
You couldn’t have said it better. Exactly what I thought about the film. Milian as Chaco is truly mean and charismatic at the same time and that alone makes the film worth watching. Btw, I too came to think of Jack Sparrow. 
It says something about Tomas Milian’s boldness and way of “stealing” whole movies that almost everyone here has had something to say about his two or three scenes as Chaco while the leading man Fabio Testi gets almost no comments at all! I think one of the most interesting things in this episodic (and sometimes excellent) film is his gradual development from the slick clean-shaven gambler persona to the “iconic” rugged masculinity that we see at the end. Some kind of circle seems to be closing, maybe it’s just the Italian western going back to roots in the company of a lone dog? One of those Fulci films which seem to be saying something important (typically through heavy violence) but are also somehow confused, sometimes beautifully so. A welcome departure.
Definitely my least favorite pasta… I would go so far as to say I hate it. The movie is dull, with very little life in it. Fabio Testi is really out of place in this one. None of the other actors emitted any pathos at all… Even Milian cannot save this one from going down the toilet (he does have some great scenes but overall a forgettable movie). I cannot find anything else good to say about it. I sold my copy a couple weeks ago even though I had not watched it in a couple years. Waste of time for me.
UTTER NONSENSE !!
You should reserve the CRA-PPY TOILET epithets for SW “Comedies” T.Hill & B.Spencer
This FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE 1975 is a very unusual, stimulating HORROR/SW from
MASTER DIRECTOR : LUCIO FULCI
Four Of The Apocalypse as described/reviewed earlier in this thread is a complex, detailed
powerful SW with elements of revenge, despair, rape, torture, cannibalism, se-x :o
It needs to be enjoyed and interpreted carefully with an OPEN MIND and intelligence.
I am NOT a big Fan of TOMAS MILIAN but he was outstanding in this SW as was Testi etc
You are entitled to like it. I don’t think it’s worth anymore of my time.
SD, I wasn’t going to comment on this movie but you slammed my man Terence “the fastest gun in the west” Hill again. Let me put it this way; my taste may not be quite up to par with some of you on this genre but, I’ve got “Four of the Apocalypse” and the “Trinity” movies sitting on the same shelf at the old hacienda. That Lucio Fulci film-jacket needs to be dusted while those E. B. Clucher gems are spotless clean. I don’t know, maybe I just don’t care to watch Harry Baird run around naked. Hmmm, I’m going to drop FOTA down one shelf.
Gee AceHigh !!
I have to EXPLAIN that rather than meaning to PUT DOWN Terence Hill I am really having
a go at those AWFUL SW “comedies” or “Slapstick” ???. FOTA is a SERIOUS SW etc …
Terence Hill happens to be the most obvious Comedy Sw (Trinity) example :o
I am a fan of
TERENCE HILL as in his thread I have POSTED My FAVOURITE TOP 20 Terence Hill Films 
TERENCE HILL For AceHigh
ok, we’re cool…
[quote=“SARTANA DJANGO, post:32, topic:507”]UTTER NONSENSE !!
You should reserve the CRA-PPY TOILET epithets for SW “Comedies” T.Hill & B.Spencer[/quote]
Opinion sheriff SD politely welcomes a new forum member by offering him a strong cocktail.
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I like this movie, mainly for Tomas Milian’s sadistic killer.
I’ve always had a soft spot for this curious mix of life-affirming and violent extremes, it’s my kind of feelgood movie. What I find funny is how aficionados never agree on anything about it. An example: Thomas Weisser (author of SPAGHETTI WESTERNS) places FOUR in his SW top 20 and writes that it comes “complete with one of the most satisfying “vengeance” endings in the Spaghetti Western genre”.
On the other hand, in his Lucio Fulci book BEYOND TERROR Stephen Thrower admires the film but says that “the bitterly avowed revenge, when it happens, feels tagged on… Fulci leaves us feeling that one of the genre’s most potent pieces of “business” has been thrown away.” Most satisfying, but not for everyone… ???
;D
Hi, people. [this is my 1st post here, btw.]
I saw this movie for the first time recently.
I must say it took awhile for Fulci to hook me…I was put off by Testi’s Stubby early but by the time Milian’s character entered the fray, I was hooked.
Thomas Weisser (author of SPAGHETTI WESTERNS) places FOUR in his SW top 20 and writes that it comes "complete with one of the most satisfying "vengeance" endings in the Spaghetti Western genre".
I don’t put much stock into that guy’s opinions. Better to have strong belief in your own personal assessments than pay his any mind.
