Lucio
Fulci is of course primarily known for his violent and atmospheric horror films, but
before cementing his reputation as the “Godfather of Gore” with ZOMBIE (ZOMBI
2, 1979), the director explored a number of other genres. After launching his career with a string of
comedies, Fulci attempted to capitalize on the booming Spaghetti Western market
with the solid but rather conventional MASSACRE TIME (TEMPO DI MASSACRO, 1966). The film featured Franco Nero, whose star was
on the rise after his iconic turn as the title character in Sergio Corbucci’s
earlier release, DJANGO (1966). Although MASSACRE TIME was not a great success,
Fulci would collaborate with Nero again on WHITE FANG (ZANNA BIANCA, 1973) and
THE CHALLENGE TO WHITE FANG (IL RITORNO DI ZANNA BIANCO, 1974), both based on
the work of author Jack London. In 1975
a fourth film—entitled TERAPIA MORTALE—was planned for the pair but the project
was put on hold (later filmed without Nero as THE PSYCHIC, 1977) and Fulci’s output during that year was confined to the quickie
comedy YOUNG DRACULA (DRACULA IN BRIANZA, 1975) and the far more ambitious THE
FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE (I QUATTRO DELL’APOCALISSE, 1975).
THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE is certainly one of the
strangest examples of the Spaghetti Western and it is by far the best of
Fulci’s work in the genre. The film
takes on a sprawling, epic feel that isn’t present in most of his other, more
claustrophobic work. The episodic and
rambling narrative—reputedly based on the pulp novels of Brett Harte—is typical
of Fulci, but here he and scriptwriter Ennio De Concini shot for something far
grander in both scope and style. The
loosely constructed plot, concerning a ragtag quartet of outcasts on the
hellish road to the big city, is bound together by unifying themes of family
and community. These humanistic
undercurrents are used in sharp contrast against the bleakly pessimistic
worldview viewers have come to expect from the director. Fulci’s other cinematic explorations of Good
vs. Evil are far more one-sided in their outlook, but THE FOUR OF THE
APOCALYPSE balances dread with hope. Even the birth of a child, a vessel for Evil in many of Fulci’s horror
films, is used as a symbol of faith and redemption. These four of the apocalypse may not find the
salvation that they seek, but instead of being damned for all eternity as they
may have been in the director’s other films, they each find their place or
their shining moment in a cruel and inhospitable world. Their fates may not be victorious, but in a world
where a descent into madness can be joyfully transcendent, a peaceful death is
the best one can hope for. Optimism
peeks through even in the film’s darkest moments, and these glimpses of
humanity amid the violence and mayhem add a depth of emotion that audiences may
not expect from Fulci. The plot dynamics
and characterizations may seem routine, but when viewed in the context of the
director’s entire oeuvre there appears to have been a definite effort to engage
the audience on emotional levels that were rarely explored in his other films.
It was a bold move on Fulci’s part to attempt a
slow-paced, melancholy epic at a time when the Italian Western had already lost
the box-office battle to the action-packed poliziotteschi. Fulci himself felt that the final film failed
to meet his ambitions and he placed the blame on De Concini, who had previously
worked with the likes of Michelangelo Antonioni, Vittorio De Sica and Mario
Bava. In an interview with journalist
Luca Palmerini, Fulci stated, “Unfortunately, the film was very badly scripted
by Ennio De Concini, so it didn’t make one single penny worldwide. De Concini’s script was useless, proving that
he’s only good for soap operas on RAI.” While the film is very disjointed at times, it should be noted that
Fulci wasn’t always the best judge of his films and throughout his career he
carried on strained and often antagonistic relationships with many of his
scriptwriters.
The
picture marked the first collaboration between Fulci and cinematographer Sergio
Salvati, who was responsible for the look of Fulci’s most popular horror films,
including ZOMBIE, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (PAURA NELLA CITTÀ DEI MORTI VIVENTI,
1980), THE BEYOND (L’ALDILÀ, 1981) and THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (QUELLA VILLA
ACCANTO AL CIMITERO, 1981). Salvati came to Fulci with a fully formed aesthetic
that viewers of the director’s films have since come to associate with the best
of his work. With THE FOUR OF THE
APOCALYPSE he helped to realize Fulci’s unromantic view of the American West
while marking it with the stark beauty and otherworldliness often found in
their later collaborations. The talented
cinematographer memorably depicted the elements of the fantastique found in De Concini’s screenplay, so it is no surprise
that Fulci relied on Salvati’s skills for his later, more overtly horrific
work.
At
times, Salvati’s photography on THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE recalls Laszlo
Kovacs’ work on EASY RIDER (1969), and the presence of Michael J. Pollard in
the cast implies that another seminal American film of the 1960s may have
influenced the filmmakers. Co-star Tomas
Milian confirmed that Pollard, known for his roles in BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
and DIRTY LITTLE BILLY (1972), affected the shaping of his character, Chaco. “Playing that character and having Michael
Pollard there in front of me…What Michael Pollard represents in the American
movie [BONNIE AND CLYDE] fed my character,” said Milian in an interview with
journalist Eric Maché. In another nod to
‘60s American culture, Milian claimed that Charles Manson also loomed large in
his mind while playing Chaco. “This is
Lucio Fulci. Lucio Fulci is a very…you
know, he loves all that violent stuff,” said Milian. “So if you have a director you know, you can
flirt with his morbidity.” Milian was
very familiar with Fulci’s morbidity having worked with him twice previously,
on the brutal historical drama BEATRICE CENCI (1969) and the disturbing giallo DON’T TORTURE A DUCKLING (NON SI
SEVIZIA UN PAPERINO, 1972).
Milian
and Pollard were joined in the cast by Fabio Testi, a veteran of the Italian
film scene who would later star in Fulci’s CONTRABAND (LUCA IL CONTRABBANDIERE,
1980); Harry Baird, whose other Spaghetti Western credits include COLT IN THE
HAND OF THE DEVIL (UN COLT IN MANO DEL DIAVOLO, 1972) and TRINITY AND SARTANA
ARE COMING (TRINITA E SARTANA FIGLI DI…, 1972), in which he starred as the
title character Trinity; and Lynne
Frederick, who previously appeared in the Hammer Films production VAMPIRE
CIRCUS (1972) as well as Saul Bass’s strange science-fiction effort, PHASE IV
(1973). Frederick later married actor
Peter Sellers and retired from making films shortly before his death in
1980. She passed away in 1994. Also in the film was Irish character actor
Donal O’Brien, who appeared in many Italian Westerns but is best known for playing
the title role in DR. BUTCHER, M.D. (ZOMBI HOLOCAUST, 1980). As was often the case in his Italian films,
O’Brien’s first name was misspelled as “Donald” in the credits for THE FOUR OF
THE APOCALYPSE. O’Brien also worked on
Fulci’s second WHITE FANG movie and later appeared in the director’s final
Spaghetti Western, SILVER SADDLE (SELLA D’ARGENTO, 1978).
Although
SILVER SADDLE fared better at the box office than THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE,
it is the least of Fulci’s three Westerns. Conceived as a children’s film along the lines of the WHITE FANG
pictures, SILVER SADDLE fails to engage even on that level. Despite the participation of Sergio Salvati,
the poetically surreal atmosphere of THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE was completely
absent, as was the gritty violence of MASSACRE TIME, and SILVER SADDLE signaled
not only the end of Fulci’s participation in the genre, but also the end of the
Spaghetti Western in general. Other
filmmakers attempted to revive the moribund genre, but the last gasp of quality
provided by THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE, Enzo G. Castellari’s KEOMA (1976) and
Sergio Martino’s A MAN CALLED BLADE (MANNAJA, 1977) was not to be repeated.
Interestingly,
Fulci himself offered a strange reading of his first two Westerns in various
interviews. He maintained that MASSACRE
TIME was a “Western that went beyond time and space,” and frequently referred
to it as “oneiric,” claiming that French critics called it a “Western reve,” or “dreamed.” It's tempting to assume that Fulci simply
got his own films mixed up since these descriptions bear little resemblance to
MASSACRE TIME, but could easily be applied to the richly atmospheric FOUR OF
THE APOCALYPSE. The more likely scenario
is that Fulci’s rift with Ennio De Concini affected his opinion of the film and
he chose to embellish the reputation of his first Western with the qualities
achieved by his second. Regardless of
his own opinions, Fulci’s THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE is his finest entry in the
genre, successfully bridging the gap between his earlier work and his later
horror pictures by striking a rare balance of warmth and cruelty.
References
-- Palmerini,
Luca M. and Mistretta, Gaetano, Spaghetti
Nightmares (Fantasma, 1996), Interview with Lucio Fulci, pp. 58-66.
-- Maché, Eric, Westerns...All'Italiana, Issue #25,
Spring 1990, Interview with Tomas Milian.
--MW
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