IslandGuru
Who payed the critics
Jenna Walter
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Keira Brennan
The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.
Leonard Smalls: The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse
"Massacre Time" is one of the most awesome Italian Western films I've seen. It's more violent than the usual fare, as you might expect from the one and only Fulci. He delivers with this one! The plot is simple enough: Franco Nero is a man who is wronged by a ruthless gang. He seeks revenge. Does he get it? Well, you'll have to see to find out. Trust me, you'll be rooting for this dude! It's awesome.The only thing that sucks about this flick is how hard it is to find. I wonder why they haven't released this one Anchor Bay or something like they did "Four of the Apocalypse." The only version I could find is a Japanese import that is just so-so. The one thing I have to say is that this film must be seen in Italian with English subtitles. The dubbing is not the best.If you can find it, buy it. As a Spaghetti Western fan, you will not regret it. "Massacre Time" is a must! 8 out of 10, kids.
sullymangolf
Well at this time my family was living at the Subic Bay Naval Station in the Philippines. We lived at Cubi Point which was the Air Station part of the base. We had our own theater there. On the base were 4 movie theaters and each was free. Let me tell you as a high school kid we didn't miss many movies. There was no TV out there back in 1968-70 except for Philippine TV. When you went to a movie it was packed with sailors and marines. The place would go wild with hooting and hollering during the movies. The Brute and the Beast would play every couple of months or so and the place would be packed. It was so tacky everyone loved it. I remember a couple of scenes, mostly toward the end of the movie. One was where someone was shooting at someone and there were no bullets left in the gun. He throws the gun at someone and a bullet fires. But the classic scene, that brought everyone to their feet with roaring laughter was where the hero was in a gun battle with the bad guys. Bullets were flying all around him continually until he comes out from cover, stands up in the open on a wagon that is up on a ramp, pushes himself and the wagon down the ramp at the bad guys (again no one was even shooting at him at this time) crashes into the barrier the bad guys set up, goes up in the air, does a couple of flips and lands behind the bad guys, and shoots all of them dead. The theater went wild! Yes it was fun on those bases during that time period. It is an experience I still treasure to this day!
K_Todorov
The idea of a Lucio Fulci western is compelling to say the least. Known for making some of the most gory, brutal and sadistic horror movies during the eighties, Fulci's first western "Tempo Di Massacro" is an early sign of his coming transition to the splatter genre. It lacks the gore but it certainly does not lack on the brutal and sadistic trademarks which have made Fulci famous around horror circles. Alright so there were some things that were basically copied from other Italian westerns it was still a fun movie to watch and it's not like that's a big revelation considering the whole commercialized nature of the genre.The movie begins with a shot of a man being chased by a hunting party. The kind that usually hunts animals for sport only this time they're hunting people. Needless to say what happened when they caught him. Did I mention that this movie was sadistic and this is not the only proof there's more further along? Anyways "Tempo Di Massacro" stars Franco Nero as Tom Corbett a prospector whom after receiving a mysterious letter about his family, returns home. But things have changed a lot since he's been gone and Corbett realizes this as soon as he arrives. His family's ranch has been taken over by a rich landowner and his demented son (the guy that was leading the hunting party earlier). One might say that story is a slow mover, I disagree. I found it's pace to be very precise setting up the outline for the final confrontation. The story is coherent enough so that it makes sense. There are a few twists here and there so as not to get too boring when waiting for the showdown.In a movie that supposedly starred Franco Nero, his character Tom wasn't all that impressive, gone was that cynical attitude with which he portrayed the titular character in "Django" and his clothing, well it's obvious where they were taken from (small hint: an Italian western movie with Clint Eastwood). Instead more focus was put on Tom's brother Jeff played by George Hilton, a drunkard with a bit of a temper and the sadistic son of the landowner played by Nino Castelnuovo. Both these men were the highlights of the movie. Respectively performances are well done considering that this is a spaghetti western. The score by Lallo Gorri is good, very catchy song in the beginning.Now what really makes "Tempo Di Massacro" fun is it's finale. There Fulci demonstrates that he is more than capable of directing action. With commendable choreography, masterful synchronization between the shooting and victims's death. It's a hard task to create a long entertaining action scene, most of the times everything wears out after a couple of minutes not here though. Variety is the key to success in such sequences and Fulci packs the scene with outdoor, indoor shootouts making it an entertainingly diverse gunfight. The film ends with a symbolic white dove flying away, possible this is from where John Woo got his dove gimmick from.Anyways "Tempo Di Massacro" is one of the better Italian westerns out there. It's a good movie on all accounts, worth the look from fans of the genre or even horror fans intrigued with Lucio Fulci's pre-horror work.
filmchap
What a truly wonderful discovery and surprise. Lucio Fulci is best know in the genre of horror, I must admit to not being one of his biggest fans, his movies lack consistency, his earlier work outweighs, by far, his later work. But even the films regarded by his fans, The Beyond, Zombie Flesh Eaters etc. are severely overrated. Before I saw his Spaghetti Western Tempo di massacro (Massacre Time) I was impressed more by his earlier work, Don't Torture a Duckling for a perfect example of Giallo cinema. It all changed when I caught this truly outstanding cinematic experience...Tempo di massacro. From the excellent original Morricone' esquire score by Coriolano Gori to fantastic action sequences that obviously inspired John Woo's narrative traits (complete with flying 'slow mo' doves) The consistently great Franco Nero here gives an adequate performance (mirroring Eastwood's on screen presence) pairing perfectly with his on screen brother George Hilton who steals many of the films greatest lines from him. But the highlight of the film, by far, is the absolutely fantastic and mesmerising performance of Nino Castelnuovo playing the sinister whip brandishing Junior. Castelnuovo's performance lights up the screen here in a way rarely has been seen in cinema (for me Castlenuovo is one of the best character actors in Italian cinema with career defining leaps in so many genres ranging from comedy, horror, romance, erotica, western, sci-fi and drama) From the fantastic 'whipping' scene to the organ-playing scene... Nino Castelnuovo steals every moment on screen... and considering Franco Nero is in this that is by no means an easy achievement!Just check this cinematic classic out...I have no doubt in saying that in a few more years, this will be seen as a true classic of the genre and will finally be given the respect and audience it so rightly deserves. Lucio Fulci's finest work! A MUST SEE!Much more than just sixties exploitation cinema. I don't use this word lightly... it's a masterpiece of sixties cinema.
