Ironmaster

Ironmaster

Genre:  Action, Adventure  

Original title: La Guerra del Ferro

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Year: 1983

A tale that takes place at the dawn of history. The movie tells the story of a tribe that discovers how to fashion weapons out of iron and use them for their own survival. However, the creation of iron also causes the tribe to battle for possession of the new weapons.

With Conan The Barbarian being such a smash in 1982 it was no surprise that the Italians would want a piece of the action & make their own action adventure picture, of course on a much smaller budget. Ironmaster is a noble attempt at the genre but unfortunately, a very forgettable one. 

Director Umberto Lenzi (who must of had a go at every popular genre back in the day) doesn't really bring much to the table here, I often find his work very hit or miss & unfortunately this is one of the misses. The special effects are decent enough for this kind of picture. Sure monkey men in suits and lightning effects that appear to of been drawn on don't do the film any favours but for the most part the majority of ideas pass as at least serviceable. 

Sam Pasco stars as our macho hero here in his only acting credit. Well I say only acting credit, he also had a career as a bodybuilder & a a gay porn-star under the name of Big Max! Physically he is an impressive specimen but charisma-wise, leaves a lot to be desired & is unfortunately a million miles away from being Arnold Schwarzenegger, epecially with his emotionless acting and horrible delivery of dialogue. 

Sam Pasco, AKA "Big Max".

However, fear not! The big selling point for this film (you could argue it's the only selling point) is we have George Eastman playing the evil character of Vood who will kill everybody in his way to rule the land! 

Eastman is an actor that always gives his all in every film he appears in however bad a picture it is or however ridiculous his character may be you can always be sure to get Eastman bringing his A-game. As always he delivers the character of Vood with so much charisma that he really helps bring this otherwise dull film to life each time he appears on screen. His performance sees him kill off the leader of his tribe, escape from the angry tribe, witness a volcano erupt & accidentally create an iron weapon, thus essentially becoming the father of the Iron Age! Not done there we have Eastman vs boars, lions & men in ape costumes. All this backed up with classic dialogue such as "When warriors stop showing their power, it is the beginning of the end'. It is a classic Eastman performance even if the film is pretty much trash. 

If you dig George Eastman i'd say it's well worth a watch for him alone, if not, stay well clear as there is barely anything else to warrant its existence. 

Rating: ★★

George Eastman, creator of the Iron Age.

Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968)

Original Title: Preparati la bara!

AKA: Viva Django

Genre: Spaghetti Western
Director: Ferdinando Baldi

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062151/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

A mysterious gunfighter named Django is employed by a local crooked political boss as a hangman to execute innocent locals framed by the boss, who wants their land. What the boss doesn't know is that Django isn't hanging the men at all, just making it look like he is, and using the men he saves from the gallows to build up his own "gang" in order to take revenge on the boss, who, with Django's former best friend, caused the death of his wife years before. 

Terrance Hill is Django, or should I say, Terrance Hill is Franco Nero! The resemblance is uncanny and character wise Hill gets the Django near enough spot on making Viva Django (AKA Django Prepare A Coffin) a worthy unofficial sequel to the original classic. The plot is simple enough, the pacing tight & there are some really memorable scenes. Also the mighty George Eastman is here as the Villain named Lucas, Eastman always manages to elevate any film he's in even if it's a stinker. Don't expect the kind of comedy you'll find in your usual Terrance Hill western, this is a faithful take on the Django character that uses all the traits & trademarks of the original. 

Rating: ★★★½

And the winner of the Franco Nero impersonator is... Terrance Hill!