Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Massacre Time Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 14, 2021

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Vengeance Trails: Four Classic Westerns.

There may be a popular category of film described by the unwashed masses with the term "Spaghetti Westerns", but some of the supplements included in this new Arrow collection prefer the more geographically (and/or gastronomically) diverse "Euro Westerns" as a rubric. The four films aggregated in this collection probably could easily fit into the "Spaghetti Western" mold, since there are in fact Italians by the bucket load involved in the productions, and as is discussed in some of those aforementioned supplements, there's little doubt that the huge success of Sergio Leone's films helped to spark the international craze for such efforts, whatever you want to call them. The films offer production dates ranging from 1966 to 1970 and feature several iconic names associated with the genre, including Franco Nero, George Hilton and Klaus Kinski, and as the back cover of the slipbox mentions, all four have at least a subtext involving revenge to help catapult the dramatic momentum.

Franco Nero was just coming off the relatively recent sensation of Django when he made Massacre Time, but it's "another" Django that may be more relevant for contemporary audiences, especially younger types. As commentators C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke mention in their engaging analysis of the film, almost from the get go those with potent senses of déjà vu may sense a certain undeniable kinship between aspects of this film and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, albeit without the perhaps ascerbic deconstructionist tendencies and gonzo proclivities that Tarantino regularly brings to his projects. This is not to suggest that Massacre Time is devoid of any hyperbolic elements, as the film was evidently quite notorious in its day for its perceived violence (which may seem tame by today's standards).

I posited a completely rhetorical and slightly cheeky question in our recent Django 4K + Texas, Adios BD Blu-ray review, asking "When is a Django film not really a Django film?", and while the review offers at least a couple of answers, another potential one is this very outing, since even Joyner and Parke comment about how "Django-esque" Nero's character of Tom Corbett is in the film, both in terms of personality but also just in terms of things like apparel. In that regard, and vis a vis some of the information Joyner and Parke have discussed in other commentaries about the marketing of non-Django films as films in that franchise, our database's listing for this film's German Blu-ray release is found under the name Django - Sein Gesangbuch war der Colt.

Massacre Time has the added interest, though, of offering George Hilton as Jeff Corbett, Tom's ne'er-do-well brother, and part of the film's plotting is the sibling relationship between the two. Hilton rather interestingly was "another" quasi-Django, at least in terms of the aforementioned marketing strategies, wherein characters like Sartana are basically Djangos by another name, and Hilton starred in the almost quizzically named Halleluja for Django, which did not feature a "real" Django character. If part of the plot dynamics involve the relationship between brothers Tom and Jeff, there are other family relationships that ultimately enter the fray, and which involve the chief (presumed in one case) villains of the piece, wealthy landowner Mr. Scott (Giuseppe Addobbati) and his sociopathic (maybe psychopathic) son, Junior (Nino Castelnuovo, giving the film's most memorable performance).

Massacre Time Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Massacre Time is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet aggregates three of the four films together in their informational verbiage, as follows:

Massacre Time, Bandidos and My Name is Pecos are presented in their original aspect ratios of 2.35:1 with Italian and English mono audio. Scanning and restoration work was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna. The original 35mm camera negatives were scanned in 2K resolution. The mono Italian and English lanugage tracks were remastered from the optical sound negatives. The audio sunch will appear slightly loose against the picture, due to the fact that the dialogue was recorded entire in post-production, as per the production standards of the period. The films were graded at R3Store Studios, London.

This is an appealing looking transfer that manages to offer substantial detail levels despite a prevalence of technical issues like optical dissolves and production elements like windstorms that blow significant amounts of dust through the frame. Fulci offers quite a few wide vistas throughout the film and fine detail can be surprisingly good even on smaller elements in the frame like leaves, grasses or even animals. The palette may tilt just ever so slightly toward browns at times, but things still pop really well, and primaries like reds are often exceptionally vivid. Grain is heavy, even gritty at times, but resolves without any issues.

Massacre Time Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Massacre Time features three audio options, English LPCM 2.0 Mono, Italian LPCM Mono and the "alternate US dub" which is presented in LPCM Mono. As with some other films in this set, there are some noticeable amplitude differences between the tracks, with the "main" English audio track sounding louder and more full bodied than either the Italian track or the alternate English dub. There's a slightly "phase-y" quality to some of the sound effects, like the ravaging dogs in the opening sequence, that to my ears was slightly more prevalent in the Italian track. Dialogue and score are presented cleanly in all three tracks, though the alternate English dub definitely can sound a bit anemic and thin at times. Optional English subtitles are available.

Massacre Time Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by C. Courtney Joyner and Henry Parke


• Alternate US Dub (HD; 1:32:12) features optional English SDH subtitles.


• Two Men Alone (HD; 49:44) aggregates a 2020 interview with Franco Nero with an archival interview with George Hilton. In Italian with English subtitles.


• The Era of Violence (HD; 18:32) features film historian Fabio Melelli discussing the film and Lucio Fulci. In Italian with English subtitles.


• Italian Trailer (HD; 3:02)


• German Promotional Gallery (HD) features images courtesy of Christian Ostermeier.

Note: Both English and Italian versions of the film are offered, each with appropriate front and end titles.

Massacre Time Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's fun to see Franco Nero and George Hilton paired in this film, but from a performance perspective, Massacre Time is a 100% showcase for the alarmingly disturbing Nino Castelnuovo as Junior. Technical merits are solid, and the supplementary package very enjoyable. Recommended.