SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
Taraparain
Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
Kayden
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
BA_Harrison
For decades, cinema depicted the Native American as a bloodthirsty savage, enemy of the heroic cowboy; then, in the 1970s, Hollywood developed a conscience, and tried to right wrongs with revisionist westerns in which Indians were seen as noble warriors defending their land from the scourge of the white man. Naturally, Italian exploitation cinema quickly followed suit...Apache Woman stars Al Cliver as Tommy, who is part of a cavalry detail under orders to drive wandering natives back to their reservation. As his fellow soldiers ride into an Apache village, Tommy is unseated and knocked unconscious; when he comes to, he discovers that a massacre has taken place, the only surviving Indian being a beautiful squaw (Clara Hopf). In the following days, Tommy and the woman rely on each other to survive in a land inhabited by ruthless outlaws and misguided folk who believe that the only good injun is a dead injun. Eventually, the couple fall in love, but can a white man truly find happiness with a redskin?Drawing inspiration from Soldier Blue (1970), writer/director Giorgio Mariuzzo makes his movie sympathetic to the plight of the indigenous people of America, but being an Italian film-maker, doesn't forget to include enough exploitative content to ensure an audience eager for basic thrills. The result is a gritty adventure that delivers drama, excitement, violence and nudity (Hopf baring all for her art), and yet is surprisingly emotionally engaging, making the downbeat ending quite the shocker.
ma-cortes
This Ravioli Western contains noisy action , shootouts , ravage , fighting , a love story , lots of blood and guts and a big deal of gratuitous violence . It deals with Tommy (Al Cliver), an innocent cavalry soldier and an Indian survive an attack , both of whom will have to pay a dear price for love and will find a lots of dangers . The Indians then seek revenge on the Blue soldiers accused of the attack , killing eye for an eye . In the meantime , Tommy falls in love for the beautiful Apache woman (Yara Kewa who spends 90 percent of the film partially naked) after rescuing her from an ominous gun smuggler and general supplies deliverer named Honest Jeremy (Corrado Olmi) ; but , a bit later on , gruesome violence ensues . As when Keith (Federico Boido or Rick Boyd) and his contemptible gang find Tommy , they kidnap The Apache Woman and rape her , but she puts up a brave fight against superior numbers . After that , another prospector captures and ties her ; then , she is subsequently freed . Along the way , many chases and fights ensue and the events gets worse . As the duo protagonists are drawn to a community of white people who are all racists , bigots , sleazebags, murderers and cutthroats .This is an exciting story with tragic results about two survivors of a cavalry attack that make their way back to an army outpost ; packing some good action , nasty characters , exploitation , rampage , nudism , but lots of dull spots . Gratuitously violent late Spaghetti-era Old Western hits hard on racial themes . This ¨Apache woman¨ has an anti-military message and dealing with hardship on racial themes by that time , as well as excessive brutality . As the main cast , Al Cliver and Clara Hopf or Yara Kewa are attacked and will have to face off deal of risks and taking on a cutthroat weapons smuggler , prospectors , revengeful Indians and a heinous family headed by a villainous preacher until a final massacre . The confrontation amongst the cavalry and the hapless Indians is thrilling and extremely violent . As the movie's central theme is the racism that ¨Apache woman¨ is subjected by a band of despicable people . ¨Una Donna Chiamata Apache" or "Apache Woman" results to be a rip-off on ¨Blue Soldier¨ by Ralph Nelson with Peter Strauss and Candice Bergen , this film was based on real deeds regarding ¨Sand Creek massacre¨ and with remembrance about Vietnam killings . Other films about this peculiar sub-genre about relationship between Indian-white man harassed by several enemies are the followings : ¨Scalps¨ (1987) by Bruno Mattei with Mapi Galán , Vassili Karis , Charlie Bravo , ¨Apache Kid¨ (1987) by Claudio Fragasso with Sebastian Harrison , Albert Farley , Lola Forner and ¨Cry for Me, Billy¨ (1972) by William A Graham with Cliff Potts , Maria Potts and Harry Dean Stanton . The highlights of the movie are , of course , the violent attacks , they result to be strong butcheries , real slaughters , including rape and gory scenes . The climax is really bleak and pessimistic . The tragic love between soldier and his Indian squaw is portrayed with little believability and delicacy . This so-so motion picture is classified ¨R¨ for the cruel murders and isn't apt for little boys , neither squeamish . It displays acceptable action sequences in low budget with rousing attacks , poor scenarios and spectacular struggles . Emotive musical score in Country style , including guitar sounds and catching song played by Judy Hill . This knock-off picture was regularly directed by Giorgio Mariuzzo , though he develops an extreme exploitation violence . Mariuzzo is an usual writer in several movies as "Fulci's The House by the Cemetery" , ¨The Beyond¨, "Contraband" , ¨Decameroticus¨ and directing three films only : ¨Orazi e Curiazi¨ , "Beautiful Like Us" and this ¨Apache woman¨ . This is 'a must see' for action-starved Indian Western buffs with strong graphic violence who will enjoy the action and hard themes , though being very mediocre .
unbrokenmetal
"Apache Woman" is a low budget Italian rip-off based quite obviously on Ralph Nelson's "Soldier Blue", but it is not a bad movie. Al Cliver has hardly been in many better ones, and he stars as the soldier who is lost in the wilderness and tries to get back to his comrades. However, he falls in love with an Indian woman (Yara Kewa), the only survivor of a massacre, and that is a really complicated relationship! They don't trust each other, they don't understand a word of the other's language, but they can only survive together. Even though "Apache Woman" can't resist some nudity and brutality (director McRoots alias Mariuzzo is known for working with zombie expert Lucio Fulci), it has a lot of subtle moments, too, especially when the soldier and the woman have to communicate with nods and smiles. It fortunately takes the necessary time for a few peaceful moments and thus develops the characters a bit. So, more than you'd expect from the advertising and one of the better films from the end of the spaghetti western era, because it successfully imported elements of the depressive American post-western, when the Django avenger pose had become obsolete. (Note: I have watched the Italian language print, running 85 minutes. It seemed to have a few censorship cuts for violence.)
alphaboy
Fine late Italian western, starring a sympathetic, almost romantic Al Cliver in a world full of racism, opportunism and greed. The story goes thus: Al Cliver is the member of a cavalry unit that takes out some Indians which have left the reservation - mostly women and children, and the old folks; the handful of Indian warriors are out hunting. Cliver's character happens to be knocked out and thus doesn't take part in the massacre. When he comes to, he meets the only survivor, Apache Woman. He soon loses her, however, to a couple of ruthless tricksters and bandits, who take her away to sell her into slavery - and have their fun with her. Cliver comes back for her, though, and the two start getting to know each other despite the language barrier. But the Apache warriors are still around, taking revenge for the extermination of their tribe...The film wants to make a point about how difficult such a love racial barrier in fact proves to be, each time the couple comes across other people, be they Indian or white. Also, it looks at the military and its purpose in a contemptuous manner, obviously attacking the insanity of racism and war. There is some pretty explicit female nudity (bare breasts and bottom as well as the pubic area), but it is rare and never at the center of attention - though it has a bit of an exploitative feel to it especially in the (attempted) rape scene. Rather, the movie is focusing on the love of the two protagonists, how they learn to trust and understand each other.There is little shooting, and the violence (apart from an ax murder) is never excessively gory. Instead, there is a distinctive guitar soundtrack and a beautiful title song, as well as some fine cinematography (of not so specular landscapes). What is maybe noteworthy: The western has a 'green' look, not the yellow of the desert of the southern border near Mexico; we see a lot of woods, and even the street of the ghost-town at the end of the movie - the only 'set' - is overgrown with grass.What is perhaps most remarkable: Despite the warmth of the love story at its center, the film has an austere and simple feel to it, conveying a certain sense of truthfulness, which manages to steer clear of becoming exploitative.