Gold (1974)

People are voting emotionally.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

When I saw this film was 2 hours long, I thought "well, obviously going to be plodding and in need of edits".An action film about a mine disaster due to corporate greed? No way you can make two hours of excitement out of that, without weighing down the story with too much political gibberish that no one understands.However, this film flowed very well, and I'm attention deficit, so that is quite amazing.There's a lot to this film. Mostly, it is cleverly directed. Even when there is no action, we get a sense of animation, or of wit, or suspense.Each actor probably thought it was "his" film. You could tell that most of them had a blast, especially the bad guys.Beckley had to believe it was his film. The bad guys are all deliciously evil, and Beckley gets to play the most deliciously evil of them. We know what he's going to be like, and he gives a great show.In that, the bad guys aren't what you would call the multi-dimensional types, but more the "James Bond" types, played to the hilt.Which brings up the next matter. Is Moore playing James Bond here? There are obvious similarities, the womanizing, the wit, the independence, the charisma, the good heart under a tough skin.But there are also differences. As "Slater", Moore isn't a Superman like Bond. He doesn't kill people. He only beats one guy up, not the usual three at a time that Bond would.There's a more realistic human in "Slater", not that Bond is unreal in character, but he is in his godlike abilities. Slater has the multiple dimensions of Bond, but also is more like a regular guy, although he is as wealthy as James Bond, with thousands of dollars meaning nothing to him.Then there's the girl. Susanah York is cleverly done. Either by acting talent or by make up, she achieves the "change" described in her character. When we first see her, she is plain and insignificant. However, as her father, played by Ray Milland, notices, she becomes a newer, prettier creature after meeting "Slater".That's important to the story. We now believe the whirlwind romance, as she has been married to a cold calculating Bradford Dillman, usually an "Everyman", and here his "Everyman" look is geared towards a sinister side.There is great drama, great theatrics, and great scenery to help us along the way. This is one of the quickest two hours you will ever see. Bravo.

Not a particularly good film. The story plods along at an incredibly slow rate and is very predictable. It is a hard slog to watch the whole thing through in one sitting. Each catastrophe that occurs is overworked and expanded far more than is necessary with an excessive amount of time wasted on each event.There are also numerous inconsistencies with the amount of people involved in each disaster, the size of the mine and how long each rescue takes.That being said, Ray Milland is absolutely superb as the gruff gold mine chairman, playing the grumpy character he mastered in his later years showing a lack of patience with all around him. The desperation he shows when shouting at the other members of the bowling team is priceless.Fans of Roger Moore will also appreciate his performance and there is a certain chemistry between Moore and Susannah York - particularly in the bath scene! A certain amount of ad-libbing I wonder!The question has to be how John Gielgud was persuaded to take part. A very small part which was hardly worthy of such a great actor.If you enjoy either Milland or Moore, and can put up with a huge number of bad bits, this film may be worth watching just the once.

I just bought this film on DVD. It came free in The Mail On Sunday.To be honest, I didn't really expect it to be a proper adventure, but I thought it would be good for a laugh. And although this film does have some great one - liners, it also builds up a lot of suspense towards the end. And Sir John Gielgud was really evil as ONE of the MANY villains.When a general manager of a South African mine dies as a result of a cave - in, Roger Moore is appointed the new manager. However, is there a specific reason for him being appointed as the new one? As he works, he uncovers a plot to flood the mine, so that the price of gold in the Stock Exchange will be raised, and the villains of the piece will be able to sell their stocks of gold and make a huge profit...The only problem I have with this movie is that it ends a bit abruptly. It would have been nice to see the prices fall in the stock exchange, and maybe a closing scene showing good old John blowing a casket! But never mind. This still is great viewing!

Wilbur Smith's bestselling novels haven't been viewed by film-maker's as a good source of screen material. In spite of the fact that Smith has spent forty years writing one acclaimed novel after another, only a handful of his books have been adapted for the big screen – and of those films, none have been hugely successful. Gold is based on one of the author's shortest novels, originally entitled Gold Mine, and features a very attractive cast including the then-Bond Roger Moore, the luscious Susannah York, archetypal villainous actors Bradford Dillman and Tony Beckley, and old stalwarts Ray Milland and John Gielgud. Much of the film was shot in South Africa, amidst a volatile environment of political controversy, while the more dangerous-looking underground action sequences were done on an impressive studio stage back in the UK. On the whole the film is highly watchable and polished, though it is never quite as absorbing or exciting as it was obviously meant to be.An accident at a South African gold mine results in the mine's general manager being trapped and crippled. The underground manager Rod Slater (Roger Moore) tries his best to save his superior, but his efforts fail and the general manager dies. Later, it transpires that the managing director of the mine, Manfred Steyner (Bradford Dillman), is actually a member of a secret syndicate that is deliberately trying to destroy the mine in order to increase the value of their own gold stocks. Steyner has had his workers drilling in a highly dangerous area close to a water dyke, insisting that they are close to a precious gold strike when in reality they are metres away from flooding and destroying their own mine. Steyner is the grandson-in-law of the mega-rich gold entrepreneur Hurry Hirschfield, and is married to Hurry's grand-daughter Terry (Susannah York). However, Terry is having an affair with Slater, so Steyner's plan is to fulfil his act of sabotage for his syndicate whilst simultaneously exacting revenge on his cheating wife by ruining her family business. Eventually the dyke is breached and the mine is on the verge of catastrophic flooding, with Slater the only man brave (and foolish) enough to go underground and trigger an explosion to seal off the flooded areas before it is too late.Gold begins and ends with two very powerful and convincing underground sequences that are extremely well put together. In between, the plot unfolds rather slowly and laboriously, seeming to take a long time to reach its conclusion, though certain scenes along the way are quite well handled. Moore plays the hero fairly well, even though it is a much grittier role than his Bond persona. York is even better as the deceitful wife, while Dillman and Beckley provide thoroughly ugly baddies. Elmer Bernstein's very-70s music score adds a sense of drama to the proceedings, in spite of its dated sound. Peter Hunt (formerly a Bond editor and director) directs the film competently without doing anything out of the ordinary with his material. At 124 minutes, Gold is a pretty exhausting movie – certainly worth one, maybe even two, viewings but beyond that it doesn't particularly endear itself to repeat screenings. Still, if you like big, old-fashioned adventure flicks or are a fan of the stars, this movie is worth catching.