Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Acapulco Gold Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 15, 2018

Burt Brinckerhoff's "Acapulco Gold" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Code Red. The supplemental features on the disc include a vintage featurette with archival interviews and trailers for other releases from the label's catalog. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

You got the wrong guy, amigos!

Acapulco Gold is the type of film that can put you in a good mood at the end of a long, incredibly exhausting and cold winter day. It is an action film, but it is light and often very funny, and it has some truly spectacular panoramic beach footage that frequently makes it look like an unconventionally long promo piece that was created for tourists that can't make up their mind.

A smiling nun approaches American insurance agent Ralph Hollio (Marjoe Gortner) at an airport in Mexico and asks him to keep an eye on her pinata while she visits the rest room. He agrees and moments later the nun drops dead in an odd shootout, and when the authorities take control of the situation he is sent to jail. A day later, the American council informs Ralph that he is about to spend forty years of his life behind bars for trying to smuggle a large load of dope out of the country.

While smoking a joint to calm his nerves Ralph bumps into Carl Solborg (Robert Lansing), a veteran sailor with a drinking problem who routinely spends time in jail for disorderly conduct. They like each other and Ralph figures that the two can stick together so that they can avoid trouble, but Carl is prematurely released from jail when local businessman Morgan Frye (John Harkins) decides to hire him to transport a large load of drugs to Hawaii. The old pro then requests that the businessman uses his connections to get his friend out of jail because he needs a reliable assistance to get the job done right.

The transportation of the drugs goes as planned until Carl’s boat reaches Hawaii and a crooked cop (Ed Nelson) tries to pull a fast one. Then Ralph decides to have a bit of fun with the businessman’s younger and very sexy mistress (Randi Oakes) and all hell breaks loose.

The official story is that the plot of Acapulco Gold emerged from the minds of at least four different people -- Stan Berkowitz, David Lees, Don Enright, and O’Brian Tomalin -- but the truth is that what takes place in the film was largely improvised on location. Okay, so the main conflicts were almost certainly described in some form, but the rest, which is the endless fun and exotic visuals that make the film attractive, is the creation of director Burt Brinckerhoff and the cast that he worked with. So Acapulco Gold was as much of a job that had to be done as it was one big and wonderful vacation at the end of which everyone got paid. (A few years after Acapulco Gold Stanley Donen went down to Brazil to shoot a very similar fun film but with a bigger cast, which included Michael Caine, Joseph Bologna, Michelle Johnson, Valerie Harper, and very young Demi Moore. It is called Blame It on Rio).

The bulk of the flashy action is in the second half, but the hilarious chaos where various players turn on each other is where the best material is. Some of it, like the party sequence from the jail, is entirely unrealistic, but this is the kind of film in which just about anything makes sense. In other words, anyone that approaches Acapulco Gold expecting straightforward period action of the type that the likes of Killer Force and Mr. Majestyk offer will surely be disappointed with its comedic flavor.

Brinckerhoff booked and worked with cinematographer Robert Steadman, who later went on to assist Andrew Davis on the high-octane action thriller Above the Law with Steven Seagal. Craig Safan (TV’s Cheers) was given only a week to create a score for the film after the producers fired the man that was hired before him to do the job.

Acapulco Gold Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Burt Brinckerhoff's Acapulco Gold arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Code Red.

The release is sourced from a nice organic master, though I am unsure what element was used to produce it. It might have been an interpositive because the density levels are not quite as striking as what you would typically get when working from the OCN, but this is largely irrelevant because the end result is very pleasing. Depth, for instance, ranges from good to very good, and on a larger screen fluidity is about as good as I would expect to see produced from a second generation element. The color grading is convincing, but both saturation and nuances can be expanded a bit. (This is most obvious during darker footage where shadow definition also isn't optimal). There are no traces of annoying digital adjustments. Image stability is good. A few tiny white flecks and even a couple of blemishes remain, but the overall the film looks very healthy. I like the technical presentation. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Acapulco Gold Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The audio is stable and clean. There is a very nice range of dynamics as well, and some of the action footage actually surprises with its intensity. Separation is also good, so you are not going to hear any muddled or distorted effects and random sounds and noises. The dialog is stable and easy to follow, but as usual optional English SDH subtitles would have been appreciated by those that need them.

Acapulco Gold Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Featurette - this vintage featurette focuses on the apparently quite inetersting production history of Acapulco Gold. Included in it are clips from archival interviews with director Burt Brinckerhoff, writer Don Enright, composer Craig Safan, and advertising agent Sandra Shaw. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 480/60i).

• Trailer Reel - a collection of trailers for other Code Red releases.

Acapulco Gold Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am going to recommend Acapulco Gold to everyone that enjoyed Stanley Donen's final film, Blame It on Rio. There is more action in it than attractive semi-naked bodies, but the light humor and spectacular exotic locations ensure a very similar experience to the one that Donen's film offers. Code Red's recent release of Acapulco Gold is sourced from a very nice organic remaster and is Region-Free. RECOMMENDED.