Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Gold Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 10, 2014

Peter R. Hunt's "Gold" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Odeon Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and a documentary film focusing on the life and career of Roger Moore. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"Gentlemen, this is the plan..."

A serious accident in one of South Africa’s biggest gold mines opens the door for Rod Slater (Roger Moore, Live and Let Die, The Wild Geese) to become its General Manager. What Slater does not know is that he has also been chosen by a group of powerful financial investors to be the key player in a massive plan to destroy the mine and triple the price of gold on the international markets.

While being interviewed for the new position by the owner of the mine, Hurry Hirschfeld (Ray Milland, Dial M for Murder 3D, The Uninvited), Slater stars an affair with his married granddaughter, Terry Steyner (Susannah York, Sands of the Kalahari, Superman: The Movie), whose husband (Bradford Dillman, The Enforcer) is secretly assisting the greedy investors. Terry makes sure that Slater gets the job and the two decide to spend a weekend in a secluded mansion deep inside South Africa’s countryside. While they make love and drink champagne, an ‘accident’ occurs inside the mine and thousands of workers are trapped underground.

Slater hears of the 'accident' when a local radio station begins broadcasting from the mine. By the time he and Terry reach the mine, a number of workers die. Barely able to contain his anger, he vows to stop the water that has already flooded multiple areas of the mine from collapsing it and enters it together with a brave veteran miner named Big King (Simon Sabela).

Directed by Peter R. Hunt in 1974 – the same year Guy Hamilton’s The Man With the Golden Gun was released - Gold is the perfect film to see on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It is filled with overused clichés, but it is a light and frequently quite beautiful film that is very easy to enjoy.

Gold has two contrasting identities. On one hand, it works rather well as an exotic adventure film in which an honest man has to overcome a series of obstacles to save the lives of thousands of poor miners that have been trapped underground. The honest man also happens to be a very attractive man so, naturally, in addition to the action there is also a good dose of soapy romance that gives the film a bit of a James Bond-esuqe old-fashioned glamour. (The part of the film where Moore has dinner with York, seduces her and then takes her to his apartment easily could have been used in one of the classic James Bond films). On the other hand, there are also some serious political overtones in the film. And this should not be surprising considering the fact that Gold was filmed primarily on location in South Africa at a time when the apartheid regime governed every aspect of life in the country.

A few of the character transformations during the second half are weak, but at this point it is clear where the film is heading and why. Also, once Moore enters the mine, the only question that remains is how he will get out, not whether he will survive.

The footage from the flooded mine looks great. There are no big special effects, and a few of the key sequences definitely leave a lasting impression. The panoramic shots from the romantic trip also look terrific.

The film’s lush orchestral score was created by Oscar winning composer Elmer Bernstein (John Sturges’ The Magnificent Seven, Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters). Jimmy Helms sung the title song.

Gold Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Peter R. Hunt's Gold arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Odeon Entertainment.

The film has been digitally restored by Pinewood, but the high-definition transfer is rather inconsistent. Generally speaking, detail ranges from decent to good while clarity is mostly pleasing. When there is an abundance of natural light, image depth is also quite pleasing. The darker footage from inside the mine, however, often looks flat; shadow definition, in particular, is quite problematic (see screencapture #6). Also, color saturation isn't as convincing as it should be. Furthermore, I spotted some minor vertical stretching which is most obvious during select close-ups (see screencaptures #5 and 17). Some digital noise corrections have also been applied. Lastly, overall image stability is very good, and large debris, scratches, cuts, damage marks, and stains have been carefully removed. All in all, this is an acceptable presentation of Gold, but it is quite obvious that there is plenty of room for substantial improvements. My score is 2.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Gold Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: LPCM 2.0. For the record, Odeon Entertainment have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track is strong. The music is lush and well balanced with the dialog. Dynamic intensity is also very good, though you should not expect any of the action sequences from the mine to test the muscles of your audio system. The dialog is stable and sharp. Some extremely light background hiss is occasionally felt, but it never becomes distracting. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.

Gold Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this release are perfectly playable on North American Blu-ray players, including the PS3.

• Trailer - original trailer for Gold. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• A Matter of Class - an excellent documentary focusing on the life and illustrious career of Roger Moore. The documentary contains various extracts from archival interviews with the British actor, Michael Caine, publicist Jerry Pam, producer David Niven, Carroll Baker, and author Jackie Collins, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (49 min, 480/60i).

Gold Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There is no groundbreaking material in director Peter R. Hunt's Gold, but I enjoyed it quite a lot. It has quite a bit of that old-fashioned lightness and glamor that make many of the classic James Bond films so attractive. The soundtrack is also terrific. The film can look better on Blu-ray, but if you find it on sale you might want to consider adding it to your collections.