6 great films and one series about gold and gold diggers

1. Gold

Gold

• Germany, Canada, 2013.
• Drama, adventure, western.
• Duration: 101 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.2.

At the height of the gold rush, a group of German settlers travel from Ashcroft to Dawson in the hope of profiting from the newly discovered gold mines there. Moreover, each of the heroes, in addition to the thirst for enrichment, has other reasons for this campaign.

Festival director Thomas Arslan made a very measured and meditative movie. It will be a little boring for the mass audience to watch it. But if you like modern unusual westerns, you definitely need to get acquainted with this tape.

2. gold dust

The Claim

• UK, France, Canada, 2000.
• Drama, melodrama, western.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.4.

California, 1849 A poor Irish immigrant, Daniel Dillon, travels with his wife Elena and daughter Hope through the snow-covered gold fields. And one day he gets so drunk that he sells them to the first comer in exchange for a plot of gold.

Many years after these events, the rich hero becomes the mayor of the city. He prefers not to remember at what cost he got a luxurious life. But at some point, his old family returns to the town.

Based on an 1886 novel by the English writer and poet Thomas Hardy, the film stars Milla Jovovich and Perfume star Wes Bentley in the lead roles.

3. Gold

Gold

• USA, 2016.
• Drama, crime.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.7.

Hereditary gold digger and unfortunate entrepreneur Kenny Wells is desperately looking for a way to get rich. Together with geologist Michael Acosta, he goes to Indonesia with the last money to look for a gold deposit. On the way to the dream, the hero will have to face malaria, corruption, lies and betrayal.

The Stephen Gagan film is based on the true story of Canadian entrepreneur David Walsh, who allegedly found gold in Indonesia in the early 1990s. True, the phenomenal success of his Bre-X company was based on deceit.

But the filmmakers wanted to avoid associations with real events: they changed the names of the characters and even moved the action of the picture from Canada to the United States.

In fact, watching "Gold" is not for the plot, but for the game Matthew McConaughey. The actor perfectly knows how to transform on the screen, but you definitely haven’t seen him like this before: in this film, he – not really – got a belly and a bald head.

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4. Brothers Sisters

The Sisters Brothers

• France, Spain, Romania, Belgium, USA, 2018.
• Drama, crime, western.
• Duration: 122 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.9.

1851. Brothers-thugs named Sisters travel through the state of Oregon. They must find and kill a mysterious young scientist who has invented a special way to launder gold. To do this, the Sisters team up with private detective John Morris. As a result, all four decide to be together and, thanks to the invention, get themselves so much wealth that they will last until old age.

The emotional western, filmed by French director Jacques Audiard, instantly became a favorite of critics and audiences. The quartet of talented actors - John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Riz Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal - perform superbly, and at the end of the film you can hardly help crying.

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5. Klondike

Klondike

• Canada, USA, 2014.
• Drama, adventure, western, biography.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7.4.

New York, late 1890s. Friends Bill Haskell and Byron Epstein travel to the harsh northern regions in search of gold. Only this journey turns out to be much longer and more dangerous than they could have imagined.

The Discovery Channel has invested heavily in its first live-action series. Set to produce the show Ridley Scott, and the main role was taken by Richard Madden from the "Game of Thrones".

"Klondike" is based on the true story of the 1896 gold rush and contains many interesting real facts. But he is also strong in terms of dramaturgy: in three one and a half hour episodes, the scriptwriters perfectly revealed the topic of human greed.

6. Golden fever

The Gold Rush

• USA, 1925.
• Drama, Comedy, Adventure, Western.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.2.

The tramp goes to the gold mines of Alaska to try his luck along with other prospectors. But on the way to wealth, he will have to overcome many difficulties.

Like all films Charlie Chaplin, "Gold Rush" is full of incredible adventures and comic situations. It’s even hard to believe that the picture will soon turn a hundred years old, because the humor in it is not at all outdated. Well, the famous dance of buns is still one of the most frequently cited scenes in world cinema.

7. Treasures of the Sierra Madre

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

• USA, Mexico, 1947.
• Drama, Adventure, Western, Action.
• Duration: 126 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.2.

Poor adventurers Curtin and Dobbs are trying to make a living in Mexico. In the vicinity of the Sierra Madre mountains, they meet the old man Howard, who knows the places where you can get a lot of gold. Having invested all their money in the business, the heroes, taking with them a few like-minded people, set off on a dangerous journey. But it turns out that the craft of gold prospecting also has a dark side.

The plot of the western John Huston ("The Maltese Falcon") is based on the book of the same name by Bruno Traven. Moreover, the writer himself contacted the director, offering him to rework his novel into a script.

Unfortunately, the film failed at the box office. The fact is that the audience is accustomed to a certain image of the lead actor Humphrey Bogart. After all, he always played goodies, and people were not at all eager to see their favorite in the role of a scoundrel. But now the picture is considered an absolute classic.

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Linda Zhuravleva