Formerly blacklisted screenwriter Carl Foreman and composer Dimitri Tiomkin joined up to coproduce the film, and one can only imagine how Anthony Mann or Howard Hawks might've handled Foreman's sensible script. Thompson goes for scenic splendor, heavy action, and heavier emotions, casting everything at a fever pitch that's wildly enjoyable without betraying his "serious" intentions. A stable of Hollywood veterans (Eli Wallach, Raymond Massey, Edward G. Robinson, and others) appear in lively supporting roles--they're all dispatched in a garish Apache ambush--and Camilla Sparv is an ingenue with plenty of fighting attitude. Gold fever reaches its peak, along with some awesome special effects, and divine intervention reaches new heights of intensity. Top it off with Jose Feliciano's theme song, and you'll be in zany Western heaven. --Jeff Shannon

The only Westerns we were allowed to see
were produced by East German studio DEFA with only one star - the
Yugoslav hunk Goiko Mititch. And mostly only one plot - the greedy
prospectors come to take the Indian land and the feathered patriots
put on the warpaint, flex their muscles - they all were very athletic,
unlike the whites who were depicted as the degenerates in every sense
- and gallop to sweep the terrain clean of that capitalist scum.

But
we were grateful even for that substitute, tired of seeing the other
Red Against White flicks - the films about the Russian Civil War
heroes killing the White Guards by hundreds for the sake of Mother
Russia's communist future.

And then "Zoloto Makkeni" was
imported. Why? The message was clear - "Look at these gold-crazed
American bastards! Preachers, journalists, merchants,
bandidos,soldiers, adventurers - all of them are ready to sell their
Momma's for a speck of golden dust! And this time they testify
themselves, not our East German friends." -

But who cared about
all that? The authentic American Western! With the real Indians
instead of East German Olympic Team painted in gouache! The film's
mildly idiotic background commentaries did not make us flinch - they
fit into the didactic tradition we were used to.

And the opening
song! It was translated in Russian and sung in the film by the
Russia's much-adored sweet-voiced drunk Valeri Obodzinskij. In the
restaurants, at a campfires, in a streets the young males were singing
- Vnov, vnov zoloto manit nas! - The gold lures us again and again! -

I was 8-9 year old at that time. Seen the film weekly. The boys in
the playground asked in a whisper: - Do they show something there?
You know...- And I told them: - Oh yeah! The Indian girl...--
They really do! Wow!- Well, speaking about childhood traumas...Once I
took my mother along and seeing the bathing scene she suspected what
was coming and obscured my view with her hand....But seriously, the
remastering crew did a superb job. The sights, the sounds - perfect!
These were the times they were still happy to shoot in mostly natural-
maybe slightly enhanced - colors, without these annoying tints and
shades of today, when they seem to dip the freshly shot rolls of films
in a can of blue paint.

I do not know how I would see the film today
without that cinematic abstinence/communist background. Who can tell?

But I am so fond of it that even being between the jobs - a period
where every dollar counts - I HAD to buy the disc. And I do not
regret..




No Widescreen?   February 6, 2006
Roy Kristiansen (Seattle, WA United States)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

In the past I've seen this movie only in 1.33:1 pan and scan. From its opening titles, I knew it was a Super Panavision film, which means to me it was released in 70mm widescreen. The case clearly states that Side A is 2.35:1 and that Side B is 1.33:1 pan and scan, and I bought it hoping finally to see it in all its glory. I've always had a "thing" for the Arizona and southern Utah canyon lands.

Except for the opening credits and end titles, there is no widescreen version on this disc. In fact, contrary to the advertising it's a one-sided disc. I consider this product misrepresentation and a big disappointment. With virtually the entire film presented in close-ups, every flawed and cheesy process shot appears as if under a microscope. You can see every bad matte painting, every poorly blended green screen (or did they use a blue screen?), every transition from full-sized live to miniature. Worst of all, most of the great southwestern scenery is somewhere offscreen beyond the edges of my television.

I'd still really like to see this film in widescreen. Any hope?


A GOLDEN DVD FOR A NOT SO BAD FLICK   July 12, 2000
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Much more exciting than what the bad reviews predicted. The plot is far from being confusing although some of the main stars (Eli Wallach, Edward G.Robinson...) perish too hastily but there is action, beautiful landscapes and an enjoyable performance by Omar Sharif as the bad guy. Filmed in SuperPanavision, the widescreen transfer is simply stunning. Sharp and colourful with a new and effective 5.1 dolby digital remix. Good score by Quincy Jones although Jose Feliciano's theme song is tiresome. As a bonus, you will find a trailor of Lawrence of Arabia which promises to be another great DVD from Columbia.


The only movie ever produced about the Lost Adams Diggings   October 1, 2003
Jack Purcell (Placitas, NM USA)
15 out of 18 found this review helpful

And it's a good one. The movie doesn't stick strictly by any version of the legend. It varies from the McKenna account as much as it strays from all the others. Still, Edward G. Robinson plays a great Adams. For me the most memorable scene has most of the characters sitting around a camp fire. One of them recognizes Adams as 'The Adams', and they all persuade him to tell the story of how he came to find the gold, how the massacre happened, and how it was lost. A great scene, even if it weren't about the Lost Adams Diggings legend. Adams sat around a lot of camp fires in the 1870s and told that story, probably about the way Edward G. Robinson tells it in the movie.
The final episode is pure fabrication, but spectacular enough to make up for it. This one's a winner and you don't need to care or know about the Adams legend of lost gold to appreciate it.

The McKenna version of the legend actually centers on Jacob Snively, the German or Duchman in Adams' tale. Snively fought at San Jacinto, served as Paymaster General for the Republic of Texas, raided commerce on the Santa Fe Trail as a 'land privateer' for the Republic and drifted west in 1849. The German found his talent by striking gold and starting several gold rushes in Arizona and New Mexico. (Snively was killed by Apaches in 1871) J. Frank Dobie's book combines several conflicting accounts given by Adams. John Brewer's story, (another survivor) varies considerably from the other accounts.


Action-packed adult western with all-star cast   January 19, 1999
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

This western has it all- a burned out marshall with a map in his head that could lead to a lost valley of gold, mexican bandits, Indian spirits, murderous renegades, Apaches with tomahawks, thundering gun battles, Telly Savalas as a treacherous cavalry sergeant, desperate chases, wild river rafting, blinding special effects, earthquakes and Julie Newmar in a nude swimming scene! Favorite scene: Edward G. Robinson tells a group of engrossed adventurers the story of the Lost Adams gold mine and how his eyes were burned out by Apaches for desecrating their secret burial grounds.