DbcultAccessing Vault...
6.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Burning Gold remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for 1930s B-movies where everything happens a little too fast, you might dig Burning Gold. It’s perfect for a rainy afternoon when you don't want to think too hard. If you're looking for deep character studies or nuanced dialogue, though, you’ll probably want to skip this one.
Jim Thornton is the kind of guy who looks better with a layer of grease on his face than a tuxedo on his back. When he hits that gusher, the transition to 'rich guy' feels like a bad suit being forced onto him. William Boyd does his best to make the guy sympathetic, but watching him squirm in luxury is just plain awkward. 🙄
The scenes at the local saloon have this weird, slightly cramped energy. You can tell the set wasn't built for dancing, but they go for it anyway. Judith Allen is doing heavy lifting here as the wife, though her character seems to flip moods faster than a light switch.
The whole thing reminds me a bit of the pacing issues I noticed when watching The High Hand. It’s like the writers were terrified of a silent moment. Every time the couple might actually talk through their problems, someone walks in with a ledger or a bucket of cash.
There is this one moment where Jim looks at his reflection in a shiny pipe, and it lasts just long enough to feel like he’s having an existential crisis. Or maybe he’s just checking his teeth. Who knows. That's the beauty of it, I guess.
It’s not as ambitious as Fièvre, but it’s not trying to be. Sometimes a movie just needs to be a story about a guy getting rich, messing up, and eventually finding his way back to the dirt. It’s uneven, the lighting is spotty, and the plot holes are wide enough to drive a drilling truck through. But it kept me awake. That counts for something, right?
