The main problem with this film is that it is set in South Africa during the apartheid era, but fails to comment in any way on apartheid. Was this because it was filmed in SA and had to be neutral as a result of government restrictions? Did they water down the novel? Well the screenplay was co-written by the author of the original novel, Wilbur Smith. Was anything political removed from the final cut? The only half comment on racism is when Roger Moore knocks out a white mining expert for attacking a black South African guy. Did they film that in pinewood? You do get the odd glimpse of apartheid: black and white segregation at a football match; poor black kids watching on from the sideline as privileged white kids enjoy an open air Christmas celebration. But we're talking about two shots here that last a couple of seconds. As for the film on it's own terms: the mining footage is exciting, there's chemistry between Moore and Susanah York, and Ray Milland puts in a sterling performance. The opening credits by Maurice Binder are good too. It's entertaining enough, but it's a little uncomfortable as well due to the racial thing. Oh, there's a black South African character who is a miner of the year or something and he dies nobly to save other miners, but in a slightly mishandled cliched way. Not that he was a developed character or anything.
Review of Gold
