3 Star

What’s the Price of a Fortune?

Based on the book “Who Killed Sir Harry Oakes?” by (Marshal Houts) and turned into a screenplay by Paul Mayersberg who also worked with Director Nicholas Roeg on the iconic film (The Man Who Fell to Earth). This is number 132 in Eureka’s the Masters of Cinema Dual-Format releases, that comes restored and with new special features and a new booklet. (See Below).

Director Nicholas Roeg brings us an odd film about a man’s obsession for finding gold and what it does to him and those around him and those far away, laced with leanings to the occult laced throughout the story. With a stellar cast including Gene Hackman, Mickey Rourke, Rutger Hauer, Theresa Russell, Joe Pesci.

1920’s Alaska and the gold rush is on and in the bleak winters it is a dangerous lifestyle. The film starts with two men fighting and a woman trying to pull them apart. One of these men is Jack McCann (Gene Hackman, Mississippi Burning) a man determined to do everything his way and on his own.

Trudging through the knee deep snow Jack head along through night and day with his backpack on and a pickaxe in his hand. The boom is over and the bust is on the way as and as Jack enters the frontier town of Bagdad he can see the situation is bleak as shops are closed and boarded up and people are packing their contents into vehicles to clear out, he also sees a guy lying on the snow covered porch with no shoes or socks on. Just sat there smiling to himself and disturbing Jack who asks him why he is smiling, but the guy just says it’s over and pulls out a pistol and sticks it in his mouth.

As the mans’ brain adorn the wall behind his dead body Jack reels and heads out of the town into the frozen night whist shout “It ain’t over, till it’s over”.

As Jack struggles through the cold night a woman somewhere warm holds up a glass globe with a figurine stood inside it and looks remarkably like Jack.

Exhausted Jack collapses by a strange gnarled tree, he is almost dead with wolves trying to see if his body will sustain them. Frieda (Helena Kallianiotes, The Drowning Pool) holds the globe saying that ‘Jack is coming’ and all of a sudden the wolves are gone and a fire starts, saving Jack.

A light in the distance means salvation for the weary man. Once inside the boredello, which is run by Frieda she prises open Jacks fingers to find a strange stone clasped in his frozen fingers.

Jack has a defrosting session and dries out his clothes, Jack exclaims that “gold smells stronger than a woman”. and once he is fit he heads off into the wilderness to follow his nose to find his elusive gold. This leads him to a hidden cave which he falls into. It is the mother-load and his life is changed forever.

Twenty years later Jack is the richest man on the planet with his own Caribbean island and his own villa Eureka. He is married to his heavy drinking wife Helen (Jane Lapotaire, Shooting Fish) and has an irrepressible daughter Tracy (Theresa Russell, Black Widow) and her husband that she wed in secret
Claude Maillot Van Horn (Rutger Hauer, RPG (Real Playing Game)).

Jacks problem these days is who is after his fortune, and the lead contender in his eyes is Claude followed by his business partner Charles Perkins (Ed Lauter, Leaving Las Vegas).

A great performance by Gene Hackman and Theresa Russell who plays the wife torn between her husband and her family. With great supporting roles by Mickey Rourke (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) and Joe Pesci (Home Alone) who are after Jacks island for a mob casino.

“There’s gold, and it’s haunting and haunting. It’s luring me on as of old. And it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting, so much as just finding the gold. It’s a great big broad land way up yonder, it’s the forest where silence has lease. It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder. It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.”

Special Features:

New, restored high-definition presentation

·         Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

·         Audio recording of Q&A with Nicolas Roeg at the world premiere

·         Exclusive new interviews with producer Jeremy Thomas, writer Paul Mayersberg and editor Tony Lawson  

·         Isolated music & effects track  

·         Theatrical trailer  

·         PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by Daniel Bird, a reprinted interview with Roeg, an excerpt from Roeg’s autobiography and Robert W. Service’s poem The Spell of the Yukon

Available to Order Online Now.