New FBI recruit Kevin Walker (Matt Dillon) is tasked with finding communists within San Francisco’s Chinatown. When Kevin comes up empty-handed, he is forced to produce results, leading to his indictment of Chen Jung Song (Tzi Ma), an innocent Chinese worker. This results in tragedy, and the guilt-ridden Kevin feels compelled to look out for Song’s beautiful daughter, Marilyn (Joan Chen). Though Kevin and Marilyn fall for each other, his past deception still hangs over his head.

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Video Quality

Golden Gate debuts on Blu-Ray with a 1080p transfer in its original 1.85:1 which appears to stem from a passable older master from MGM. This is a title that could use a refresh, but what we are working with at least avoids major signs of damage and digital tinkering. There is a fairly consistent speckling of nicks and scratches which is unobtrusive and never distracts in a notable way. The transfer looks a bit soft and undefined when it comes to detail for the majority of the runtime with only close-up shots making an impression. The picture has not been scrubbed of its natural film grain, but there are some density fluctuations at play.

Colors are decently saturated with a notable vibrancy to them in the production design and some of the lighting choices. Black levels are acceptable in their depth, even if a few moments struggle with depth and delineation. Highlights could be a bit firmer, as a few key moments start to bloom in the blazing spotlight. Compression artifacts and other digital anomalies are not a common occurrence, but they pop up a few times. It is good that MGM finally put this one out in high definition, but a new scan and a bit of cleanup would have been welcome.

Audio Quality

MGM brings us this new Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that gets the job done, but could likewise be a bit more finessed. Dialogue holds up nicely, coming through clearly without being overwhelmed by the sultry score or worldly noises. There is only a light bit of distortion with a handful of lines. The environmental effects are not implemented in a showy manner, but they mostly stay defined within the channels. The sounds of certain bustling crowd moments and kinetic sequences add some heft to the mix. The score establishes the mood of this journey, and it is pretty strong when it comes to fidelity. There are a few signs of age-related weaknesses, but MGM has done okay with this one. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.

Special Features

There are no special features provided on the disc.

Final Thoughts

Golden Gate is a lightly engaging film noir which passes the time but never solidifies itself as something substantial. Matt Dillon does his best approximation of the genre stalwarts, but he never seems as much of a natural as those who he is channeling. Joan Chen is more so the reason to seek this one out, as she makes for a captivating screen presence even when we wish her character was more thoughtfully written. There are a couple of stylistic flourishes thrown in to shake up the mundanity which are appreciated, but overall this is an inconsequential, tragic film noir. MGM has brought this film to Blu-Ray with an okay A/V presentation but nothing in the way of special features. This one is recommended for the hardcore film noir fans or Matt Dillon enthusiasts.

Golden Gate can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or through various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: MGM has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.