There is an innate desire inside human beings to search out that which will bring them fortune and glory. You only need to take a look at American history to find countless examples of individuals setting off on expeditions that only lead to broken hearts and tragedy. The legend of the “gold rush” of yesteryear has permeated every subsequent generation in a way that has made nearly everyone have unrealistic dreams about striking it rich at one point or another. The new documentary Lust For Gold: A Race Against Time from Robert May takes a look at a specific group of people in Arizona who continue to count themselves among those treasure hunters who believe “there is gold in them hills.”
For those who are not up to date on their treasure stories, Arizona is home to the gorgeous Superstition Mountain range, a magical place that is the supposed resting spot of the infamous “Dutchman’s mine” treasure. Even those not interested in exploring the folly of man might enjoy hearing the fascinating conjecture behind a cache of thousands of gold bars amounting to billions of dollars which has driven prospectors mad for hundreds of years. It appears that nearly everyone has had their own opinion about where that gold might actually be, but generation after generation of attempts have amounted to a lot of nothing, at least from what we know. Before we get to the meat of the film, the narrative opens up with a short film entitled The Tomb that ultimately bookends the main feature. Much like the film itself, this piece plays much like something you would find on the Discovery Channel, but it does a nice job of introducing you to many of the key players in the main film before getting to know their backstory.
As much as Lust For Gold is about the pursuit of treasure, it is even more concerned about the people who dedicate their lives to this unlikely discovery. The biggest share of the film is dedicated to retired missile scientist Robert Kesselring, a man who has seemingly sacrificed everything in his life in pursuit of this treasure. Kesselring is a man of science who is convinced that he has finally found the Dutchman’s mine. After the government essentially disregards his findings, he takes matters into his own hands to embark on an expedition with a ragtag group into a protected area where prospecting is restricted. His companions include his estranged son, an entertainment and personal injury lawyer, a retired blackjack dealer, a veterinary assistant, and a dog. The real drama comes from the clashes in personality that arise when the desert temperatures start rising and “gold fever” starts to take root. These developments are cliche, but the line up with reality right on cue.
Lust For Gold: A Race Against Time is not the most enthralling documentary that has ever been made, but there are enough engaging elements to make it worth a watch. There are times when certain subjects appear to be being a bit overly dramatic for the camera, but those are supplemented with more low-stakes personal elements such as a recurring bit in which Robert keeps calling his estranged son by the wrong name – the father and son dynamic is tense and captivating. Robert May does a nice job of providing an objective view of all parties where you never feel like the film is making these people into a joke. There are funny moments that grow out of the inherent greed, but the film is very even-handed. Lust For Gold should not be embarked upon if you are looking for an exciting treasure hunting tale. In all honesty, despite some noteworthy developments about three-quarters of the way in, the story ends a bit anticlimactically. This film succeeds much more when viewed as a document of the exploratory drive that lives within mankind.
Video Quality
Lust For Gold: A Race Against Time comes to Blu-Ray in its original aspect ratio from a very strong high definition master. The film mostly consists of new footage with occasional shots of the classic Lust For Gold film interspersed along with various on-screen graphics. The documentary footage looks as technically excellent as it can look in high definition. The transfer appears to have plenty of room to breathe and there are no issues with compression artifacts, banding or other digital nuisances. The footage of the classic film seems to be the best version of it that would be possible, with most of it looking pretty strong. Interview segments look sleek and clear depending on the filming conditions with natural skin tones and detailed facial features. The colors featured in the film are natural and vibrant as they provide a nice visual pop on screen. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to a nice amount of detail in shadows. I do not see how this set could have been improved visually. It’s a beautiful transfer handled with care by Kino Lorber.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with both a stellar DTS-HD 5.1 & 2.0 Master Audio track that captures this story perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. The filmmakers do a really great job of capturing their subjects and making sure all this information comes through with supreme clarity. The music and the score from Bill Wandell establish the mood of the film, and those sounds are resolved well here as music often sleeks throughout the room. The chatter in the public locations they chose to film in provides a nice base texture to the proceedings. Ambient sounds are precisely placed in the rear channels. The audio track is not pushed to the limit with this content, but it nonetheless proves to be an excellent sounding presentation for this feature. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for those who desire them.
Special Features
- Bonus Interview: A 32-minute piece in which Arizona State Historian Marshall Trimble tells more stories about the Superstition Mountain including close calls he has had on the trails, lives that have been lost in pursuit of treasure, what it was like growing up in Arizona, getting into writing, the evolving folklore of the mountain and more.
- Trailers: A two-minute trailer for Lust For Gold: A Race Against Time is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Bonneville, Kids For Cash and The War Tapes.
Final Thoughts
Lust For Gold: A Race Against Time is not the most thrilling documentary of all time, but the subjects do prove to be fairly interesting when they are placed in small groups together. The most enriching part of this journey is taking in all of the facts that these people are eager to share. By the very end, you might just be thinking to yourself that you could do a better job than these people. Kino Lorber has provided a Blu-Ray that features a very solid A/V presentation and a couple of interesting special features. This one is better suited to the more ardent documentary fans who may be considering this one. Recommended
Lust For Gold: A Race Against Time is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Lorber 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
