The summary: Ambushed in the desert, Sheriff Mackenna shoots an old Apache chief- but before he dies the Indian entrusts Mackenna with a map to the legendary Valley of Gold. After burning the map, Mackenna alone carries the secret. Under pressure from Colorado, a ruthless bandit, played charismatically by Omar Sharif, Mackenna joins a gang on a hazardous journey to the lost valley.
Some people criticise this star-studded western, claiming it doesn't live up to the heights of classic westerns such as High Noon, Shane and the Searchers, and in a way they are right because Mackenna's Gold has nothing in common with those aforementioned classics - it's an adventure western, an unusual one at that; matter of fact, the beauty of the film that it isn't a western in a strictest sense, but an exhilarating, briskly-paced fantasy about a bunch of characters on a quest for gold - it has more in common with Indiana Jones films than High Noon. If you enjoy oft-kilter westerns like the Valley of the Gwangi, then this is up your street.
Gregory Peck, who stars as Sheriff McKenna, heads a star-studded cast ranging from Edward G. Robinson, and Raymond Massey - but most of them don't last when it roughly passes an hour mark - and the number is soon whittled down to three - Peck, Sharif and Sparv- in the terrifying climax where they find the cañón de oro - the canyon of gold. The special effects is really good for 1969- there's plenty of the usual tropes of gunfights and marauding Apaches. The highlight is the crossing of a rickety-bridge and the raft river sequence. The desert locations, the scenic view of the canyon are breathtaking. The opening is quite unusual with a lively tune penned by Quincy Jones and memorable song about a turkey buzzard.
You would think that this film is aimed for the juvenile crowd- it isn't really. It can be violent, edgy, the fight between Sharif and Peck is quite tough, and characters like Julie Newmar playing Hesh-Ke and the imposing, granite-faced Hachita - played by Ted Cassidy - are quite menacing. Telly 'Mr Cool' Savalas eats up the scene as an army deserter. Camila Sparv is a hottie, so is Newmar.
Unfortunately, Mackenna's Gold wasn't a massive hit in USA, possibly because it didn't reek of revisionism like the one Clint Eastwood or other filmmakers were making, but it was a big hit in the Soviet Union -as it was known - and in India ( it ran in the cinema halls well into the 80's, was remade into a Hindi film called Zalzala). A really exciting film that had stoked my imagination as a child and still does!
Some people criticise this star-studded western, claiming it doesn't live up to the heights of classic westerns such as High Noon, Shane and the Searchers, and in a way they are right because Mackenna's Gold has nothing in common with those aforementioned classics - it's an adventure western, an unusual one at that; matter of fact, the beauty of the film that it isn't a western in a strictest sense, but an exhilarating, briskly-paced fantasy about a bunch of characters on a quest for gold - it has more in common with Indiana Jones films than High Noon. If you enjoy oft-kilter westerns like the Valley of the Gwangi, then this is up your street.
Gregory Peck, who stars as Sheriff McKenna, heads a star-studded cast ranging from Edward G. Robinson, and Raymond Massey - but most of them don't last when it roughly passes an hour mark - and the number is soon whittled down to three - Peck, Sharif and Sparv- in the terrifying climax where they find the cañón de oro - the canyon of gold. The special effects is really good for 1969- there's plenty of the usual tropes of gunfights and marauding Apaches. The highlight is the crossing of a rickety-bridge and the raft river sequence. The desert locations, the scenic view of the canyon are breathtaking. The opening is quite unusual with a lively tune penned by Quincy Jones and memorable song about a turkey buzzard.
You would think that this film is aimed for the juvenile crowd- it isn't really. It can be violent, edgy, the fight between Sharif and Peck is quite tough, and characters like Julie Newmar playing Hesh-Ke and the imposing, granite-faced Hachita - played by Ted Cassidy - are quite menacing. Telly 'Mr Cool' Savalas eats up the scene as an army deserter. Camila Sparv is a hottie, so is Newmar.
Unfortunately, Mackenna's Gold wasn't a massive hit in USA, possibly because it didn't reek of revisionism like the one Clint Eastwood or other filmmakers were making, but it was a big hit in the Soviet Union -as it was known - and in India ( it ran in the cinema halls well into the 80's, was remade into a Hindi film called Zalzala). A really exciting film that had stoked my imagination as a child and still does!