PodBill
Just what I expected
Allison Davies
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Scarlet
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
qsilver-2
Previous review asks why not more gold digging? First of all the author is Charlotte Gray and they followed her book she wrote which they kept to in script. Reminded me of "Deadwood". Scandinavians wanting to be North American's. Terrible revue, fantastic entertainment. Who really wants to see 6 hours of digging in the permafrost and mud? The acting was a little stiff when it came to the main character's Jewish pal. I believe that in Charlotte Gray's book a lot more emphasis on Jack London could and would have been beneficial. Alaska is drop-dead beautiful and crazy to look at. I tried living there and almost went nuts, I mean everything is shipped in including the toilet paper and feminine napkins and petrol. The geological idea of where gold lies is spot on. L J
BEN RANSON
I typically love historical epics, and I'm fascinated about stories of the West and gold rushes etc. However, "Klondike" blew it in so many ways, I'm not sure I can enumerate them all.The camera work, scenery and set design was marvellous, and definitely needs acknowledging. The rest? Well it was great to see Robb Stark again, and he comes out unscathed. The remainder of the characters are cardboard cutouts and I felt no sympathy for them, good or bad. Tim Roth was embarrassing.The plot was simple enough, but was cut to shreds by jumping around here and there, which makes me think the editor should never work in Hollywood again.I could go on, but, you get the point, I'm sure. I don't normally write critical reviews, so the fact that I'm doing so means this was missing it all, really wide of the mark. Mediocre - 5/10.
dolphin888
What a fantastic story this could have been, and of course in fact actually was! But what a horrendously and stupendously horrid story this joke of a mini-series portrayed. A total discredit to what the men and women went through in the Yukon during that time. The maker of this film basically turned a real life drama in to some form of ridiculous soap opera. I put this catastrophic film right up there with the joke that James Cameron turned the Titanic in to. How can you go so wrong with a movie when the fantastic story is already written for you? Absolutely shameful for everyone involved. I very rarely review any movies, but the garbage of this film motivated me to speak out and hopefully steer people away. Or, if nothing else, then to at least provide some comfort to those who died during their time in the Klondike and who are now turning in their graves!
crawford-bd
I usually love gold rush stories. However, this one is not one I would recommend watching if you want to get an accurate picture about what the Yukon gold rush was like. Inaccuracies abound. Actually it became fun to find them. The Discovery Channel powers-that-be mention that they are proud of the historical accuracy and their valuable educational service. This show illustrates quite the opposite of the type of programming they say they are proud to produce.Having hiked up the Chilkoot Pass twice, it was interesting to see how they treated this part of the story. What was really laughable was the scene at Dyea where you can see the line of stampeders trudging up the "golden stairs". Impossible. You can't see the hill or the pass from Dyea; it's a three day hike to get to the pass. Seeing the ski hill in the background was a bit silly as well. The wolf scene was ridiculous. It seems that no show about the Canadian wilderness is complete without wolves (or bears) attacking the hero. Wolves do not behave like this.Contrary to what is implied by the production, Dawson City was not a lawless town with gunslinging bullies, shootings and avenging Natives. Chaotic yes, but not lawless. The police were strict but fair. They were also lenient in that they allowed prostitution and gambling. Handguns were never permitted, however. Neither were disorderly conduct, obscenity, or cheating. The police did not hang folks or chase down and kill Natives. In general, both the police and the Natives were unfairly and incorrectly portrayed. And, by the way, the Tlingit did not inhabit the Dawson area.The story was somewhat entertaining, and the acting wasn't half bad except for the mumbling in several places (I thought I was losing my hearing). Too bad and sad, however, that the majority of Canadian actors in this shot-in-Canada production about an event in Canadian history were only background actors.Discovery Channel, you are doing a complete disservice to the public you say you are proud to be educating. Let's hope that future similar productions you are involved in are indeed educational and not fallacious fluff. I guess this is a good example of the famous saying " don't let the truth get in the way of a good story". I realize that some literary license is necessary to enable the flow of the story and keep the audience interested, but this shouldn't be to the point of doing a disservice to important aspects of Canada's history (in particular how the police and Natives were portrayed) or to the point where the story panders to the warped misconceptions or expectations of the target audience (e.g. the wolf scene and the wild west gunslingers).
