Customer Reviews

Thousand Pieces of Gold [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A true story about Lalu, sold by her father to become a wife/slave in 19th Century America, during the time of the Gold Rush. Sold to a rich Chinese prospector in an Idaho mining town, she quickly learns the harsh realities of the `Old West'. A superbly-filmed tale, with the extremely capable Rosalind Chao as the strong Lalu, who learns that real friends don't come from obvious sources.

When this movie came out in 1991, I thought it should get the Oscar for best picture...but of course that would be unlikely for an independent film. Rosalind Chao is magnificent as a
woman who is literally sold to be a slave-wife who manages to escape this common fate because a white man falls in love with her and wins her in a gamble. For those who liked "The Joy Luck Club" or "Eat a Bowl of Tea", this is a good bet.

I thought this was a well made and thoughtful film on the true experience of a Chinese woman sold by her father to be a slave/wife in America. As Chinese Mary, Rosalind Chao was a wonder.

This is truly an over looked gem. I love romance movies, and I will be waiting for the DVD format of this one you can be sure of that... Polly and Charlie, we can visit thier grave stones, but they will live forever through this enchanting wildwest tale of true love that crosses interracial boundries...

A romantic adventure of chinese immigrants into Alaska who suffered a fate similar to others in North America. Only the poorest gold mining opportunities were allowed and were retaken if the Chinese succeeded where others failed. Discrimination and deprivation are shown in a pleasant, well acted story.

This is a great movie. The acting, directing, and cinematography are excellent. I wish it were available on CD.

This movie was so fascinating, I just was completely engrossed in it. And its based on a true story. See this it is great!

This isn't a well-known movie, but it's worth discovering. A young girl in Northern China is sold into what she and her father presume is marriage in Gold Rush-era America. In reality, she has been bought as a prostitue, but her values and strong will keep her from such a fate. Polly, as she becomes known, challenges the locals' views of Chinese and changes the lives of everyone who meets her. The story is based on fact, and stays pretty close to the truth, even employing some actual events and dialogue from the main character's life. As in real life, there is some humor within all of the drama. This makes an enjoyable, well-rounded movie. The location shots are beautiful, and the recreated towns and period clothes give a good, accurate feel for the history of that area. It's well-cast, and well-acted, and gives a marvelous look into events in a time and place about which few people really know very much.

The Tape played very well for the age of it and I was completely happy with it.

The movie itself gets 5 stars, the tape gets 4 stars. It played ok but started having tracking changes near the end. I kept having to adjust the tracking button to get it to play without static. I wish it would come out on DVD and be remastered.
This was a great old western-like romance based on a true story. The scenery was excellent and the acting by the leads were excellent. I especially enjoyed Chris Cooper in this movie, as this was only his third starring lead role.
A Chinese girl(LaLu-Rosalind Chao) is bought from her poor father and brought over to the US as a husband for a saloon manager(Hong King). He also wishes to use her as an exoctic prostitute to make money, but she refuses and threatens to kill herself. The saloons owner(Charlie-Chris Cooper) steps in and saves her, but she ends up having to work day and night(like a slave) in order to pay her way back to China. During this time Charlie is growing more and more attracted to her and finally wins her from Hong King in a poker game,(this was my favorite scene). Still refusing to be a whore, she lives with Charlie platonically, until the government declares the Chinese move out of the land. After all the hardships and pain of this kind of life, she finally decides that Charlie is her new home and stays behind with him on a secluded river. Excellent heart warming story.