Blood & Gold (2023) User Reviews

Predictable but Fun

[keikoyoshikawa · 8/10 · 26 May 2023]

"Sisu" this is not. And that's very ok. Here, it's not one man against the Nazi; it's ordinary Germans against the Nazi - an army deserter, a woman, her brother, and some villagers. Oh, and there's gold.

Our protagonist, Private Heinrich, is just an ordinary soldier. Our other protagonist, Elsa, is just an ordinary farmer. And then the Nazis came to their village looking for gold.

The Good: People in this movie get hurt, they make mistakes. The action scenes are not too over the top. Some of the townspeople are bad, some are good. And the Nazis are all bad.

The Bad: There really isn't much that is bad with this movie. It knows what it is. It gives us the story and nothing more. The title tells us everything we need to know. Nearly perfect.

A Very Entertaining Nazi-Killing Action Movie.

[folk_egm · 8/10 · 27 May 2023]

It is an action-packed German film set in the chaotic backdrop of post-war Nazi Germany. It shares a similar style to the film "Inglourious Basterds" but on a smaller scale. Created by German filmmakers, it is incredibly entertaining and engaging. Every moment of the film is filled with thrilling action scenes. Each character has a prominent and compelling role, keeping the audience guessing about what will happen next. The comedy is sharp and satirical, adding an amusing and provocative twist to the Nazi narrative. The film also doesn't forget to address the plight of the Jewish people, but this time it is the work of German villagers themselves, a perspective not often seen in other films. It is an unexpected in the action genre on Netflix, and I highly recommend not to miss it!

Top fodder

[nick-36299 · 8/10 · 28 May 2023]

Unashamedly inspired by Tarantino and Spaghetti westerns this is a total, unashamed, ultra violent, cracking good fun movie. Some great characters: the good guys are really good, the villains are hyper villainous and the action is really well executed.

I genuinely didn't expect this to be as much fun as it was.

How many ways can one kill a Nazi? Well this movie invents some I hadn't thought of before but it was all a blood soaked romp.

The acting is also really rather good. The two main protagonists are super sympathetic, although Elsa is much more rounded than Heinrich but it doesn't matter.

Watch it if you are in the mood for this kind of movie.

"We've got some Nazi pigs to hunt down"

[ExpendableMan · 7/10 · 27 May 2023]

In the dying days of the Second World War, Heinrich, a Landser in the German army is sentenced to death by a sadistic SS leader. His crime? Desertion, wanting to escape an unwinnable war and find his way home to the daughter he barely knows. The rope is placed around his neck and his tormentors drive off laughing. But just before they leave the unfortunate soldier to his fate, the Sergeant cruelly twists the noose so that his death will be more drawn out and painful. Mistake.

From this starting point, Blood & Gold rapidly turns into a solidly entertaining war flick that emulates the exploitation movies of the seventies. Come And See this is not, it's one hundred minutes of Nazis getting brutally slaughtered with axes, machine guns and pitchforks.

It seems to have turned up at the right time too. The hype machine for the similarly-themed Sisu is in overdrive at the minute, so Blood & Gold is perfect for anyone that wants to see a Nazi bloodbath but can't make it to the cinema. It's not a complicated film, but if you like your Nazi leaders scarred, fanatically unhinged and destined to meet a gruesome end, this'll be right up your street. It's a grimy, unpleasant movie and the kind of thing Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious could have been inspired by. Some of it is remarkably cruel and it doesn't shy away from killing likeable supporting characters, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't entertained. How can you not grin when a Nazi rapist gets scolding hot coffee thrown into his crotch?

It started off wunderbar, then became as sour as a kosher dill pickle

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 6/10 · 27 May 2023]

For a 100 min long film, it felt much longer, especially after the first act, of which was the best. It set up the narrative nicely and suspensefully, but started to drag its feet by the second act, and then the third act just became riddled with cliches and ridonculous estrogen-filled girl power antics that were all too predictable. Although the score was adequate, the soundrack throughout became annoyingly loud, overbearing and out of place. It's like the director thought he was being fancy, when it was really more annoying than stylish. There were some great action scenes up until the third act, when everything became overzealous to the point of eyerolls and cringes. It's an ok one time watch if you're bored, but you wont be missing anything if you skip it altogether. It's a generous 6/10 for great cinematography and sets, and some decent acting and the few well-done action scenes.

Fun and good entertainment

[LordLobby · 7/10 · 26 May 2023]

It's a good homage to Tarantino with it's own style, humor and slapstick mixed with splatter. The pace is good and the story swings between a serious WWII drama and turns back to the funnily absurd story. I like this back and forth, and it gives good twists. Of course, all cliches are delivered and you know who is good and bad right away. However, it doesn't hurt the film nor the fun.

I think this is one of the better Netflix movies and it's great to see that Netflix takes such a genre and movie style into account. Hopefully we see more films like this.

The CGI could sometimes be a bit more realistic, but I'm complaining on a high level...

A poor Tarantino

[fostrhod · 6/10 · 1 June 2023]

Blood & Gold 2023, Netflix original. War film film set and filmed in Germany. The Nazi's are losing the war and are feathering their nest's as a means to flee the collapsing Third Reich. Into the mix throw in some missing Jewish gold, a deserting Nazi private and a sadistic SS officer and you get a poor man's Quentin Tarantino. Originality doesn't come into it, take note the SS officer could be Hans Lando ( from Inglorious Bastards) but for his phantom of the opera theatrical mask to cover his unexplained facial injuries. The good Germans eventually win, you see even Germans hate those Nazi's. Soundtrack is very much a poor man's Tarantino with its incongruous mix of cheesy German easy listening and surf music, the highlight of the whole film is Marlene Dietrich singing Pete Seeger's anti war "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" over the end credits. I guess after watching this and SISU which both are unintentional homages to Tarantino, SISU works in its roller coaster ride of a movie, Blood and Gold fails to deliver and settles for a very pale imitation 6/10.

Nazi Spaghetti Western

[timotheos-96845 · 8/10 · 29 May 2023]

This is straight up the plot from an old spaghetti western, complete with hangings, gold, a woman on the farm, and everything in between. Even the music, the font and color of the credits is an homage to the western movies of yesteryear telling the tale of one man versus many.

Now, change the setting from the Old West to the final days of WWII and you find yourself asking why is this not been done before? Add in some gratuitous violence and you'll be surprised how perfectly well the two ideas pair together and you won't be disappointed.

Comparisons to Tarantino are accurate but there's nothing wrong with that!

Yet another good international grab for Netflix...!!!

[PANDIAN120621 · 7/10 · 13 March 2024]

Peter Thorwarth, who previously directed the Netflix vampire thriller Blood Red Sky, comes with the same path as features like Quentin Tarantino and various spaghetti westerns...Yet Thorwath also shows he has a knack for characters, and there are many that help spin this twisted, violent, and at times darkly funny war movie...

Each scene builds, and no one is ever truly safe, breaking the audience's expectations...Also get some fantastic action scenes that range from intense shootouts to ferociously choreographed fight sequences...Well this film re-invents itself by a satisfyingly experience!

Germans know how to make historical WW2 war movies way better than Hollywood. They do it with a much smaller budget ...

Overall a fun filled timepass flick that needs ur attention.

A western replacing cowboys with nazis

[RoundTripTicket · 5/10 · 31 May 2023]

If this reminds you of a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western, but with nazis, you've seen this movie before.

Imagine a town where one of its residents is rumored to have come into some gold bars. (Westerns always have gold bars.) The resident is long gone, so the residents search for the gold bars. A company of nazis come to town, having heard rumors about the gold. The leader of the nazi gang is just like the leader of any motorcycle gang or horse riding gang. The tropes you see in westerns are all there.

The extras and other filler characters all go down in hails of gunfire. The main characters, of course, are only winged so they can continue fighting. Oh, you thought the Bad Guy was dead! Wrong. He miraculously recovers. Our Hero never remembers that in this type of movie the Bad Guy has to be killed multiple times before he stays dead.

If you enjoy guilty pleasures and mindless shoot-em-ups, this movie is for you.

Nice photography.

A pleasant surprise

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 29 May 2023]

BLOOD & GOLD is a blackily comic action adventure about Nazis invading a small German village in a hunt for Jewish gold. It's unusual to see the Germans handling a subject matter they used to avoid like the plague, and I wasn't sure of the outcome, but rest assured this has the same kind of very European humour as many recent Scandi flicks. The Nazis are presented as dastardly comic book villains and much fun comes from seeing the various ways in which they're destroyed by our heroes. The film occasionally subverts tropes and keeps viewers on their toes, and the Down's Syndrome character is a great addition to the cast. A shame physical deformity is presented as monstrous (as per usual), but aside from that this is a pleasant surprise.

It's not Tarantino-like reviewers!

[davejessop-87535 · 7/10 · 27 May 2023]

Tarantino stole everything he's done from Japanese, Italian and even Dutch cinema so cannot be viewed as original anyway. This is more like Sergio Leone (often copied too) - gives me a Fistful of Dollars vibe with some Indiana Jones thrown in. The main character acts and even looks like Eastwood too. Very good acting from all concerned and the story (even though copied) is done well. The action is a bit Rambo-esque and is a little slapstick at times. Cinematography is impressive and the music is very good. All-in-all a pretty good entertaining film. Loved the Walter Hill reference on the gravestone - a man who directed his own remake of Fistful of Dollars in Last Man Standing - subtle tribute or a huge coincidence?

Z Tarantino

[danielcereto · 5/10 · 17 July 2023]

From time to time some directors try hard to copy Tarantino. Some of them made an Ok job but others like this one, don't.

First, the movie is a Z version of Inglorious Basterds. It starts quite strong but it sinks by itself. Except two original scenes, everything is predictable here.

Second, production and music are a weak copy of Tarantino's style. It doesn't work here, because the lack of originality. A wasted opportunity because the movie had potential.

Last, acting is acceptable from most of the cast but some of the extras doesn't know how to act. The movie itself looked sometimes, quite amateurish.

So, overall another Z Tarantino style movie with no more substance that the usual ones.

Using spaghetti western music doesn't make it a classic

[paul-allaer · 6/10 · 31 May 2023]

As "Blood & Gold" (2023 release from Germany; 100 min.) opens, we are in "Germany, Spring 1945". A German solder is running for his life, chased by other German soldiers after he apparently deserted them. The German deserter is captured and left for dead... At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is an entirely German production, and none of the names (from director on down to the cast) rang familiar to me. The movie invites comparisons to Quinten Tarantino, but comes up short (and it's not for a lack of trying). The violence is at times over the top, alas not in a ballet-reminding kinda way. And what is with the Morricone-reminding spaghetti western music? Despite all that, I did enjoy the movie here and there. This movie feels like it's more important to Germany's ongoing reckoning of its dark past that it is to us the average movie watcher. Yet somehow I stuck with the movie through the very end.

"Blood & Gold" started streaming on Netflix this past weekend, and I just caught up with it. If you have an interest in WWII movies and/or in hyper-styled over-the-top violence, I'd readily suggest you check it out, and draw your own conclusion.

Inglorious Nazis

[peterrichboy · 7/10 · 30 May 2023]

As I watched the opening ten minutes of this Netflix war film "Blood And Gold". I was starting to think this could be a contender for the worst war film ever made. But I'm glad I stuck with it as the longer the movie went the more ridiculous the plot, the more I began to enjoy it.

In a way it's made in the same style of Tarrentinos "Inglorious Basterds". With moment's of Nazi brutality and bit's of dark humour thrown in.

With the war lost a group of mercenary SS soldiers head of in search of hidden Jewish gold in a remote German village and really that's all you need to know. As the film reaches it's climax there's plenty of shoot outs to keep your average war film fan happy plus a few unexpected plot twists along the way.

7/10.

"I never wanted this war."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 1 June 2023]

The best moment of the story was when Down Syndrome afflicted Paule (Simon Rupp) pushed the Nazi soldier out of the church tower. I thought, hell yeah!, totally unexpected. Second best was when Elsa (Marie Hacke) kissed Lieutenant Colonel von Starnfeld (Alexander Scheer) with the cyanide pill - double hell, yeah! It's not often you'll see a German film production dealing with the atrocities of the past the way it was done here, so some credit is due for that. The overall story pits a squad of German soldiers raiding a small town in search of a gold cache that only a handful of citizens knows about. Just prior to that, the vicious von Starnfeld had deserter Heinrich (Robert Maaser) hung, who survives long enough to be cut free by village girl Elsa. Together, following Paule's death, they take on the German baddies while the secret of the gold treasure is slowly revealed by the core group who intend to keep it for themselves. This is another one of those pictures where the hero survives impossible odds to triumph, if not for the gold, then to finally return to the daughter he'd only seen once before entering the army and the war. As for that gold, it escaped the German squad's possession by falling into the hands of a scheming, greedy witch named Sonja (Jordis Triebel). What happens to her provides the film's third 'hell, yeah'!

Not that compelling but a decent watch

[ahnafryan · 6/10 · 3 June 2023]

Above Average in my opinion. Not much of a compelling plot but action the action scenes were satisfactory.

So the main storyline goes like this. Private Heinrich who fought on various Hitlers Campaign such as Poland, Italy, France & Soviet Union for six years realized that the war they were fighting was futile because the were being battered from both fronts and the loss of his pregnant wife led him being a deserter of his company. The interesting part of this film for me was the fight for Gold between two groups of the film and the background story of how and why everyone is fighting for it. You may interpret that part in a lot of way.

Overall, its a film about greed and vengeance.

Simple Plot perfectly executed

[amazon-36754 · 8/10 · 27 May 2023]

I wasn't expecting anything special, just a little Netflix and Chill for saturday evening - but this movie was fun! Mixes a few genres and I like the "smaller scale" of the whole Story. The camera work is incredibly good, also scene composition and even the color correction elevate this film.

I have no idea what the budget was, but the acting was complety fine and even the CGI was accepteble.

Some music choices put me off at first, but then I got the vibe of the movie and I liked it.

And of course, a bit of Tarantino-Vibes (: Cool addition to the Netflix catalogue. Hope we can see more from the creators of this piece of art.

similar to...

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 31 May 2023]

A netflix production. So many similarities to "the secret of santa vittoria" from 1969 . Except instead of wine, the german soldiers are searching for gold they think is hidden in the town. Robert maaser is heinrich, the holdout, trying to help protect the town and its townspeople. Just like santa vittoria, the citizens hold out as long as they can, but can only take so much. It's pretty good! One demerit for having such a similar plot, but then extra credit for the special effects and acting, for the most part. Serious blood, and guts, and lots of cussing. Directed by peter thorwarth. He has won a couple of film festival awards for his films.

All that Glisters...

[Xstal · 4/10 · 10 June 2023]

The Schutzstaffel have finally tracked you down, they've left you dangling on a rope and made you frown, a lass called Elsa sets you free, releasing you from your death tree, as the Nazis leave to find some gold in town. More encounters with the SS then ensue, where lots of shots are fired and grenades blow up too, turns out some townsfolk won't disclose, what's under the saviours pinned toes, there's cowardice, and there's also derring-do; as the story moves along you may just wonder, how many times you've seen a film where the foes plunder, as it's not original, it's quite tawdry and it's dull, my advice would be, to stay inside your bunker.

Incredibly enjoyable

[InnerWisdom1000 · 10/10 · 28 May 2023]

I eat and sleep WW2 films, whatever their style. I went into this film with no expectations and by the end I was completely hooked.

The script is extremely well-written, notwithstanding that this style has been done before. The story builds throughout the film and never disappoints. The acting is on-point throughout and I was more than satisfied.

But it is the direction that for me is the standout. There will be Tarantino comparisons but that is only a good thing. Dark and outright funny moments brought me lots of laughter, and they certainly didn't compromise on the gore, which kept the film fresh and raw throughout.

This is a proper film, highly entertaining and all who were involved in it's making should be very commended.

I highly recommend.

Nazi action movie

[Luigi Di Pilla · 6/10 · 3 June 2023]

Here comes a German version about the Nazi and SS how cruel they were. The story is simple and is an entertaining action thriller with brutal bloody scenes anyway.

The sceneries and costumes were well done and the cinematography good developed.

The actors did a very good job and so all the staff. The running time was not too long and the end just fabulous. The director delivered a good work and the music was mixed with western melodies. It was really cool to see this movie and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in this genre of films and doesn't take everything seriously. If you liked it you may try Fury.

It merits a solid 6/10.

Just a bad imitation of The Captain

[proanes · 3/10 · 4 June 2023]

"Blood and Gold" is a colossal disappointment that fails to deliver on its promises. From the start, it becomes painfully clear that the film is a convoluted mess. The plot meanders aimlessly, leaving audiences scratching their heads and questioning the filmmakers' intentions. The cinematography, touted as a selling point, is flashy but ultimately empty, serving as a mere distraction from the lack of substance. The characters are one-dimensional, devoid of any depth or nuance, making it impossible to care about their fates. The performances are equally uninspiring, with the cast delivering wooden and lifeless portrayals. The dialogue is clichéd and cringe-worthy, adding insult to injury. The pacing is excruciatingly slow, dragging the film along without any sense of purpose. Even the lavish sets and costumes can't salvage this trainwreck of a movie. "Blood and Gold" is a prime example of style over substance, leaving audiences with a hollow and unsatisfying cinematic experience. Save your time and steer clear of this cinematic disaster.

A German war film that feels like a Spaghetti Western

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 13 June 2023]

In the final days of the Second World War Heinrich, a highly decorated soldier, is hanged for desertion by a Waffen SS Lieutenant Colonel. They depart leaving him slowly dying as he hangs from a tree... a mistake on their part as he is rescued by Elsa, a woman who lives on a farm with her brother. The SS head to a nearby village where they start searching for gold belonging to a Jewish family that had been captured. They find no sign of it and locals claim to have no knowledge of it. When a group, led by a brutal sergeant, head to Elsa's farm for provisions things don't go to plan and most of them are killed. The next morning they capture her brother so Elsa and Heinrich head into town hoping to rescue him. What follows is a violent confrontations between our handful of good people, the SS and the villages who took the gold all those years ago.

I thought this film was a lot of fun. One might expect a film set in the Second World War and made in German to takes things rather seriously for obvious reasons but this shows it is possible for them to make a 'fun' war film without it seeming in poor taste. From the start it is clear that the Waffen SS are very much the bad guys; Heinrich and Elsa, and a handful of others are good and others are, at least initially more ambiguous. The story is simple but effective and provides plenty of exciting action. Despite being set in the war it has the feel of a spaghetti western; this is amplified by the use of music that could have come from Ennio Morricone. The cast is solid throughout, especially the leads. It can be quite violent at times but not excessively so. Overall I'd recommend this to fans of war films and westerns who like the idea of the two genres combined.

These comments are based on watching the film in German with English subtitles.

Really enjoyable WWII movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 14 June 2023]

When I sat down to watch the 2023 German war movie "Blood & Gold", I had initially just thought I would be in for another generic war movie. But since I hadn't actually seen the movie before, nor actually heard about it, I opted to give the movie the benefit of the doubt.

Writers Stefan Barth and Peter Thorwarth put together a script and storyline that definitely proved to be entertaining and enjoyable. I was genuinely surprised with how watchable and entertaining the movie turned out to be. It was, without a doubt, a proper World War II movie done right, and I really like the writers approach to setting the movie at the end of the war and thus not having the audience go to the front lines for non-stop action and warfare.

It was refreshing to see a World War II themed movie that didn't take place on the frontlines, but opted to tell a story from the unfamiliar ploys behind the theater of war.

And it was not only the storyline that was good in "Blood & Gold", but most certainly also the acting performances. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, given my limited exposure to the German cinema. But they had a good ensemble of actors and actresses for portraying the various roles. I have to applaude Robert Maaser, Marie Hacke and Alexander Scheer for their performances in the movie, because they really brought their characters to life in memorable manner.

Visually then "Blood & Gold" looked and felt like a World War II movie, and that added so much to the overall feel of the movie. The props, wardrobes and settings were just well done and selected. And the fact that people spoke German, instead of English with a thickly acquired German accent, just made everything all the more authentic.

If you enjoy World War II movies, then "Blood & Gold" from director Peter Thorwarth is well worth taking 98 minutes to sit down and watch.

My rating of "Blood & Gold" lands on a seven out of ten stars.