The Gold Diggers

Sally Potter’s groundbreaking first feature – a key film in early 1980s feminist cinema.

The groundbreaking first feature from the director of Orlando and The Tango Lesson, The Gold Diggers is a key film of early 80s feminist cinema. Made with an all-woman crew, featuring stunning photography by Babette Magolte and a score by Lindsay Cooper it embraces a radical and experimental narrative structure.

Celeste (Colette Laffont) is a computer clerk in a bank who becomes fascinated by the relationship between gold and power. Ruby (Julie Christie) is an enigmatic film star in quest of her childhood, her memories and the truth about her own identity. As their paths cross they come to sense that there could be a link between the male struggle for economic supremacy and the female ideal of mysterious but impotent beauty.

“A feminist sci-fi musical extravaganza… Remains consistently fresh and unpredictable.” Sight & Sound

Special features

Five early works by Sally Potter:

  • Jerk (1969, 2 min)
  • Play (1970, 5 min)
  • hors doeuvres (1971, 10 min)
  • Thriller (1979, 32 min)
  • The London Story (1986, 16 min)
  • Downloadable PDF files: letters by Sally Potter and Julie Christie.
  • extracts from the original script.
  • original press pack.
  • NFT programme notes by Sally Potter for The Gold Diggers season in 1984 and more.

Product information

    • Certificate

      U

    • Colour

      Black/white

    • Sound

      Sound

    • Original aspect ratio

      1.78:1 (anamorphic)

    • DVD region

      • 2 Europe (except Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus), Middle East, Egypt, Japan, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Greenland, French Overseas departments and territories

    • Catalogue number

      BFIVD818

BFI Shop

DVDs and Blu Ray

Back to the top

See something different

Subscribe now for exclusive offers and the best of cinema.
Hand-picked.