National Geographic: Gold! (1978)

In all of history no material has been cherished quite like it. Gold takes a fascinating look at this precious metal, as well as the schemes men have devised to acquire it and exploit it.
There are numerous chapters in the gold story - and they begin in South Africa, the world's leading gold producer. Viewers are taken deep inside a mine where, in a steamy, low-rooted rock chamber, miners are filmed drilling out the gold-bearing rock.
Highlighted in this Special is a tour of the Gori and Zucchi gold-jewellery factory in Arezzo, Italy, where machines mass-produce miles of gold chain in contrast to the intricate, hand-designed pieces made by the same company's craftsmen.
An especially colourful chapter of the gold story is one for which no official statistics are kept - smuggling. Gold examines the smuggler's trade with footage acquired in Dubai, a tiny Middle Eastern country, traditionally known as a starting point in international gold smuggling.
Gold includes a close view of Cellini's saltcellar, the lavish gold work presented in 1543 to King Francis I of France. Its overwhelming artistry and beauty is an appropriate symbol of how gold has dazzled the people of the world throughout the ages.

Produced, Directed and Written by Irwin Rosten
Narrated by E.G. Marshall
1978 National Geographic Society
1988 Stylus Video
SV1028