Crimson Gold (2004)
87%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 2 nominations
A slow-burning, riveting film about Iranian class differences
Crimson Gold is like a peek behind the curtain of Iranian society, but with more pie-eating. This movie is a must-see for anyone who wants to understand the class structure and mores of Iran, and also for anyone who just really likes pie. It’s a surprisingly tender tale of a frustrated working-class schnook who reaches his breaking point and goes on a heartbreakingly violent rampage. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty of pie.
Production Company(ies)
Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion, Bayerischer Rundfunk ARTE
Distributor
Wellspring Cinema
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Tehran, Iran
MPAA / Certificate
Unrated
Year of Release
2003
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
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Runtime:1h 35m
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Language(s):Persian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 6, 2004 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2007
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Hossain Emadeddin, Kamyar Sheisi, Azita Rayeji, Shahram Vaziri, Pourang Nakhael, Ehsan Amani, directed by Jafar Panahi, written by Jafar Panahi, Abbas Kiarostami, drama, Iranian class differences, box office gross $147.8K, Wellspring Cinema, MPAA rating, reviewed by Richard Brody, Brandon Judell, Nick Schager, Peter Rainer, Anthony Lane, Robert Denerstein, Dennis Harvey, Ray Pride, Kelly Vance, Diane Carson, Daniel Barnes, David Walsh, slow-burning, riveting, Iranian society, pizza delivery man, jewel heist, social inequality, Persian language, surround sound, producer Jafar Panahi
Worldwide gross: $400,768
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $649,594
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,684
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 70,839
US/Canada gross: $148,959
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $241,443
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,508
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,476
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $21,843
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,485
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Kamyar Sheisi – Ali
Azita Rayeji – The Bride
Shahram Vaziri – The Jeweller
Pourang Nakhael – The Rich Man
Ehsan Amani – The man in the Tea House
Director(s)
Jafar Panahi
Writer(s)
Jafar Panahi, Abbas Kiarostami
Producer(s)
Jafar Panahi
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (83) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (73) | Rotten (10)
One man’s breaking point comes off as a stifled cry of collective revolt.
June 28, 2021
Richard Brody
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
The movie, an acute study of Iran’s class structure and mores, will reveal it all to you in a series of episodes where Hussein often ends up eating the pie. A must-see.
June 5, 2021
Brandon Judell
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
An incisive portrait of one man’s quiet rage at, and heartbreakingly violent response to, social inequality.
May 3, 2005 | Rating: A-
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
I’m glad I saw Crimson Gold. Watching it is like getting a peek behind the curtain.
August 7, 2004
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine/Vulture
TOP CRITIC
Panahi’s movie, unsurprisingly, has been outlawed in Iran. Nobody likes a prophet.
August 1, 2004
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
July 3, 2004 | Rating: B+
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
TOP CRITIC
En route, we see how few indignities are spared him, as well as how extravagant the hidden lives of this society’s wealthiest are-their excesses alternately ignored and censured by authorities who can never be argued with, no matter how arbitrary…
July 6, 2021
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
Crimson Gold demonstrated a craftiness and a canniness mingled with scruffiness that simmers, then sears. May Iran allow Panahi to someday make more such movies, the sooner, the better.
July 2, 2021 | Rating: 8/10
Ray Pride
Newcity
[A] surprisingly tender tale of a frustrated working-class schnook.
June 24, 2021
Kelly Vance
East Bay Express
Never preachy, Crimson Gold reveals Hussein’s life through his perspective and delivers a deeply upsetting, solid impact.
June 24, 2021
Diane Carson
KDHX (St. Louis)
Crimson Gold opens with a single-shot jewel heist gone wrong, then circles back to the origin story of the misguided thieves. It may bear the trappings of a Tarantino knockoff, but Crimson Gold possesses an incisive naturalism that is pure Panahi.
June 24, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Daniel Barnes
Dare Daniel
The film recounts the fate of a poor man in Tehran, a pizza delivery man, driven over the edge by official double standards, sadism and injustice.
February 15, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site…
Plot
A pizza delivery man in Iran finds a purse filled with expensive receipts and becomes desperate for wealth, leading him to make a violent bid for it in the slow-burning drama, Crimson Gold.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about Crimson Gold.
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