6 Best Gold Rush Movies of All Time

By Vlad Zakh · April 10, 2026

The hunt for gold has driven cinema from Chaplin’s silent classic to modern epics about greed. There Will Be Blood tracks a ruthless oil prospector consumed by ambition, Paint Your Wagon has two prospecting partners sharing a wife in a chaotic boomtown, and The Claim has a founder’s past catching up with him. Klondike Fever, Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Gold Rush round out the six.

Klondike Fever (1980)

TMDB ★ 4.9

A young adventurer joins the frantic stampede of prospectors seeking fortune during the Klondike gold rush.

Directed by Peter Carter · 1h 59m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

There Will Be Blood (2007)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 91% Metacritic 93

A ruthless oil prospector's ambition curdles into obsession and violence in early 20th-century California.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson · 2h 38m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars114 wins & 138 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Philo · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Claim (2000)

TMDB ★ 6.2

A ruthless Gold Rush town founder's past catches up with him when his abandoned family arrives.

Directed by Michael Winterbottom · 2h 00m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: ScreenPix Apple TV channel, ScreenPix Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Paint Your Wagon (1969)

TMDB ★ 6.3

Two prospecting partners share a wife and build a chaotic gold rush boomtown together.

Directed by Joshua Logan · 2h 44m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 100% Metacritic 98

Three American drifters searching for gold in Mexico find their partnership eroded by greed.

Directed by John Huston · 2h 06m · Rated NR

Won 3 Oscars18 wins & 5 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Gold Rush (1925)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 98% Metacritic 90

A prospector's Klondike misadventures include a starving cabin-mate and a famous boot dinner.

Directed by Charlie Chaplin · 1h 35m · Rated NR

Nominated for 2 Oscars7 wins & 3 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, History Vault, Eternal Family, HBO Max, FilmBox Live Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Gold Rush Movies of All Time

Klondike Fever (1980)

There Will Be Blood (2007)

The Claim (2000)

Paint Your Wagon (1969)

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

The Gold Rush (1925)

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