Bonanza is Chung Chang-wha′s earlier film showing a unique style which integrates film noir and family melodrama together. A wandering old man who had left his family ages ago in search of gold mines finally returns with the gold. He searches for his daughter and his friend′s son, and finds out that his daughter has become a thief, while his friend′s son has lived a lonely life. This film turned a melodrama into an action film as the plot intertwines the conflict between family members accumulated over along period and the conspiracy of the back alley gangsters to steal the gold from the man. Chung, who had already shown his own unique action style since the early 60s, used various camera angles, fast editing and realistic action through well-detailed screen composition in Bonanza. The screen composition using low-key lighting of the noir style shown in the abandoned building scene and the last shoot-out scene at the rocky mountain are some of the highlights of this film.(ChoYoung-jung)