The Maltese Falcon

Starring:Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Jerome Cowan, Elisha Cook Jr., James Burke, Murray Alper, John Hamilton, Hank Mann, Emory Parnell, Creighton Hale, Jack Mower, Charles Drake, Robert Homans, William Hopper
Director: John Huston
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Still the tightest, sharpest, and most cynical of Hollywood's official deathless classics, bracingly tough even by post-Tarantino standards. Humphrey Bogart is Dashiell Hammett's definitive private eye, Sam Spade, struggling to keep his hard-boiled cool as the double-crosses pile up around his ankles. The plot, which dances all around the stolen Middle Eastern statuette of the title, is too baroque to try to follow, and it doesn't make a bit of difference. The dialogue, much of it lifted straight from Hammett, is delivered with whip-crack speed and sneering ferocity, as Bogie faces off against Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, fends off the duplicitous advances of Mary Astor, and roughs up a cringing "gunsel" played by Elisha Cook Jr. It's an action movie of sorts, at least by implication: the characters always seem keyed up, right on the verge of erupting into violence. This is a turning-point picture in several respects: John Huston (The African Queen) made his directorial debut here in 1941, and Bogart, who had mostly played bad guys, was a last-minute substitution for George Raft, who must have been kicking himself for years afterward. This is the role that made Bogart a star and established his trend-setting (and still influential) antihero persona. --David Chute

Customer Reviews:

Always a pleasure.......2007-06-28

Excellent production. Package contains enhanced feature cut, the original and the first Falcon called Satin is a Lady. Nice complete package w/ exc ellent special features.

The third time's the charm.......2007-06-10

The Maltese Falcon has earned a reputation of being one of the all-time great movies. Does it deserve this title? As shown in the three-disc special edition of the movie, yes.

Before I picked up this edition, I was familiar enough with the movie, having seen it a couple of times as well as reading the book. Before re-watching it, however, I skipped to Disc 2 and watched the two older versions. The original version of The Maltese Falcon came out in 1931. This movie is reasonably faithful to the book, but has the stiff acting of many early talkies which used a lot of silent movie stars (such as Bebe Daniels). It does, however, have the entertaining Dwight Frye (an early screen villain most well known as Renfield in Dracula), though he doesn't do that much here. The 1936 remake was Satan Met a Lady which added a comic twist to the story. Unfortunately, star Warren William plays his role more like Nick Charles (a rather tipsy gentleman) than Sam Spade. The story changes the Falcon to a Ram's Horn, but not even Bette Davis (who considered this one of her worst films) can save it. With two mediocre efforts, it was amazing that Warner Brothers would try it again just five years later.

They did, however, and the third time was the charm. Despite having just seen the same story twice within a couple of weeks and being familiar with the classic version, it remained immensely entertaining, not just a cut above the first two versions, but several cuts. What makes this version so good? Basically, everything came together almost perfectly.

One key thing was rookie director John Huston whose direction is so good that it helped create an entire style of movie-making, film noir. Whether The Maltese Falcon is truly noir itself (the standard definition usually begins the era with post-WWII films), it is at least proto-noir. Then there is the cast, notably Peter Lorre as the oily Joel Cairo is a scene stealer as is Sydney Greenstreet as The Fat Man. Mary Astor makes her character, Brigid O'Shaughnessy, one of filmdom's great femme fatales, a woman who is able to manipulate almost any man (and her one failing will be costly).

In the center of it all, however, is Humphrey Bogart in one of his first heroic roles as Sam Spade. Bogie is in almost every scene of the movie (the only exception is an early murder), so he is critical to the movie's success. Actually, Spade is more of an anti-hero than a hero: a man who is willing to use other people to achieve his own ends. If you are unfamiliar with the plot, I'll sum it up quickly (and it's pretty much the same in all movies): After Spade's partner is killed, Spade is drawn into a tangled web of murder and intrigue all centering on the Maltese Falcon, a valuable statue that everyone wants and no one has. Of course, there's more to it than that, but why spoil the fun?

The first disc in this set has the Bogart version along with a commentary track. There is also a "Warner Night at the Movies" feature that provides cartoons, a newsreel, movie trailers and a short subject (a rather interminable ballet that will mostly appeal to fans of dance). The third disc provides other bonus features, most notably a documentary about the movie. The Disc One material is enough to give the set five stars (the movie itself is actually enough); the rest is just gravy. If you want to see one of the true classics, this is a must-get.

Crime and punishment.......2007-05-12

The dialog is fast and the plot is thick. Yes this the screen play was lifted directly from the book. The only thing I have trouble with is that I don't see Humphry Bogart as tough as he sounds. He is the classic tough guy though and does his detective best to figure out the plot. Worth owning because it takes several viewings to get all the details of the plot down. I didn't notice the sound mis-synch but then maybe its the machine.

Of the best of Bogart, it's not my favorite (which is Casablanca and African Queen) but it's in my collection.

A Fast-Paced Detective Story.......2007-05-05

This film was my initial introduction to Humphry Bogart. In this film he plays the cool and calculating Sam Spade. Spade gets involved in a complicated twisted plot so full of double-crosses that the viewer has to pay attention to every single word and scene, or get hopelessly lost in the amazingly complex yet fascinating story.

The film is extremely fast-paced and there is so much that is unknown about the characters and their shady relationships to each other, that I must admit to confusion as to what was unfolding. Each scene is packed with bits of information, like individual puzzle pieces, which one must mentally assemble to keep up with the unfolding plot. For me, the film gave too little time to sort out the puzzle pieces, and even at the end of the film, I confess to not being able to tie up all the loose ends or fully comprehend the film's plot. Despite the somewhat confusing and confounding plot twists, the film held my interest as I just had to find out what was the secret of the mysterious Maltese Falcon, the intense focus of all the character's attention.

I found it helpful to read Wikapedia's summary of the story after viewing the film, as this explained all the details I missed. I will certainly watch the film again to pick up on the plot twists I missed the first time.

Bogart is magnificent as the unshakable Sam Spade. Mary Astor is fascinating as the woman who will use any means possible to get her hands on the falcon. Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre fill out the fine cast as the eccentric duo who are desperate to capture the priceless falcon.

This is not a film that the kids will enjoy watching. Shot in black and white, and with a pace as fast as a roller-coaster, kids will quickly loose interest. I recommend you watch the film with no interuptions, and listen carefully to every word, as the diaglogue is as fast-paced as the plot. Certaining an intriging movie, it is sparce in character developement, and has little to "say" in terms of a lesson for the viewer. It is purely a detective who-done-it filmed for entertainment value alone.

I've certainly seen better films, but this one is worth a watch, if only to see some of the best film actors of the black and white era.

JIm 'Koendog" Koenig

THE STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF.......2007-04-19

In literature and film there have been no lack of private detective-types depicted from the urbane Nick Charles (also a Hammett creation) to Mickey Spillane's rough and tumble Mike Hammer but the classic model for all modern ones is Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade (the Humphrey Bogart role in the film) in Maltese Falcon. Some may argue Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe and may have a point but as for film adaptation Spade wins hands down. Compare, if you will, Bogart's performance in Maltese Falcon with the Big Sleep. Get my point. But enough of that. What make's Spade the classic is his intrepidness, his orneriness, his dauntless dedication to the task at hand, his sense of irony, his incorruptibility, his willingness to take an inordinate amount of bumps and bruises for paltry fees and his off-hand manner with the ladies and a gun. And in Maltese Falcon he needs all of these qualities and then some.

And for what? It is the bird, stupid. You know, the stuff that dreams are made of. This modern tale of greed and desire gets nicely worked with a cast of adventurers, including Sam's love interest, who are serious, inept, and ultimately dangerous. There is a certain amount of off-handed humor as is warranted by some of the situations thrown in to boot. Sam is well up to handling everything thrown at him by is male adversaries. But, the dame (played by Mary Astor in the film), that is a different question. She is as greedy (if not more so) than the rest but she is ready to use her feminine wiles on even the incorruptible Spade in order to get that damn bird. That, dear friends, puts her beyond the pale and she will have many a lonely night in prison to think that through. In the end Sam's honor and the honor of his profession is intact, and that's what counts in his world.

Essential Classics - Dramas (The Maltese Falcon / Citizen Kane / Ben-Hur)

Average customer rating:

Tremendous value and three classic films!

Essential Classics - Dramas (The Maltese Falcon / Citizen Kane / Ben-Hur)
Starring: Essential Classic Dramas
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Essential Classics - Romances (Gone with the Wind / Casablanca / Doctor Zhivago)
Essential Classics - Musicals (My Fair Lady / Singin' in the Rain / Gigi)
Essential Classics - American Musicals (The Music Man / Meet Me in St. Louis / Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
Essential Classics - Family Films (The Wizard of Oz / The Goonies / Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
The Graduate

ASIN: B000MV9O4A
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Amazon.com

This four-disc set, part of Warner's Essential Classics series, collects three truly classic films--The Maltese Falcon, Citizen Kane, and Ben-Hur--in one inexpensive package. The drawback is you don't get the bonus discs of the movies--one in the case of Citizen Kane, and two each for The Maltese Falcon and Ben-Hur (which still needs two discs just for the movie)--so if you're a documentary junky or if you simply have to see the earlier versions of The Maltese Falcon, you'll want to stick with the individual releases. But this set does include the commentary tracks, shorts, photo galleries, and other material that was on the movie discs of those sets, and best of all, they have the great remastered pictures of the previous releases. So if you just want the movies looking better than ever with some bonus features thrown in for good measure, the price per movie makes this set an attractive bargain. --David Horiuchi

Description

Disc 1: THE MALTESE FALCON Disc 2: CITIZEN KANE Discs 3 & 4: BEN HUR

Customer Reviews:

Tremendous value and three classic films!.......2007-05-30

I recently purchased this dvd collection, and am very pleased with it. This collection contains the film-only discs from the multi-disc releases of Maltese Falcon, Citizen Kane, and Ben Hur. All have top-notch video and audio quality, and they all have very interesting alternate commentary tracks. If you want all the extra features for these films, you should buy the discs separately. If you are primarily interested in the films and commentaries, then this is a great way to get all three for a very reasonable price.

Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night / Passage to Marseille)

Average customer rating:

Bogart Collection Vol. 2
For the Bogart Fan
Bogie Know Best
Humphrey Bogart, forever a star!
A Humphrey Bogart espionage love feast

Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night / Passage to Marseille)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Mary Astor , Gladys George , Peter Lorre , and Barton MacLane
Director: John Huston , and Vincent Sherman
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GIXLVQ
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Amazon.com

The movie that made Humphrey Bogart Humphrey Bogart anchors this second DVD box devoted to the mighty star. The Maltese Falcon gets--and merits--the deluxe three-disc treatment, and the other Bogie movies collected here are solid vehicles from his early 1940s Warner Bros. heyday. The essence of Bogart's world-weary yet mysteriously romantic aura is on luscious display, even if most of these films fall just short of classic status.

Bogart's letter-perfect incarnation as Sam Spade, the anti-hero of John Huston's debut film as a director, grounds The Maltese Falcon in a smart, sardonic groove. Even if Spade is one of Bogart's finest turns, it's hard to single out the film's best performance: Mary Astor as the mystery dame who trips off the case, Peter Lorre as the fey Joel Cairo, or Sydney Greenstreet as the massively erudite Kasper Gutman (the latter making one of the great debuts in film history). Dashiell Hammett's best-selling story had been filmed twice before, and both versions are included in the extras here: the 1931 Maltese Falcon, which has a fair amount of cheek and some near-identical snatches of Hammett dialogue as the 1941 film--but without the magic--and the 1936 Satan Met a Lady, which puts the story squarely in the realm of screwball comedy, with Warren William and Bette Davis acting as though they'd wandered into a Thin Man movie. Other extras include a commentary with Bogart biography Eric Lax, three radio versions of the tale, and a short documentary about the Falcon.

Huston also directed Across the Pacific, a fun and somewhat tongue-in-cheek picture that brought Bogart, Astor, and Greenstreet back together. After being drummed out of the military, Bogie finds himself aboard a ship sailing toward the Panama Canal--and as the date of Dec. 7, 1941, looms on the horizon, we suspect intrigue. Also from 1942 is the wisecracking All Through the Night, which is set entirely in a Damon Runyon NYC but nevertheless unearths a nest of Nazis (Conrad Veidt among them) planning a homeland attack.

WWII figures in the other two features. Michael Curtiz's Passage to Marseille (1944) burdens itself with too many flashbacks, but otherwise presents a nicely atmospheric tale of Devil's Island escapees trying to get home to fight for France. Lorre and Greenstreet are back, with Michele Morgan snuggling Bogart in the Casablanca-inspired love story. Action in the North Atlantic (1943) is a more conventional picture, with Bogart and Raymond Massey fighting the war in the Merchant Marines; the topnotch action sequences and crusty supporting cast keep it going. Bogart's covert socking of a loose-lipped bar patron gives us the vintage Bogie. Bartender: "Did you hurt your hand?" Bogie: "Never do." --Robert Horton

Product description

Includes: The Maltese Falcon (Three-Disc Special Edition), Across the Pacific, Action in the North Atlantic, All Through the Night, and Passage to Marseille.

Customer Reviews:

Bogart Collection Vol. 2.......2007-06-15

Good plots with wonderful dialog. If these were books you'd call them real page turners.

For the Bogart Fan.......2007-03-19

What a great collection of films and some of the best bits are the "extras" on each DVD. The films are typical Bogart as a detective, spy, mercenary etc.

Bogie Know Best.......2007-03-08

Bogart isn't the best actor in the history of film, but his attitude and feel rank make him one of the most memorable and admirable in film. All movies in this kit show off his skills as well as those of the other actors that often worked with him. Great stuff.

Humphrey Bogart, forever a star!.......2007-02-03

Humphrey Bogart is without a doubt, one of the best actors ever to delight the world with his performance. This classic offers a Bogart that is sharp, cynical and virile. As a private eye, Humphrey Bogart is awesome. The dialogue is difficult to follow, but we always select the language option that provides subtitles to assist the hearing impaired; a feature that we highly recommend because this way you do not miss a word that is said. The DVD's offer many advantages; but for us, this feature is simply... the solution we had always looked for to truly understand the messages offered by great movies. There is much action and suspense, keeping you at the edge of your seat, always wondering when violence will take place because of the ferocious interpretations of the actors. With this role, Bogart leaves no question that he is... and shall forever remain... a Star!!!

A Humphrey Bogart espionage love feast.......2007-01-19

HUMPHREY BOGART: THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION, VOLUME 2 has, as its set piece, a remastered studio print of John Huston's incomparable THE MALTESE FALCON (1941). Also included for a comparison is the very good 1931 Ricardo Cortez/Bebe Daniels THE MALTESE FALCON and the mediocre 1936 Warren William/Bette Davis SATAN MET A LADY. But the spotlight is on Huston and company in terms of bonuses that include a brand-new documentary and vintage radio adaptations that offer the fun of the same plot with a different cast.

This DVD boxed set is a love feast for Bogart fans. It also includes ACROSS THE PACIFIC (1942), ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT (1942), ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC (1943), and PASSAGE TO MARSEILLES (1944). All sparkle in brand-new prints and, since is from Warner Home Video and movies made during World War Two, all include a generous array of patriotic wartime dramatic and musical shorts, documentaries, new interview featurettes, cartoons, and theatrical trailers.

ACROSS THE PACIFIC reteams director John Huston with FALCON cast members Bogart, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet. It is an adventure potboiler that goes from eastern Canada to the Panama Canal, without going near the Pacific. Its climax has espionage activities at the canal, and no one is who they seem.

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT has an incredible cast, led by Conrad Veidt and Judith Anderson as Nazis. Bogart battles the Gestapo over his right to have the perfect cheese cake in this tongue-in-cheek wartime adventure that is great fun. A 99 year old Vincent Sherman, who directed, helps out on an audio commentary with Bogart scholar Eric Lax.

ACTION IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC is about the Merchant Marine in the north Atlantic when it was made (1943). Lloyd Bacon, who directed some wonderful 1930's musical romances, shows his versatility in this exciting adventure that stars Bogart, Raymond Massey, and Alan Hale. The box says the Merchant Marine used this rather downbeat movie as a recruiting tool.

Finally, we have Michael Curtiz' underrated PASSAGE TO MARSEILLES, with seemingly half the cast of CASABLANCA, including Bogart, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Helmut Dantine, and Sydney Greenstreet. This one is infamous for flashbacks within flashbacks, but with this cast, who cares? Max Steiner did the music, James Wong Howe did the brilliant photography, and a ten-hankie final scene sends the movie into the stratosphere. This one must have really packed a wallop for 1944 audiences torn between good Free France and bad Vichy France.

I highly recommend HUMPHREY BOGART: THE SIGNATURE COLLECTION, VOLUME 2 to the millions of Bogart fans, as well as fans of wartime intrigue movies. And special kudos to Warner Home Video for the generous bonuses and putting each film in its own slim envelope inside a larger box. That shows a lot of class, in comparison to the "don't give a damn" people at Universal Home Video.

Average customer rating:

Always a pleasure
The third time's the charm
Crime and punishment
A Fast-Paced Detective Story
THE STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF

The Maltese Falcon
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Mary Astor , Gladys George , Peter Lorre , and Barton MacLane
Director: John Huston
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: 6305729328
Release Date: 2000-02-15

Amazon.com essential video

Description

Sam Spade is caught in a frantic search for the jeweled falcon of Malta and his partner's killer. His pursuit leads him to a group of desperate individuals who also want the bird.

Customer Reviews:

Always a pleasure.......2007-06-28

Excellent production. Package contains enhanced feature cut, the original and the first Falcon called Satin is a Lady. Nice complete package w/ exc ellent special features.

The third time's the charm.......2007-06-10

Crime and punishment.......2007-05-12

A Fast-Paced Detective Story.......2007-05-05

THE STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF.......2007-04-19

The Maltese Falcon - with BONUS FEATURES

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The Maltese Falcon - with BONUS FEATURES
Director: John Huston
Manufacturer: Warner Brothers
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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To Have and Have Not (Snap case)
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Bogie and Bacall - The Signature Collection (The Big Sleep / Dark Passage / Key Largo / To Have and Have Not)

Product Features:

Release Date: 10/03/2006

ASIN: B000K13U3S

Product Description

THIS DVD IS DISC ONE FROM THE SPECIAL EDITION THAT WAS A THREE DISC SET. IT CONTAINS THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) and THESE SPECIAL FEATURES LISTED: New digital transfer of 1941 movie from restored elements, Commentary by Bogart biographer Eric Lax, Warner Night at the Movies 1941 short subjects gallery, Vintage Newsreel, Oscar-Nominated Technicolor musical short The Gay Parisian, Classic Cartoon: Oscar nominee Hiawathas Rabbit Hunt, Trailers of The Maltese Falcon and 1941s Sergeant York

The Humphrey Bogart Collection (The Big Sleep/The Maltese Falcon/Casablanca/Key Largo)

Average customer rating:

quintessential Bogie...
Bogart collection
Bogart The Best
Got more than i bargained for
Bogart collection

The Humphrey Bogart Collection (The Big Sleep/The Maltese Falcon/Casablanca/Key Largo)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Lauren Bacall , John Ridgely , Martha Vickers , and Dorothy Malone
Director: Howard Hawks , John Huston , and Michael Curtiz
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004XMRW
Release Date: 2000-09-05

Amazon.com

The Maltese Falcon
Still the tightest, sharpest, and most cynical of Hollywood's official deathless classics, bracingly tough even by post-Tarantino standards. Humphrey Bogart is Dashiell Hammett's definitive private eye, Sam Spade, struggling to keep his hard-boiled cool as the double-crosses pile up around his ankles. The plot, which dances all around the stolen Middle Eastern statuette of the title, is too baroque to try to follow, and it doesn't make a bit of difference. The dialogue, much of it lifted straight from Hammett, is delivered with whip-crack speed and sneering ferocity, as Bogie faces off against Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet, fends off the duplicitous advances of Mary Astor, and roughs up a cringing "gunsel" played by Elisha Cook Jr. It's an action movie of sorts, at least by implication: the characters always seem keyed up, right on the verge of erupting into violence. This is a turning-point picture in several respects: John Huston (The African Queen) made his directorial debut here in 1941, and Bogart, who had mostly played bad guys, was a last-minute substitution for George Raft, who must have been kicking himself for years afterward. This is the role that made Bogart a star and established his trendsetting (and still influential) antihero persona. --David Chute

Casablanca
A truly perfect movie, Casablanca (1942) still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. --Tom Keogh

The Big Sleep
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made screen history together more than once, but they were never more popular than in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, directed by Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not). Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay. --Tom Keogh

Key Largo
John Huston directed this smart 1948 thriller about a gangster (Edward G. Robinson) who holds a number of people hostage in a hotel in the Florida Keys during a tropical storm. Humphrey Bogart is the returning war veteran who takes on the villains, and Lauren Bacall is on hand as one of the people on the wrong end of Robinson's gun. Somewhat similar in tone to Howard Hawks's To Have and Have Not (which also featured Bogart and Bacall), this moody movie captures a certain despair offset by the bond between individuals united by common purpose. Claire Trevor won an Academy Award for her part as Robinson's alcoholic girlfriend. --Tom Keogh

Description

A great giftset with four of Humphrey Bogart's most classic films. These include: The Big Sleep, Casablanca, Key Largo, and the Maltese Falcon.

Customer Reviews:

quintessential Bogie..........2007-06-01

A great collection for any Bogart lover. My 2 personal favorites are included in this package, Casablanca and Key Largo. The Big Sleep directed by Howard Hawks, with Bogie and Lauren Bacall is a film classic. The Maltese Falcon with an incredible cast including Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Ward Bond. Enjoy this incredible collection of four films that deserve to be placed on anyone's Top 100 list.

Bogart collection.......2007-05-18

I thought the movies would be presented in their original format, however they appear in standard TV format. For those with widescreen TV's (like me)you will be disappointed.

Bogart The Best.......2006-11-10

These are some of the best acting films of Bogart's career!, plus some of the finest supporting actors
you will ever find.

Got more than i bargained for.......2006-08-25

I originally bought this set for Casablanca, and I wanted to get an idea for his other movies.

I got quite a lot more than i expected though... I learned that oldschool movies are just plain better than the new ones.

There may be many explanations for this, but the main differences I observed were different mannerisms/speech patterns, and more complicated plot-lines.

Maltese Falcon is a particularly wonderful story, much more complex than today's typical blockuster, and Big Sleep/Key Largo were classics in their own right.

Bogart collection .......2006-08-21

Great mix of a classic actor with some of the best leading ladies. I like the sets as they give a great value for my library of classic films.

The Bogart Collection (Casablanca/The Maltese Falcon/To Have and Have Not/The Big Sleep/The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)

Average customer rating:

Simply the best collection you can hope for.
It would have been perfect with African Queen
THERE IS NO DELETED SCENE IN THE MALTESE FALCON
Good collection, but wait

The Bogart Collection (Casablanca/The Maltese Falcon/To Have and Have Not/The Big Sleep/The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Alfred Hitchcock - The Masterpiece Collection (Psycho / Vertigo / Rear Window / The Birds / Shadow of a Doubt / Family Plot / Frenzy / The Man Who Knew Too Much / Marnie / Rope / Saboteur / Topaz / Torn Curtain / The Trouble with Harry)
Dark Passage (Snap Case)
The Bridge on the River Kwai

ASIN: B0000TG48S
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Customer Reviews:

Simply the best collection you can hope for........2006-10-06

You can't get a better combination of films from Bogart than this collection. True, 90 dollars is a bit extreme, but if you shop around and find it for a little less than it's a steal. For instance I just purchased this same collection at Costco for 65 dollars. All releases are good, any problems with Maltese Falcon or Big Sleep is nay unrecognizable from my standpoint. One of the few collections I have ever seen that has actually made a conscious effort to pit together truly the best films from a given actor.

It would have been perfect with African Queen.......2005-03-12

This collection would have been awesome if only it included The African Queen...it definitely has 5 of his best movies, but with African Queen, you get the best 6 movies of his career in one single pack! Now that, I would call his signature collection.

This is not bad though. Most of the so-called signature collections have so-so movines mixed with good ones. At least all the movies in this set are great gems. All 5 movies are very important movies of probably the greatest actor of Hollywood, 3 of the movies make AFI top 100 list (Cassablanca at #2, Maltese Falcon and Treasure of Sierra Madre, both in top 30) and the rest of the 2 are real close and are considered the part of classic film-noir. So if you don't mind spending 80 bucks for 5 DVDs and love the classic golden age of Hollywood, go for it.

THERE IS NO DELETED SCENE IN THE MALTESE FALCON.......2004-10-21

There are no scenes deleted in The Maltese Falcon dvd. This patron also posted for TMF dvd itself. I quote: 'The deleted scene is the one whereby Lorre is given back his gun by Bogart, lorre then points it at Bogart yet again-and the dvd fades to black to prepare for the next scene. What is deleted is Bogart laughing at Lorre and saying "Go right ahead (laugh, laugh), You go right ahead" THEN fade to black.' That scene is most definitely in there. I just watched it to check.

This dvd set features five ESSENTIAL Bogart films. It's true that The Big Sleep, To Have And Have Not, and The Maltese Falcon could all do with some restoration --but I'd say that the flaws don't detract that much from the films themselves, and until that day comes this set is a must for the Bogart fan.

Humphrey Bogart is still considered by many to be the greatest movie star of all time. These five films are a brilliant testament as to why. I advise you to score.

Good collection, but wait.......2003-12-13

All good movies, of course. Maltese Falcon and Big Sleep editions will probably be re-released as two disc sets in the future, the current dvd of Maltese Falcon has a messy look to it, and also has a missing scene ( inexcusable, really).

Product Description

These two DVD's are the second and third DVD's that were released as part of the Maltese Falcon 3-Disc Special Edition on October 3, 2006. They include The Maltese Falcon (1931) & Satan Met a Lady (1936) along with many bonus features. Among them are: Theatrical trailers; The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird documentary; Robert Osborne Hosts Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart; Studio Blooper Reel; Three radio show adaptations featuring the movies original stars including a version starring Edward G. Robinson.

Customer Reviews:

A solid first look at the black bird from 1931, but quite a let-down in 1936.......2006-10-19

--The Maltese Falcon (1931)
Anyone with ambition to be a film writer could do far worse than to watch Roy Del Ruth's The Maltese Falcon, made in 1931, and then watch John Huston's The Maltese Falcon filmed ten years later. The plot is the same, the characters are the same, the situations and motivations are the same. The 1931 film is good. It suffers from the kind of clunky acting common to early talkies, particularly from Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade. Still, the story is so strong with all those double crosses, obsession with the black bird and vivid characters that the movie holds up.

So why watch the two to learn about writing for films? You won't learn much about writing if you read a poor effort and compare it with a good effort. You can learn much from reading a good effort and comparing it with an excellent effort. Here's what I mean. Take the scene when Spade is meeting Caspar Gutman for the first time in Gutman's hotel room. (In 1931 the Gutman character is played by Dudley Diggs; in 1941, by Sidney Greenstreet.) Gutman invites Spade to sit down and offers him a drink. Then Gutman looks him over, a picture of bonhomie.

From 1931: "You're a close-mouthed man, sir!" says Gutman with a friendly smile. "No, I like to talk," says Spade. Gutman chortles and says, "We'll talk if you like. And I tell right now I am a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk."

Now see what John Huston does to the scene. From 1941: "You're a close-mouthed man?" Gutman asks. "Nah, I like to talk," Spade says. Gutman beams and says, "Better and better. I distrust a close-mouthed man. He generally picks the wrong time to talk and says the wrong things. Talking's something you can't do judiciously, unless you keep in practice. Now, sir, we'll talk, if you like. I'll tell you right out, I am a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk."

From a line of dialogue that is amusing, especially when it drips from Dudley Diggs' lips, Huston creates a whole character that enables Greenstreet to practically slobber with great effect over the oncoming scene.

Or another example, when Spade is telling Ruth Wunderly she's going up the river. In 1931 the scene is extended over several longish lines, and then is extended even further when Spade visits Wunderly in the jail. Huston, in this case, shortened the scene but made it more emphatic, with Spade more obviously torn by what he was doing. And then that was that; no anticlimactic visit to the slammer.

As good a movie as the 1931 version is, there is no doubt that it is dated. Cortez, a matinee idol in the Twenties, plays Spade as a tough lady's man, calling all the women "Honey." His private office with that comfortable couch is obviously a place to do more than take a nap in. Cortez just isn't that good an actor. For a modern audience, when he smiles he looks disconcertingly like Louis Nye. Una Merkel, however, as Spade's secretary, Effie Perrine, is first rate.

The movie is part of the three-disc The Maltese Falcon release which includes the 1941 version as well as 1936's version with variations called Satan Met a Lady. There are a number of extras which I haven't looked at. The 1931 film is a little soft. On balance, though, it looks good.

For those with long memories and can find tapes or CDs of old radio mystery shows, try listening to a few episodes of Sam Spade, Private Eye with Howard Duff in the lead role and Lurene Tuttle as Effie Perrine. Bogart undoubtedly is the gold standard for Sam Spade, but Duff's voice coming from that box on the living room table comes close.

--Satan Met a Lady (1936)
If you believe that old movies don't make classic movies just because they're old, Satan Met a Lady will make your case. It's based more or less faithfully on The Maltese Falcon, the first movie of which was made in 1931. This version stars Warren William as Ted Shayne (Sam Spade), Bette Davis as Valerie Purvis (Ruth Wunderly), Alison Skipworth as Madame Barabbas (Caspar Gutman) and Arthur Treacher as Anthony Travers (Joel Cairo), with Maynard Holmes as Kenny (Wilmer Cook) and Marie Wilson as Miss Murgatroyd (Effie Perrine).

The intent must have been to take the Dashiell Hammett story and turn it into a comedy murder mystery. The music under the opening credits is so jaunty you might expect a musical. Does it work? Sadly, no, not in my opinion. Of the characters, only Arthur Treacher comes off as genuinely interesting. If Treacher is remembered now it's probably only as one of the many stuffy English butlers he played. Here, he's remarkably good, dealing with fast dialogue and, in this movie, what passes for ironic and witty lines. He's a completely different type from Peter Lorre's Joel Cairo, but he's almost as vivid. The highlight of the film, in fact, is when we first meet him ransacking Shayne's apartment, then having some dueling dialogue with Shayne when Shayne unexpectedly appears. This scene is good stuff.

For the rest, some of the actors are competent and some are mediocre. Bette Davis, surprisingly, doesn't make much of an impression; she's just too obviously intelligent and self-centered for the role. You watch her, but you're not much taken by her. Warren William probably comes off weakest, and some of this is not his fault. He had a profile as sharp as the prow of a yacht, a smooth, trained baritone, great diction and a sense of humor. Unfortunately, William is saddled with a trench coat that looks half a size to large for him; the collar gaps noticeably every time he leans over, sits down or is roughed up. He wears what appears to be a black Stetson. The combination makes him look almost silly at times. More damaging, we meet his version of Sam Spade being run out of town, then charming a large lady with jewels, then coming on very strong to Marie Wilson's ditzy, dumb blonde of a secretary, Miss Murgatroyd. The effect is less of a private eye who is a charming seducer than of a sleazy, middle-aged goat. He wears quite a bit of pomade on his hair.

Satan Met a Lady is a curiosity piece, nothing more. It's amusing to compare it to the 1931 version but it's probably nothing one would want by itself. The DVD transfer is a bit soft but otherwise looks fine.

Best of the 40s (Adam's Rib / The Big Sleep / The Maltese Falcon / Mildred Pierce)

Average customer rating:

Best of the 40s (Adam's Rib / The Big Sleep / The Maltese Falcon / Mildred Pierce)
Starring: Joan Crawford , Jack Carson , Zachary Scott , Eve Arden , and Ann Blyth
Director: Michael Curtiz , Howard Hawks , and John Huston
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00011ZBH0
Release Date: 2003-12-02

Average customer rating:

Superyacht Cup Antigua 2006

Manufacturer: Customflix
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

amazon.com

The first edition of the famous Superyacht Cup to be held in Antigua. The 2006 Superyacht Cup saw close pursuit racing between large yachts including the unique Perini Navi, Maltese Falcon, the Farr 115 Sojana and the Hoek designed Velacarina. This film puts you in the regatta with onboard, aerial, chase boat and party footage. an acquafilms production

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