Category: Drama - Feature Film-drama - Gift Set - Movie - Mystery / Suspense / Thriller
Availability: Usually ships in 4 to 11 days
List Price: $29.98 Our Price: $22.99YOU SAVE $6.99!
Buy it
DVD The Maltese Falcon (Three-Disc Special Edition)
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
Review(s): DVD The Maltese Falcon (Three-Disc Special Edition)
Compare and contrast
The 'spotlight' reviews of The Maltese Falcon (1941) are on the money. It remains a remarkably modern, cynical film that holds up very well today. I remember my father talking about seeing it when it first came out, and talking of how, unlike so many other films, it moved like lightning. Mysteries in particular were typically slow moving films with too much comedy thrown in for light relief. The Huston version of The Maltese Falcon changed everything.
This new deluxe edition is wonderful, in part because it is great to finally have the two earlier versions easily available to watch, at least for a Falconite.
The Cortez version, yes, is inferior. It is an excellent contrast with the Huston version, in that it follows the story, uses similar dialogue, but in comparison is so...minor. It does have some nice extra scenes, including the ending, and is worth watching, but more as a document from an era. It has its own charms, but remains inferior to the 1941 version.
The 1935 version, though, is a remarkable disaster. It is terrible, either as a comedy or a mystery. There is pointless shifting of the story line (the Sydney Greenstreet character is a woman, to cite one ridiculous change). The Sam Spade character is a lightweight who does not give a damn about anything, but not because he is cynical--he just comes across as stupid.
But by far the biggest mistake is the waste of a radiant Bette Davis. One can only imagine what Davis would have been like working in the Huston version--although Mary Astor was totally terrific. The comedy version is an excellent example of Hollywood completely screwing up.
In this three disk special edition, the extras are both good and bad. I expected to see deleted scenes and bloopers from the Falcon movies--however, I don't remember any in the blooper reel provided. What was the point in seeing James Cagney and Pat O'Brien bloopers? The toons were okay, but so what? I haven't gotten yet to the radio versions, which should be interesting listening. But where is the documentary about the Huston version? About the other versions--the extras are all throwaways, which is annoying.
The transfers are excellent--I haven't noticed the synchronization problem one reviewer on these pages noticed, so I'll take another look..
The Dream of Unearned Riches
The film opens with a view of the old port of San Francisco. Miss Wonderly visits the agency of "Spade and Archer" for help in rescuing her sister from Floyd Thursby. Miles Archer volunteers to take care of her. A late night phone call to Sam Spade tells of Archer's murder. Spade visits the scene, then returns home. The police show up to tell him Thursby was also killed. Archer's widow shows up to see Space about the death, another complication. Miss Wonderly calls to see Spade and tells him a little more truth. Spade agrees to help her, but he needs more money. Back at the office Joel Cairo visits to offer a reward for providing a statuette of a black bird.
Hammett's novels tell of the tricks of a private detective. Take a cab to an apartment house, enter, then leave by the back entrance to shake a tail. Spade returns to tell Bridget O'Shaughnessy (aka Miss Wonderly) about the visit from Joel Cairo; this upsets her. They meet at Spade's place, but the police show up for a surprise visit. Spade talks them out of being arrested. Then Spade visits a hotel to see Cairo and notices the young man who works for the Fat Man. Spade keeps gathering information from the people he meets. After meeting with Gutman (aka Fat Man) Spade feigns anger to create a crisis. This leads to another meeting and we learn about the value of the black bird. But Spade was doped by his drink; he is no longer needed to recover the black bird.
This fast-paced adventure continues with no dull spots. The meeting in Spade's place brings out the facts previously hidden. Spade plays along with them to uncover the truth. But there is a hitch in their plans for great riches. Gutman quickly recovers from his disappointment and returns to his search for the imagined riches. But Spade has detected the truth about Archer's death, and can resolve the mystery and solve the crimes. This shocking ending was hinted at in prior scenes. One flaw in this story is the need for experienced crooks to be fooled by an enameled lead statuette. Or was this Hammett's view of the share owners of the 1920s? The film shows a long-gone America. Carrying a pistol was almost as common as smoking in public places. Most people walked. Technical considerations avoided the cable cars of Frisco. Those $1000 bills were about a year's pay for the average worker in 1929. They were abolished by Nixon's 1971 devaluation of the currency. Wouldn't they be useful today?
This film made a leading man out of Humphrey Bogart; previously he played villains as in "High Sierra". Note how Spade studies each person as they tell their tales, like a hawk watching a dove. The Webley-Fosbery Automatic Revolver seems to be a symbol or clue to the murderer. It looks like a revolver, but is really a self-loading or automatic pistol. What you see is not what you get. Had Hammett thought of something more shocking that couldn't be written in those days?
When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it!
Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer are presented with a case that is both mysterious and diabolical. Brigid O'Shaughnessy hires Sam and Miles to follow a man named Floyd Thursby. Brigid tells Sam that she came into possession of an valuable art piece which she identifies as the Maltese Falcon from a Fat man in Istabul Turkey; Brigid then journeys to Florida where she marries Floyd, who steals the Falcon and runs off with Brigid's sister.
Miles takes the assignment to shadow Floyd and is shot by Brigid. Sam immediately realizes from him conversation with Detective Tom Polhaus, who killed Miles. Detective Polhaus tells Sam, Miles top button was not undone and his gun remained in the holster. Miles trusted Brigid as she approach him and was surprise when she shot him. Now, Sam must discovery, why Brigid killed Miles. Detective Tom Polhaus is certain that Sam killed Miles to get Miles out of the away and continue an adulterous affair with Mrs Archer. Mile calls his secretary Effie and tells her to keep Iva away from him. Sam's lack of interest about Miles death makes Detective Polhaus more suspecious and certain Sam killed miles. Iva waits for the better part of day at Sam's office and confront him by asking whether Sam killed Miles so they could be together. Sam becomes angry and requests Iva leave.
The soft spoken, Joel Cairo offers 5k to find the Maltese Falcon for him. Strangely, Cairo than holds Sam hostage as he searches the office for the Falcon. Sam manages to knock Cairo unconscious and search his possessions for information. Brigid and Cairo competing for possession of the Maltese Falcon. Brigid, Cairo, and Sam become acquainted again at Sam's apartment. Cairo accuses Brigid of using her body to get the Maltese Falcon. The door bell rings and detective Polhaus wants to search Sam's apartment, but without a search warrant and Sam refuses entry. Meanwhile, Brigid nearly beats Cairo to death with the heel of her shoe and it becomes obvious to Sam that Brigid and Cairo are in a race to gain possession of the Maltese Falcon. The police become confused at the distrubance but no arrests are made and they leave.
Casper Gutman and his henchman wait Sam's arrival to his appartment building. Gutman offers 10k to Sam for ownership of the Maltese Falcon. Sam learns from Gutman that the Maltese Falcon is a object of solid gold covered with paint, a gift from the Island of Maltase to the King of Spain. A treasure so valuable that the crew has been searching for it for 17 years. It is revealed that Thursby helps Gutman get the Maltase Falcon from the Russian General.
Floyd arrives at Sam's office and delivers the Maltese Falcon . Sam forces Brigid to explain why she hired Miles. Brigid hired Miles to scare off Thursby but when that failed, she killed Miles hoping that Sam would chase after Thursby.
Related DVD's The Maltese Falcon (Three-Disc Special Edition)
A truly perfect movie, the 1942 Casablanca 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 KeoghMore Info about this DVD Director(s): Michael Curtiz - Scott Benson (II) DVD Release Date: Released the 15 February 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $13.18YOU SAVE $6.8!
Buy it
Ranked at No. 30 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 all-time greatest American films, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a genuine masterpiece that was, ironically, a box-office failure when released in 1948. At that time audiences didn't accept Humphrey Bogart in a role that was intentionally unappealing, but time has proven this to be one of Bogart's very best performances. It's a grand adventure and a superior character study built around the timeless themes of greed and moral corruption. As adapted by writer-director John Huston (from a novel by enigmatic author B. Traven) it became a definitive treatment of fate and futility in the obsessive pursuit of wealth. Bogart plays Fred C. Dobbs, a down-and-out wage-worker in Mexico who stakes his meager earnings on a... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Humphrey Bogart - Walter Huston - Tim Holt Director(s): John Huston DVD Release Date: Released the 30 September 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $26.99 Your Price: $21.59YOU SAVE $5.4!
Buy it
John Huston (The Maltese Falcon) directed this smart 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 KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Humphrey Bogart - Edward G. Robinson - Lauren Bacall Director(s): John Huston DVD Release Date: Released the 15 February 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $17.98YOU SAVE $2!
Buy it
Billy Wilder's noir-comic classic about death and decay in Hollywood remains as pungent as ever in its power to provoke shock, laughter, and gasps of astonishment. Joe Gillis (William Holden), a broke and cynical young screenwriter, is attempting to ditch a pair of repo men late one afternoon when he pulls off L.A.'s storied Sunset Boulevard and into the driveway of a seedy mansion belonging to Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a forgotten silent movie luminary whose brilliant acting career withered with the coming of talkies. The demented old movie queen lives in the past, assisted by her devoted (but intimidating) butler, Max (played by Erich von Stroheim, the legendary director of Greed and Swanson's own lost epic, Queen Kelly). Norma dreams of making a comeback in a remake... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Billy Wilder DVD Release Date: Released the 26 November 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $9.98 Your Price: $9.98YOU SAVE $0!
Buy it
