Customer Reviews

The Maltese Falcon: Three-Disc Special Edition

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Je n'ai pas reçu cette commande et j'aimerais recevoir une explication. Je ne sais pas si ce message répond correctement à votre question, mais je l'espère.

Warner Brothers has one of the greatest film catalogs of any studio; yet they don't appear to take their DVD issues very seriously. Who on earth would put "Goodfellas" on two sides of a disc? or not release the "Director's Cut" version of "Eyes Wide Shut" (imagine the added revenue if they had)? or release a slapdash collection of Kubrick's films? or almost never digitally enhance the audio or visual transfer or provide any significant extras? Compared to the deluxe packages that Universal, Criterion, and, even, Paramount has mustered, Warners' issues - all released in cheap and easily breakable snap cases - are a peculiar desecration of a vaunted film legacy.

Case in point: "The Maltese Falcon". Arguably the greatest detective film ever made, Warners at least releases it with a decent video transfer. Unfortunately, the audio synchronizing is off during the last 15 minutes of the movie (by a second but it's still noticable) and I wasn't able to access all the people on the "Cast and Crew" menu (no, it wasn't a machine error, as I tested on several discs thereafter). Moreover, although I enjoyed the "Trailers of Humphrey Bogart" section, it would have been nice if Warners spent the money to create a documentary history of the film the way they did on Universal's "Casablanca" release.

Much ink has been spilt praising "The Maltese Falcon" so I won't go into any panegyrics here. It's just a shame that Warners doesn't take this market seriously enough to put more care into the DVD releases of their finest films.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents "MALTESE FALCON" (1941) (101 min/B&W) -- Starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Barton MacLane & & Peter Lorre

Directed by John Huston

Outstanding detective drama with Bogey as Dashiell Hammett's creation Sam Spade finding himself surrounded by shadey characters all greedily fighting for possession of a statue of a falcon containing priceless jewels. John Huston's first directorial effort (which he also scripted) moves at lightning pace.

Academy Award nominations for Picture (Warner Bros), Screenplay, Best Writing (John Huston) and Best Supporting Actor (Sydney Greenstreet)

George Raft was originally cast as Sam Spade. He turned it down because it was "not an important picture," taking advantage of a clause in his contract that said he did not have to work on remakes.

Although this was the 62-year old Sydney Greenstreet's film debut, he had already worked as a prominent stage actor for forty years.

Notable for being also the initial combination of Greenstreet & Lorre on film (they appeared 8 times together).

Other films to feature the Greenstreet / Lorre combination were Casablanca (1942), Background to Danger (1943), Passage to Marseille (1944), The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), The Conspirators (1944), Three Strangers (1946) & The Verdict (1946)

BIOS:
1. John Huston [Director]
Date of Birth: 5 August 1906 - Nevada, Missouri
Date of Death: 28 August 1987 - Middletown, Rhode Island

2. Humphrey Bogart [aka: Humphrey DeForest Bogart]
Date of Birth: 25 December 1899 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 14 January 1957 - Los Angeles, California

3. Mary Astor [aka: Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke]
Date of Birth: 3 May 1906 - Quincy, Illinois
Date of Death: 25 September 1987 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

4. Sydney Greenstreet [aka: Sydney Hughes Greenstreet]
Date of Birth: 27 December 1879 - Sandwich, Kent, England, UK
Date of Death: 18 January 1954 - Hollywood, California

5.Peter Lorre (aka: László Löwenstein)
Date of birth: 26 June 1904 - Rózsahegy, Austria-Hungary [now Ruzomberok, Slovakia]
Date of death: 23 March 1964 - Los Angeles, California

6. Barton MacLane
Date of Birth: 25 December 1902 - Columbia, South Carolina
Date of Death: 1 January 1969 - Santa Monica, California

7. Gladys George [aka: Gladys Clare Evans]
Date of Birth: 13 September 1900 - Patten, Maine
Date of Death: 8 December 1954 - Los Angeles, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 101 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (10/05/2010)

The date given for this item is 1936 (why?), but the film was made in 1941.

...paid tribute to Charles V of Spain, by sending him A Golden Falcon encrusted from beak to claw with rarest jewels..."

The Falcon was lost in time.

Our mystery begins when a beautiful but enigmatic woman (Mary Astor) shows up at the Spade and Archer detective agency. She gives them a story that is implausible; however they are well paid. This leads to the death of Archer.

Who did it and why? The police suspect Sam Spade.

Who do you suspect?

As the story unfolds many interesting characters (suspects) show up and the story takes different turns as the mystery of the missing falcon continues.

I will not go through the whole story However there is many well know actors and Hammett dialog.

Be sure to view the earlier version of this story "Dangerous Female" (1931); you will get a different view.

Sam Spade (Ricardo Cortez)

Ruth Wonderly (Bebe Daniels)

Director: John Huston
Format: Black & White
Studio: Warner Studios
Video Release Date: February 1, 2000

Cast:

Humphrey Bogart ... Private Detective Sam Spade
Mary Astor ... Brigid O'Shaughnessy
Gladys George ... Iva Archer
Peter Lorre ... Joel Cairo
Barton MacLane ... Det. Lt. Dundy
Lee Patrick ... Effie Perine
Sydney Greenstreet ... Kasper Gutman
Ward Bond ... Det. Tom Polhaus
Jerome Cowan ... Miles Archer
Elisha Cook Jr. ... Wilmer Cook
James Burke ... Luke
Murray Alper ... Frank Richman
John Hamilton ... Bryan
Charles Drake ... Reporter
Chester Gan ... Bit part
Creighton Hale ... Stenographer
Robert Homans ... Policeman
William Hopper ... Reporter
Walter Huston ... Capt. Jacobi
Hank Mann ... Reporter
Jack Mower ... Announcer
Emory Parnell ... Ship's mate

This is a cult classic Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) film. The cast included all-time greats Peter Lorre, Sidney Greestreet, Walter Huston, Ward Bond, and other veterans like Mary Astor and Jerome Cowan.

John Huston directed, and kept the tension high throughout.

This is a story about a statue of a falcon that the Knights Templar had made as a gift for the King of Spain in gratitude. It was lost in transit to the king. Crusted with jewels of immense value, but covered with black lacquer to disguise its worth, it was lost for centuries. This story is about the struggle between factions of villains to get the bird.

If you have never see Bogart in this movie, you have missed one which is partly responsible for his fame.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

Of all the movies and reviews of Humphrey Bogart, let this one stand and pronounce that the scene when he slaps Peter Lorre's face and tells him, "shut-up and like it..." is the defining moment in Bogart's career and especially this movie.

Well crafted, but a bit loose on plot developement, The Maltese Falcon is what too many mystery/suspense movies trying to live up to an assumed description of what a "noir" film is supposed to be about, pledge their loyalties.

Entertaining more than a fine film, The Maltese Falcon is a tour de force performance for Bogart. If you are a fan, then this is a must see. The camera work is also a good source for cameramen wannabes.

In order to follow merely the plot of this story the first time round you need a brain that goes clickety-click fast enough to match Bogart's machine-gun-like delivery. I can't believe anyone ever talked as fast as he did on film. Partly because the plot is so intricate, it gets better each time you see it: everything eventually falls into place with perfect logic. But there's very much more to it. There's a terrific undertow of all kinds of deeper meanings below the surface: the campy amorality of the misfit crooks with their greed and false values, pursuing nothing. The ferocious bitterness in Bogart's staccato angel, precious, darling, sweetheart. It's as if he hated the whole female race. There's no love here, just off-screen pairing. It's pointless to complain that Mary Astor is melodramatic. That's the whole point of her character: she doesn't lie in order to gain some advantage, it's her feminine nature to put on an act, deceive and mislead. Her opposite is the role of the staunch and loyal secretary: "You're a good man, sister!" In fact the whole movie is suffused with gender-bending confusion. The cops are a couple of boyfriends. The womanising jerk, Archer, is Bogart's partner. Add to this the fantastic character-acting of, especially, Sydney Greenstreet. An amazing screen presence, he really was. This is a film which matures the more you see it, and it is definitely for the mature. I didn't think much of it, the first time I saw it.

The film is very clever and kind of twists you up a bit at the end. You have to pay attention to really capture the essence. Some greedy lowlifes want to get the Maltese falcon which apparently was part of the treasure given to the Knights Templar from the kingdom of Spain. Does anybody remember the Knights from the Da Vinci Code. Anyways, detective Sam Spade gets involved. His partner gets killed early on in the story and he hooks up where his partner left off. The cops think he killed his partner and most everybody sees him as a good for nothing. He plays it like that, trying to play his hand to the highest bidder, acting as if he wants the money, that thats all he is concerned with. The lowlifes project that on to him, because thats what they see in themselves. The cops don't trust him. He seems to be a one man show but is it for the money or for the need to see justice proclaimed. Bogart does a real good job in his character and the film noir is never better! The dialog is snappy and intelligent. I'm glad I am watching these movies. I thought the classics would be sort of silly, and old fashioned but this film shows real clarity.

Lisa Nary

Colorize the Maltese Falcon? HAH! Wonderful joke, Leonard. I do appreciate your twisted sense of humour.
Seriously, how can you go wrong with the combination of Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet?