Maltese Falcon

FORMAT: Blu-Ray UPC: 8-83929-11825-0 RELEASED: 2010-10-05 TITLE: The Maltese Falcon (1941) • NR • 1:40:32 Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet John Huston (Director) The movie that many film historians consider to be the very first example of "film noir"! (I personally DON'T agree with that assessment, as there are, in my opinion, MANY earlier examples of film noir — such as, Bogie's own Dead End from 1937.) Be that as it may, this is still an EXCELLENT movie — with its collection of odd-ball and/or duplicitous characters, with their various (and, nefarious) motivations, all plotting against one another in order to achieve some nebulous goal! This is the movie that cemented Humphrey Bogart as a superstar actor — and, it also changed John Huston from an erstwhile highly-respected screenwriter (and VERY small-time actor, on the side) into a VERY highly-respected screenwriter, and a MUCH sought-after director (with a slightly-more-frequent bit playing acting career, on the side). Of the MANY great things about this movie, one of the most important, in my opinion, is that EVERYBODY is perfectly cast — and, consequently, EVERY performance is pitch-perfect (Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, speaking of just two great examples of that aforementioned perfect casting, very nearly steal the movie). Another important aspect of this movie is its brilliant dialog — sometimes, while re-watching this movie, for the who-knows-how-many-time, I forget about following the plot and just absorb the wordplay between the characters (with the many snide remarks and sly innuendos). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. See the other reviews for more detail and/or other opinions regarding the plot of the movie. VIDEO: 1.37:1 • B&W • 1080p • VC-1 (28.6 Mbps) Let's get the bad news out of the way off the top: Those of you that have seen Warners' glorious blu-ray presentation of Casablanca (1942) , and expect that SAME level of visual presentation here, with this release of "The Maltese Falcon" will be disappointed — but, only slightly so. While this movie's image has MANY of the same VERY positive visual attributes as "Casablanca" (namely: excellent contrast and gray-scale, great sharpness and detail, and a total (or, nearly so) absence of artifacts such as black specks, white dots, hair-lines or dropped frames), it also has some negative visual attributes of its own — that were non-existent (or, nearly so) in "Casablanca" (namely: a pervasive, ever-so-slight softness in MANY scenes, and a very few scenes that were overly "contrasty", with very limited gray-scale [yes, I know that film noir is known for its stark, high-contrast cinematography, but these scenes didn't match the appearance of the rest of the movie, and, further, look like they may have originated from less-than-pristine source elements]). OK, that's the "bad" news. Now, for the "good" news: This is still an EXCELLENT transfer to blu-ray. As a person who has owned this movie first on VHS tape and then later on Laser Disc, before purchasing this blu-ray version, I can tell you that this version is a visual revelation, and it looks FANTASTIC! Only a hyper-picky, so-called "videophile" could possibly have a "reason" to condemn the picture quality of this release — the rest of us will simply count our blessings and enjoy the show. AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48 KHz, 24-bit) Again, just like with the audio presentation of "Casablanca", the fine sound engineers at Warner Home Video have done extensive clean-up work on the film's soundtrack, because there are no pops, bumps or hiss to speak of. Also, the dialog is very clear and natural sounding, with all voices being clearly defined and easily understood. However, the transfer's dynamic range is fairly limited, and there isn't any deep bass nor any top-end to speak of (though, the musical score does sound better than one would expect under the circumstances). Otherwise, considering the age of the source elements and the fact that this is a monophonic, dialog-driven movie from the early 1940s, this film's soundtrack has VERY good sound quality. EXTRAS: Commentary (by Bogart biographer Eric Lax) 'Making Of' Video (The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird [SD]) Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart [SD] Warner Night at the Movies (interactive featurette [SD]) Gag Reel/Bloopers (Breakdowns of 1941 [SD]) Makeup Tests [SD] Trailers ('The Maltese Falcon' and 'Satan Met a Lady') Three Radio Show Adaptations of 'The Maltese Falcon' [SD = Standard Definition] None of the extras were reviewed.

If one wished to be brutally objective, "Blood Simple" and "The Usual Suspects" are "better" films than "The Maltese Falcon". But "better" is a relative term, and frankly, they just don't make them like this any more. "The Maltese Falcon" is gritty and unpleasant in a nasty, unsanitary way -- just the antidote for Sonja Henie and Shirley Temple. The Blu-ray transfer is excellent, without apparent grain reduction or edge sharpening. My only complaint is that skin highlights are sometimes burned out, but this is minor. There was no dirt or scratches, but there are occasional density fluctuations. It's hard to imagine a better transfer. The pleasure of seeing classic B&W films in HD on a large screen -- probably better than they ever looked in a theater -- is that one can better appreciate the performances. I never thought much of the younger Bogart as an actor, but I'm starting to develop respect. No one seems to have pointed out the story's misogyny and "male-bonding" -- possibly because the presence of three homosexual characters blinds us to it. Though Sam Spade could have protected Brigid and had her (for a while, anyway), sex is far less important than loyalty to his partner, and the need to avenge his death. By the way, a "gunsel" is not someone who "carries heat" for a criminal -- not in the "firearms" sense, anyway. (This went right past the Production Board.) "Gunsel" comes from a Yiddish word meaning "little goose". When Gutman says he cares for Wilmer as much as if he were his own son -- well, you figure it out. The supplemental material follows the "Warners Night at the Movies" format. It includes one of the first Bugs Bunny cartoons, "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt". Absolutely recommended, a necessity in any film collection -- unless you think movies have to be in widescreen and color. PS: There is a valid criticism that /might/ be made of this film. It is not "about" a valuable object disreputable people are searching for, but a story about people lying to each other -- which necessarily results a scene after scene of "talking heads". Showing us what /actually/ happened would make the film more superficially "entertaining" -- but largely destroy the point. "The Maltese Falcon" is a drama about delusion and disillusion -- not a melodrama about crime.

Great 4K of classic film.

One of the first American film noirs and certainly THE archetype for all detective movies for the next several decades, "The Maltese Falcon" both established Bogart as a true leading man movie star as well as introduce a brilliant new director in John Houston. These two would go on and do several more classic films together over the next decade or so. The main character, hard bitten and cynical private detective Sam Spade, gets drawn into a black hole of lies, double crosses and abject greed with a group of treasure hunters and we go along for the very bumpy ride. The film is based on the earlier classic novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and was unsuccessfully brought to the screen twice before in the previous decade. The iconic dialog, various character tropes and leading-edge filming techniques used to heighten shadow contrasts and odd disturbing camera angles all goes to creating the classic detective noir world we grow to know in so many future movies and TV shows over the next 80 plus years. Warner Bros. does a great job with this 4K Blu-ray presentation. The image is so clean and stable but still filmic with fine film grain, deep blacks, well delineated grayscales and nary a spot of damage. Increased detail in faces, clothing, etc. is very well noticed. The HDR really pops the contrasty specular highlights off of desk lamps, match lights, glistening sweat beads and other small details that go to add an almost 3D feel to the image. The DTS HD-MA 2.0 sound is full and undistorted. Dialog is clear and the music score has good fidelity. Standard earlier special features are ported over on the included Blu-ray disc. This is a must own for anyone building a physical media collection of great, classic cinema and is required viewing of any fan of noir.

If you're looking for a definitive way to experience the iconic noir of The Maltese Falcon, look no further than the 4K release. Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade has never looked sharper; the black and white cinematography truly shines with incredible depth and detail, making every shadowy corner and cynical glance pop. You'll practically feel the San Francisco fog creeping into your living room. It's a gorgeous restoration that breathes new life into a classic, proving that some treasures are indeed the stuff that dreams are made of. Highly recommended for fans of classic cinema and anyone who appreciates a perfectly rendered fedora.

Fantastic movie. Wonderful acting. Good story. If you like mysteries, this one is for you. Nothing like good actors to make this a good movie.

The Maltese Falcon is a great, classic movie, so it doesn't need me to speak up for it. The only reason I'm writing a review is because I'm frustrated with the quality of movie commentaries these days, including this one. The film scholar who does it seems like a nice enough guy, and he's certainly knowledgeable, but he and the studio chose the wrong knowledge to share, and go about it entirely the wrong way for the medium. Basically, the commentator is reading an essay to you; for much of the film, literally reading an essay to you. Most of it has no bearing on what's happening on the screen. It's the kind of information you would get from reading someone's obituary (or having it read to you by a stranger). So, as soon as Bogart or Astor or Lorre, etc., appears on the screen, we get 5-10 minutes of, "Peter Lorre was born on June 3rd, 1901, in St. Hildegaard's Infirmary in Hamburg. His mother, Matilda, was a baker's assistant who liked arranging flowers and knitting dinner jackets for cuckoo clocks. His father, Rudolf, was a narcoleptic fishmonger from Alsace, whom no one particularly liked. When Peter was three, he..." Stop! Guys, this is a commentary somebody is listening to while they watch the movie. Probably, they would like it to be about the movie, don't you think? If you can't fill the length of a movie like this one with interesting tidbits about what's happening on screen and stories about its making, etc., you need to back up, have a think, and try again. If you want to include biographical essays, fine, print them up and put them in the package; but, for the love of God, I beg you, do not read them to me during the movie. Wrong medium!

I already had a 1080p digital copy of this movie, so I wasn't expecting a big jump in picture quality. I was pleasantly surprised with how clean and crisp the picture looked. As far as the movie goes, I think it's a masterpiece.

Very well acted secret villains mystery with a surprise ending.

this is a classic, a much watch.

It’s a great film in every way. Sam Spade is one of Bogart’s finest performances, & he’s matched by Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook Jr. & more. With brilliant screenwriting & direction by John Huston, The Maltese Falcon will always be a masterpiece.

Excelente

I bought this as a used blu ray. Delivery was speedy & the product ok. The film is as brilliant as always. If you don’t know it, seek it out... Transfer is good and clear. While not to the absolute heights of ‘Criterion Collection’ releases its fine.