Rating: 
Summary: Film Noir at its Finist....the Falcon forever shines...
Review: This is an old classic detective movie starring Bogart at its finish. Set in the bay area back then and the plot is tight. This movie sets a trend for Bogarts for his later movies so if you haven't seen it yet, i highly recommend it especially if ur into old classic bogart movies. The lines come write off the novel and i enjoy every minute of it. A true classic that you can watch over and over again like Casablanca.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Interpretation
Review: ... I'm not sure why. The Maltese Falcon should be enshrined in the pantheon of great movies for several reasons. First, it is almost an exact interpretation of the book - right down to the little detail of the way Spade is amused at his own hand shaking after confronting Gutman. Second - the performances. Bogart immortalized two of the 20th century's greatest detectives - Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade. Peter Lorre is unforgetable as Cairo and there is the inimitable Sydney Greenstreet as Gutman. True, I didn't picture Brigid O'Shaugnessy as Mary Astor, but that's a trifle here. This is a gem of cinema that allows us to travel to a time, place, and STYLE that doesn't exist anymore.
Rating: 
Summary: THE STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF, LOOKS A LITTLE DUSTY
Review: This is one of those Humphrey Bogart classics that always draws an audience. Bogart is Sam Spade and here he's in search of a mysterious statue rumored to be encrusted with jewels from the king of Spain. He's got company in the chase - a couple of murderers fronted by the considerable girth of Casper Guttman (Sidney Greenstreet) and a real vixen in the embodiment of Miss O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor). This is the stuff that dreams are made of!
Unfortunately Warner Brothers DVD falls short of making the dream sparkle. The years have not been good to this classic and although most of the film exhibits a clarity and contrast level far superior to any version released to home video prior to this, the original film negative is still riddled with camera splices, water stains and scratches. There's also some fine detail shimmering and a hint of edge enhancement, coupled with some digital noise, that makes the print look rather grainy at times. Like Warners release of "The Big Sleep" or "Key Largo", these films need to be revisited by Warner with a completely new digital transfer. The sound is mono and well worn as well, though its sonic characteristics tend to hold up quite well under scrutiny. No extras here - a real shame!
Rating:
Summary: Dark and sexy
Review: So much has been written about this seminal motion picture. For the uninitiated it's a great introduction to Bogie; modern audiences used to sex-drenched movies will be surprised at the current of strong, overt sexuality that weaves its way through The Maltese Falcon's fanciful plot. Once again, more proof that other generations had carnal activities on their minds when they went to the movies!As for special features, this disc offers an interesting portrait of how the Bogart image evolved at Warner Brothers via an examination of movie trailers. The piece, which originally aired on TCM and is hosted by Robert Osborne, is a smart examination of movie star image as cultivated through the grinder of studio PR.
Rating:
Summary: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of On DVD
Review: Seldom has any novel been so successfully interpreted on screen: in approaching Dashiell Hammett's seminal private-eye novel, director John Huston not only stayed meticulously true to the plot, he also lifted great chunks on the novel's dialogue directly into the script--and then styled the pace, cinematography, and performances to reflect Hammett's stripped-for-action tone. And the result, to borrow a phrase from the film, is "the stuff that dreams are made of." THE MALTESE FALCON is a iconographic landmark in twentieth century cinema. The story is well known. Private eyes Sam Spade and Miles Archer are employed by an attractive but decidedly questionable Brigid O'Shaughnessy to track down a man named Thursby--but within hours of taking the case both Miles Archer and Thursby are shot dead, and Spade finds himself embroiled in a search for a legendary lost treasure: the figure of a falcon, encrusted with jewels. The cast is remarkable. Humphrey Bogart made a name for himself first on the stage and then in films with a series of memorable gangster roles, and was fresh from his great success in HIGH SIERRA; Sam Spade, which offered a new twist on his already established persona, was an inspired bit of casting. Mary Astor had been a great star in silent film, but the late twenties and early thirties found her dogged by scandal; perhaps deliberately playing on those memories, she brought a remarkable mixture of toughness, tarnish, and absolute believability to the role of the very, very dangerous Brigid. And the chemistry between Bogart and Astor is a remarkable thing, a simmering sexuality that more glossy casting could have never achieved. The supporting cast is equally fine. Although a great star in Europe and the star of a number of 1930s films, Peter Lorre was still something of an unknown quanity in American film; Sidney Greenstreet was a minor stage actor with no screen experience; Elisha Cook was a well-liked but neglected character actor. But THE MALTESE FALCON would fix all three firmly in the public mind, and to some extent all three would continue to play variations of their FALCON roles for the rest of their lives. FALCON is particularly noted as one of several films that craftily circumvented the notorious "Production Code" by effectively implying but never directly stating the various sexual relations between the characters. Spade has clearly had an affair with Archer's wife, Iva; Archer is clearly a man on the sexual make, and leaps at the chance to tail Brigid. Lorre's lines effectively expose Brigid as man-hungry, and the script and situations do everything but flatly state that Lorre's character is homosexual. Perhaps most startling is the implied sexual relationship between Sidney Greenstreet and the hoodlum Elisha Cook, and the concluding implication that Lorre may well replace Cook in Greenstreet's affections. Just as the plotlines swirl and twist, so do the layers of innuendo and the tangles of sexual uncertainty--all of it adding to the film's feel of uneasy decadence and grittiness. The DVD bonuses are enjoyable but slight--two film trailers and a documentary that uses trailers to show how Warner Bros. marketed Bogart during the 1930s and 1940s. But even if it came without any bonuses the DVD would still be greatly welcomed: although it has not been restored in a computer-corrected sense, this is the finest print I have ever seen of the film, far superior to anything available on VHS. A great film, a true essential, and strongly, strongly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: "The uhhh... stuff that dreams are made of."
Review: "The Maltese Falcon" is such a famous movie, and so often parodied, that it can be difficult to separate your mind from it's history and just enjoy it. If you can do that, you are in for a treat. This if Film Noir at it's finest. All the dames are dangerously beautiful, and all the detectives are hard-boiled. Never, ever trust the Fat Man or anyone named Joel Cairo. Tense, moody and harsh are all adjectives that describe this film. The dialog is as sharp and as clever as Jane Austin. "The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter." The ending scene is one of cinema's greatest. You just can't go wrong with a true classic of this caliber. The DVD is great. The black and white is crisp and clear, and completely essential to the mood of the flick. Why anyone ever colorized the Maltese Falcon is beyond me, but here it is completely restored. The extra feature, "Becoming Attractions," is very interesting. It examines the Hollywood selling of Humphrey Bogart from background "heavy" to leading man.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Detective Movie
Review: THE MALTESE FALCON is my favorite detective movie of all time. It is considered a classic today because so many different facets of the film's making seem to have come together magically in this one production. John Huston was a screenwriter who wanted to remake the old MALTESE FALCON as his first film as a director. He not only did a superb job in his directing debut but also acted as screenwriter. The selection of Sydney Greenstreet to fill the role of Kaspar Gutman at age 61 after specializing in playing butlers on Broadway was another fortunate choice. Greenstreet had no previous Hollywood experience. The most important decision of all was probably to cast Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade after George Raft had turned down the offer. It helped that the film had an all-star array of actors to complement Bogart. It would be difficult to find more suitable picks than Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, Ward Bond and Elisha Cook, Jr. Even a mere cameo appearance by Walter Huston resulted in an unforgettable scene. The director's father portrayed the dying Captain Jacobi of the La Paloma delivering the Falcon to Spade's office. THE MALTESE FALCON is certainly not a love story in the style of CASABLANCA. The Bogart characters in both films, however, strike me as being quite similar. I see them both as ordinary men who rise to heroic heights by sticking to a few basic rules of decency - in spite of their many human failings. I highly recommend THE MALTESE FALCON and am sure that I will no doubt see it again - and again.
Rating:
Summary: Everybody's a liar. Where's the truth?
Review: Most of the movie is in the lines, not in the scenes. So, more than watching, you have to hear. In these lines you will find that almost every dialog is full of lies and then your first option is to guess what is the truth no one wants to tell. However, the movie does not become a mess. Bogart plays the detective very nicely to guide you through the story. That's your second option: just follow him and don't worry trying to guess what's happening. There are some scenes out-of-date for our 21-century point of view, but they are part of a whole picture well introduced. I'm giving four stars because I had liked another final, though the one shown would fit perfectly in the story. The actors' performance would deserve more.
Rating:
Summary: Bird Flies on DVD
Review: First, the DVD transfer of the movie is terrific. I've owned this film for many years on VHS, and enjoyed it until I saw it on DVD. The tonal quality is preserved in a manner that simply isn't possible on tape. The DVD transfer has none of the film defects that I didn't notice until I saw it here. The sound quality is great. There are two movie trailers along with a closer look at Bogart's other movies. Whenever I watch these B/W films on DVD I have to turn the contrast down on my television, as they lose too many gray tones on my regular 'auto' setting on my TV. Hammett's taut mystery actually was made into film more than once; as the box states, this is the third version. No one remembers the others, and for good reason. This is the first and foremost of the 'film noir' genre, never surpassed. The lean quality of film noir is never more apparent than in this movie. There isn't an ounce of fat in it. The trick is to maintain this quality without having the actors sound stilted, as they did in so many imitators. Not here, though. The plot concerns the pursuit of an ancient bejewelled statue of a falcon, and the people determined to acquire it by any means possible. In the film, these are Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet. All play their parts to quirky perfection. I've read before that Mary Astor had to campaign hard to get this role after her career was tarnished with a tell-all sex scandal. She shines here with a buttoned-up performance that certainly isn't a part that flatters. Peter Lorre is a hoot as the androgynous Joel Cairo--love that permed hair! This was indeed Sidney Greenstreet's first movie after a long and distinguished career on the stage. He was quite lacking in confidence in his performance until he saw the final film, then went on to make any others. Another standout was the performance of Elisha Cook, Jr., as the smarmy bodyguard, Wilmer, for Greenstreet. For those who haven't seen the movie, or don't remember it, I won't detract from the pleasure of watching it by further outlining the plot. Suffice to say that it has a number of twists and an ending that one wouldn't predict. This is a movie I watch periodically simply to enjoy the interplay of actors and the mastery of the movie-making process. Watching it, it's amazing that it was the first film directed by John Huston, and what a way to start! The VHS transfer of this movie was good, but the DVD is much, much better--the permanence of DVD notwithstanding. It will make a valuable addition to your film library, and one that you can enjoy repeatedly.
Rating:
Summary: Quintessential Bogart, Quintessential Detective Film
Review: Whenever I think of Humphrey Bogart, I think of him in "The Maltese Falcon". Though Bogart had been a strong supporting player before this film, he had primarily played villainous gangsters. Even in "High Sierra" released earlier that year, Bogart had played a gangster albeit a sympathetic one. But it was this role that planted the image of Bogart into our psyche and made him into a major star. In addition to Bogart, this film marked the directorial debut of the great John Huston who would go on to a successful career. Huston and Bogart would team up again in "Across the Pacific", "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", "Key Largo", "The African Queen", and "Beat the Devil". Bogart plays Sam Spade, a hard-boiled San Francisco detective who finds himself embroiled in a strange case when a seemingly helpless woman enlists his aid. Soon afterwords, his partner is murdered and Spade must contend with a bizzare and dangerous assortment of characters. It seems that everyone is after a priceless statue (listed in the title) and will stop at nothing to get it. What I always thought was neat about Bogart was the way he managed to stay on top of every situation. He sees through every ploy, he keeps taking the gun away from Wilmer, he doesn't let his deceitful client get the better of him, and all the while somehow managing to remain uncorrupted, maintaining his own code of honor. He was truly one of the coolest actors ever (is it appropriate for a 22-year-old to use the word "cool"?). The only downside is that Bogart's popularity probably caused a lot of people to take up smoking. Fortunately, I managed to escape this fate. The supporting cast couldn't be better. Mary Astor is quite good as Brigid O'Shaughnessy, a compulsive liar who gets what she deserves at the end. Sydney Greenstreet is appropriately disgusting as the obese Kasper Gutman (GUTman?!), and that great character actor Peter Lorre has a memorable role as the menacing, vaguely homosexual Joel Cairo. Lorre I thought always had the most expressive eyes I've ever seen. One moment you're frightened of him, the next moment you find yourself laughing at him. For anyone who likes Bogart, Huston, or private-eye thrillers, this is the place to start.
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