Maltese Movie Reviews

Whether or not you're a Bogey fan, you're going to find something to enjoy in this set. This 4 disc collection contains two of the finest films ever made in "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca", one great though little-known thriller in "Key Largo", and a wonderful mystery in "The Big Sleep". "The Maltese Falcon" is the film that set up Bogart as the anti-hero, with his Sam Spade character only a little better than the criminals he works with. Still, in the end, his true colors shine through. "Casablanca" is an amazing movie because it's a romance, thriller, and action movie rolled into one! Bogey plays Rick, a man who has run away from it all to open his own bar and escape the pain of losing the woman he loved. Now she's walked back into his bar and into his life - with her husband. The film is amazing because it shows the selflessness of both lead characters in Bogart and Bergman. Both movies yeild countless classic lines that you've heard quoted dozens of times. "Key Largo" isn't as well known as the previous two, but it's a fabulous movie nonetheless. Bogart and Bacall star in this one, and Bogey plays a man trapped at a hotel while Edward G. Robinson as a gangster takes it over with his men. Folks, classic movies just don't get much better than this one, as the tension mounts every minute until the emotions finally have a chance to explode at the end. The action at the end makes it worth while and you just wait the whole movie for Bogey to tear into them. It's great! Finally, "The Big Sleep" is here - in both versions! This dvd has the theatrical release and the overseas release versions, so that alone makes it an amazing addition to the collection. The stories aren't too different, though there are several added scenes to the overseas version. Bogey plays Philip Marlowe and it's definitely a good thriller. If you're at home on a rainy Saturday afternoon, then this set it the one you want with you when you have time to kill! You definitely will not regret spending the money on these great dvds! There's not a stinker in the bunch (which can't be said for a lot of dvd collections).

What a GREAT collection! Casablanca's the trademark Bogart movie and one of the top five film classics for all time. Bogie and Bacall team together in the "Key Largo" and the "Big Sleep". The "Maltese Falcon" is a fine addition to round the set out. After all, it was suspense film about "..the thing that dreams are made of". If your shelf has room for two more Bogart favorites, I'd suggest "To Have and Have Not", Bacall's first film performance and "Treasure of the Sierra Madres", directed by John Huston.

This is a must for any fan of Bogart or old movies in general. The picture quality of this DVD set is excellent. The movies selected are all outstanding. Excellent performances by Edward G Robinson (Key Largo), Lauren Bacall, the incomparable Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Laurie and of course Ingrid Bergman. I wish they had included a fifth selection TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. That would have made this an even more complete survey of Bogart's work. However based on the 4 films represented here you can't go wrong with this selection.

I saw The Maltese Falcon on TCM and I thought it was excellent and had an outstanding cast, Humphrey Bogart as private eye Sam Spade, Mary Aster as Brigid O'Shaughnessy, Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo, Sydney Greenstreet as Kasper Guttman (AKA The Fat Man) and Elisha Cook Jr as the neurotic and vicious Wilmer Cook. This is a wonderful mystery and suspence movie with a lot of red herrings. Highly recommended. I taped The Maltese Falcon when it was on TCM but I could definitely see myself buying the DVD!

John Huston's 1941 remake of The Maltese Falcon became the definitive version as it opened the doors for the film noir genre. And noir movies opened up with The Glass Key, The Postman Rings Twice, Key Largo, and Dark Passage. The dark mood of these movies were put to best effect with black-and-white film, with dimly lighting in nighttime scenes reflecting the grimness of the genre.

Sam Spade becomes involved in the search for the title artifact with the introduction of three characters--Brigid O'Shaughnessy, Joel Cairo, and Kaspar Guttman. All three are involved in one way or another with the title object. The cynical Spade though, shows his loyalties to no one, but the one who pays him the most. He is also quick to strike out at anyone menacing him, such as a pistol-wielding Joel Cairo or Wilmer, a hired gun. His steel heart extends to his relationship with his partner, whose wife Iva he has an affair with, and even that is passionless. Only Ebbie, his loyal secretary with a nice personality who can handle Spade, gets the less hard part of his hard edge.

However, two murders entangled themselves in the web. The first is that of Spade's partner Miles Archer, who charmed by Brigid, offered to shadow a man she wanted followed. The second is Thursby, the object of his hunt. And Spade's caught up also because he is suspected of his partner's murder due to his affair with Iva, and he's got to fend off the police and D.A.'s office.
Certain camera shots get great mention, such as the shadow of the "Spade and Archer" sign cast from the window to the floor. Another is the bright spotlight effect shown on Miles's surprised face as he gets shot. And the way the camera focuses on the Fat Man's belly shows the weight he has, both physically and in terms of power. The lights and shadows enhance the costumes as well. Most of the characters are dressed in black.

This was the film that pushed Bogart to film legend status, making it his biggest success since The Petrified Forest. Ahead of him lay greater roles such as Rick (Casablanca), Phil Marlowe (The Big Sleep), Allnutt (The African Queen), Queeg (The Caine Mutiny), and Linus Larrabee (Sabrina).

Mary Astor (Brigitte) needed this kind of film, especially to counter the 1936 headliner scandal made over her sexual exploits with playwright George Kaufman, made public with the splashing of her diary across newspapers. Sydney Greenstreet as the plummy but dangerous "Fat Man", i.e. Guttman, Peter Lorre as the slightly effeminate Cairo, and Ed Begley Jr. as the neurotic gunsel Wilmer all add to this classic. He speaks in a low but quivering and menacing tone: "Keep on riding me, they'll be picking iron out of your liver."

Cinematically, a classic, and remember that line, "the stuff that dreams are made of."

There are so many archetypes in this film because it is based on one of several books written by Dashiell Hammett who invested detective fiction with so many innovations of his own. The result is a delightful film in which private investigator Sam Spade (Bogart) attempts to answer a series of questions which somehow seem much more important to him than they do to those who see this film. The screenplay is based on one of Hammett's novels and was written by John Huston. This is also the first film Huston directed. He and Bogart worked together on four other classics: Key Largo and The Treasure of Sierra Madre (both released in 1948), The African Queen (1951), and Beat the Devil (1953). If anything, I find this film even more amusing now than I did when I first saw it. How about the names of the characters? Miss Wonderly/Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Astor), Joel Cairo (Lorre), and Kaspar Gutman (Greenstreet). Someone's tongue was firmly in the nearest cheek. The plot makes little (if any) sense but who cares? The film's greatness is explained by the consistently superior acting and by the dialogue which never loses its Snap! Crackle! and Pop! To his great credit, amidst all the harmless nonsense, Bogart maintains his gravitas. He seems genuinely interested in "getting to the truth" to explain why his partner was murdered, why the Maltese Falcon is so valuable, etc. We tag along so as not to miss any of his interactions with a truly colorful cast of characters. Yes, that's Elisha Cook, Jr. in the role of Wilmer Cook. (No relation.) And yes, that's Huston's father Walter as Captain Jacobi. If you have not already seen it, why wait? If you have, see it again. Somehow it gets better and better, time after time, year after year after year.

Personally I didn't need all the movies in here, but I bought it anyway... Listen to me... buy just the movies you want, seperatly.

I can't understand why anyone would purchase a set like this. If you buy all the included DVD's individually, not only will you still get free shipping, but it's actually [$$] cheaper. I think these movies are some of the best ever committed to celluloid, I encourage every motion picture fan to own these films, but I just think it's silly to purchase them in this way.

These are some of the best of the best movies ever made.