The Maltese Falcon details
| Formats: | PG DVD, Blu-ray |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Peter Lorre, Gladys George, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, Ward Bond, Elisha Cook Jr Jr., Elisha Cook, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Drake, Mary Astor, William Hopper, Sidney Greenstreet, John Hamil |
| Director: | John Huston |
| Genre: | Drama - Mystery |
| Studio: | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Collections: | 100 must-see movies, 100 Top Thrillers, American Film Institute's top 100 |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
The Maltese Falcon |
PG Feature | |
The Maltese Falcon - Bonus Features |
PG Bonus |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 1 hour 39 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 01 Jul 2000 |
| Main languages: | English |
| Dubbed: | Italian |
| Subtitles: | Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish |
| Hearing impaired subtitles: | English, Italian |
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Most helpful review
"There's only one Maltese Falcon."
By teknofobe from Worcs , 28 Jan 2004[Highly rated reviewer]
Prior to 1941, Humphrey Bogart had been typecast as the 'gangster' or 'villain', but when his performance in "High Sierra" catapulted him into stardom, the studio need to invent him as a more sympathetic tough guy, a flawed hero -- and that is exactly what the "Maltese Falcon" was intended to do.
But as it turned out, the film was also the first chapter in the great genre of 1940's film noir -- an appealing thriller with complex, interesting characters and a plot that ... well, even director John Huston couldn't make sense of it. The opening scene sets the ultimate cliché, opening with the world-weary private detective sitting in his office, when a gorgeous femme fatale enters asking for his help. After Sam Spade's partner is murdered, he is drawn into a complex plot centred on a priceless artefact known as the Maltese Falcon.
The supporting cast area also terrific. In Peter Lorre's performance as the sneaky, conniving Joel Cairo you can see where Andy Serkis may have taken his inspiration for his portrayal of Gollum in "Lord of the Rings". Along with Sydney Greenstreet and Bogart, he formed a team who made several more films together, attempting to relive the success of this one. In fact, the following Bogart film "Across the Pacific" was practically marketed as a sequel even though it was a completely unrelated war movie.
The star would of course go on to even greater things, but this film is where his career really started.- Was this review helpful to you?
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All reviews
(47)1940's re-visited
By Burnhamite (379 reviews) from BURNHAM , 17 Mar 2013Predictable script with a story out of 'The Ark' nevertheless just watching and listening to Bogart, Astor, Greenstreet, Lorre and Bond, plus the inclusion of the magic words 'Bum Steer' and 'Mickey Finn' added an extra point. Thought the film was in technicolour but sadly this was a 'Bum Steer'- Was this review helpful to you?
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It's a classic of its kind.
By Multapunkata (3 reviews) , 03 Mar 2013It shows its age, particularly in its portrayal of women, so allowances have to be made. It's absorbing and so for crash-bang-wallop afficionados it won't do. Watch it for the wonderful performances (Peter Lorre is fantastic) and the beautiful filming. The dialogue is very good, too, but it requires concentration. If you're not prepared to listen then stick to Bruce Willis films.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Bogey Wins Again
By Cato (705 reviews) from Lydbury North , 11 Feb 2013Humph shines in this classic private eye film as Sam Spade, always the man to dig up the dirt about the crooks he seems to be surrounded by. Not quite as great as I thought it was going to be, but there are some superb performances from the richly assembled cast.- Was this review helpful to you?
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A great classic with many excellent performances
By riskysmith (104 reviews) , 27 Nov 2012[Highly rated reviewer]
I am from the time when films like this one were being seen regularly at the cinema, and it is still better than some of the terrible films being churned out today. I became a great fan of Peter Lorre and have copies of all of his films except one 'Scent of Mystery' from 1960. I rented this one partly whilst awaiting discs at the top of my rental list and partly to see if picture quality had improved. The answer to the latter is that it has not, and it is such a classic it should be improved with blu ray. There cannot be many people who have not seen the film but if you have not you should. I notice than some reviewers did not like it, they must be fans of films with loads of Computer generated activity.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Classic - don't make me laugh
By Mike_y (1 review) , 20 Sep 2012Dreadful rubbish. Just a potboiler for Humphrey Bogart fans.
Very little thought has gone into the plot or dialogue. Watch out for Mr. Gutman's 'bodyguard' though, for unintentional laughs.
The only good thing about the film is Sydney Greenstreet's performance. All the other stars are just one-dimensional characters.- Was this review helpful to you?
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