Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart, A Documentary Look At Bogart's Warner Bros. Career Through Trailers of His Films, Hosted By Turner Classic Movies On-Air Personality Robert Osborne
2 Theatrical Trailers
Languages and Subtitles in English and French
Rated: Unrated
Closed captioning available
Run Time: 1 hours, 40 minutes
Video: Black & White
Released: February 1, 2000
Originally Released: 1941
Label: Warner Home Video
Encoding: Region 1 (USA & Canada)
Packaging: Keep Case
Single Side - Dual Layer
Aspect Ratio: Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital Mono - English
Dolby Digital Stereo - French
Additional Release Material:
Includes BECOMING ATTRACTIONS: THE TRAILERS OF HUMPHREY BOGART, a look back at Bogey's Warner Bros. films through trailers, hosted by Robert Osborne.
"When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it!"
- Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) to Cairo (Peter Lorre)
"Don't be too sure I'm as crooked as I'm supposed to be."
- Spade to Brigid O'Shaugnessy (Mary Astor)
"The stuff that dreams are made of."
Entertainment Reviews:
Total Film - 03/01/2000
"...The real spark in this suavest of mysteries is provided by its eccentric collection of villains..." -- 5 out of 5 stars
Los Angeles Times - 09/03/1998
"...Bogart was always in control....The movie is refreshingly cynical..."
Chicago Sun-Times - 05/13/2001
"...Huston's strategy is crafty....It's all style. It isn't violence or chases, but the way the actors look, move, speak and embody their characters..."
Premiere - 12/01/2003
"...FALCON is the archetypal American detective yarn..."
Entertainment Weekly - 10/06/2006
"Boldly manipulative light and shadow, utilizing drastic camera angles, and introducing Bogart's Sam Spade, the first-time director's detective classic defines film noir." -- Grade: A
Uncut - 03/01/2007 4 stars out of 5 -- "[The film] remains enjoyable for its razor-sharp dialogue....A great example of vintage studio alchemy."
Sight and Sound - 03/01/2007
"There is a spareness of style here that puts many of today's bloated thrillers to shame."
Ultimate DVD - 03/01/2007 5 stars out of 5 -- "This is pure essence of film noir -- essentially starting the genre..."
Description by OLDIES.com:
A gallery of high-living lowlifes will stop at nothing to get their sweaty hands on a jewel-encrusted falcon. Detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) wants to find out why - and who'll take the fall. This third screen version of Dashiell Hammett's novel is a film of firsts: John Huston's directorial debut, rotund Sydney Greenstreet's screen debut, film history's first film noir and Bogart's breakthrough role after years as a Warner contract player.
An all-star cast (including Greenstreet, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Elisha Cook, Jr.) join Bogart in this crisply written sizzler that placed in the top quarter of the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest American Films list. Many say it's the best detective drama ever. Each time you see it, you'll find it hard to disagree.
Product Description:
Hard-drinking private eye Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) sleuths the backyard of San Francisco in search of an elusive black bird statuette while evading the setups of three disparate miscreants: the duplicitous Brigid, the perfumed Mr. Cairo, and the scheming Fat Man. John Huston's brilliant directorial debut is aided by first-rate performances, excellent camera work, as well as the director's acute attention to detail while shooting the film. Based on the crime novel by Dashiell Hammett. Academy Award Nominations: 3, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Sydney Greenstreet), and Best Screenplay. Previous versions of the story were filmed in 1931 (a.k.a. DANGEROUS FEMALE) and in 1936 (as SATAN MET A LADY, starring Bette Davis), and poorly redone in 1975 (THE BLACK BIRD).
THE MALTESE FALCON was an original selection to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1989.
Dashiell Hammett's novel was first adapted for the screen in 1931. Known alternately as "The Maltese Falcon" and "Dangerous Female," this version was directed by Roy del Ruth and starred Bebe Daniels, Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges, Robert Elliott, Thelma Todd, Una Merkel, and Dwight Frye. In 1936, a second adaptation appeared. The William Dieterle film, "Satan Met a Lady," featured Bette Davis, Warren William, Alison Skipworth, and Arthur Treacher.
After years of screenwriting, John Huston made his directorial debut with "Falcon." His father, actor Walter Huston, has a cameo in the film.
Sydney Greenstreet made his sound-film debut with "Falcon." He was previously a member of the Lunt-Fontaine theater troupe.
Mary Astor and Humphrey Bogart were cited by the National Board of Review for their acting achievement in "The Maltese Falcon."
A colorized version of the film is also available.
That Mysterious and Deadly Bird
Movie Lover: Hanley Harding from
Sunny Isles Beach, FL -- October, 29, 2005
This is a classic Bogey vehicle, with Mary Astor as the love interest. Maybe in her day, Mary Astor was considered a hottie, but I personally think she detracts somewhat from the smoky sexual intrigue thread of the plot. Based loosely on the fabled Crusades history of the Order of the Knights Hospitaler of Malta, a fabulous jewel-encrusted bird was supposed to have been sent by the Knights as a tribute to Spain's then-King Phillip. The Falcon is, of course, stolen, and an unending search by desperate people carries on through the centuries. Fast-forward... With the unannounced arrival of a sea captain -- laced with .45 bullet holes -- at his door, clutching the prize in brown wrapping paper, our hero, Sam Spade, is drawn into the international web of murder and deceit which has long surrounded the fabled Falcon. A wonderful cast of characters (Astor, Peter Laurie, Elisha Cook, Sydney Greenstreet, and even good old Ward Bond of TV's Wagon Train fame) give fine performances. The storyline takes plenty of twists; the acting is great; and that Falcon finally ends up...? (sorry... I ain't gonna spill the beans).
Film Collectors & Archivists: Alpha Video is actively looking for rare and
unusual pre-1943 motion pictures, in good condition, from Monogram, PRC,
Tiffany, Chesterfield, and other independent studios for release on DVD. We
are also interested in TV shows from the early 1950s. Share your passion
for films with a large audience.
Let us know what you have.
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