The Maltese Falcon, 1941.
Directed by John Huston.
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, and Sydney Greenstreet.
SYNOPSIS:
Warner Bros. is celebrating its centennial with a series of classic movies released on 4K Ultra HD, and the first one I’m looking at is 1941’s The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart and a host of other stars of the era. It looks beautiful on 4K, and all of the extras from the 2010 Blu-ray were ported over on the included high-def disc, although there’s at least one thing missing from the old three-disc DVD set.
I’ve been playing around with ChatGPT and MidJourney recently, and rewatching The Maltese Falcon made me realize that someday, you might be able to use an AI engine to have it remake a classic movie with modern day sensibilities, complete with a current cast. I know, that’s a blasphemous idea to many people, especially those who grew up in a mostly analog era, but I have no doubt such a possibility is headed our way.
In the meantime, most film lovers will enjoy the opportunity to revisit The Maltese Falcon in glorious 4K, with a spectacular black-and-white image that has the grain intact. Some people might think that there’s no point in upgrading a black-and-white movie to 4K, but the new image quality allows a film like that to shine even brighter than it did before. In particular, the black areas of the image are deep and rich, which is particularly important for a film noir.
Helmed by John Huston in his directing debut (he also adapted the screenplay from Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel), The Maltese Falcon stars Humphrey Bogart as famous detective Sam Spade, who’s been hired by a woman (played by Mary Astor) who says she’s trying to find her sister.
Of course, she’s not who she seems to be, and although Sam is suspicious of her from the beginning, he still gets pulled into unwinding the relationships between her and two other treasure seekers (played by Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre). The three of them want the fabled Maltese Falcon, a black statuette from the Middle Ages that’s said to have jewels underneath its coat of lacquer, and the rest of the story revolves their attempts to find it, with Sam at the center of the activity.
I also own this film on DVD, and my understanding is that the Blu-ray ported everything over from that edition except two previous versions of the story on film from 1931 and 1936. Owners of that set had a chance to compare and contrast three versions of Hammett’s story (one of them is wildly different), and maybe someday we’ll be able to use AI to compare and contrast many other permutations of that tale.
This 4K Ultra HD edition ports over everything from that previous Blu-ray, starting with a great commentary track by Bogart biographer Eric Lax, who seems to have been well-prepared for his discussion. As a result, the track feels more like a film school lecture than the “Let’s sit down, watch the movie, and say whatever comes to mind” approach that a lot of commentaries take. If that’s your jam (and I love that kind of thing), you’ll appreciate it.
The commentary is the only extra on the 4K disc. It’s repeated on the included Blu-ray, which is the original 2010 edition, from what I understand. The rest of the bonus features are found there too, and of course Warner Bros. tossed in the obligatory code for a digital copy too. Here are the rest of the extras:
The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird (32 minutes): This is a solid retrospective on the making of the film, with a wide-ranging assortment of people offering their thoughts, including Henry Rollins (yes, the punk rock guy), comic book star Frank Miller, Hammett’s granddaughter, actor James Cromwell, and others.
Breakdowns of 1941 (13 minutes): This is a batch of goof-ups from not only The Maltese Falcon but also other films released that year. I’m not aware of such footage being released way back when, the same way it was in more recent decades, so this is a fun glimpse into the world of filmmaking in 1941.
Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart (44.75 minutes): Hosted by Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies fame, this is an examination of how Bogart was promoted in trailers from his films over the period of a few years where he went from mostly playing bad guys to becoming a leading man.
Warner Night at the Movies (38.25 minutes): I don’t think this is on the original DVD. (It’s packed away at the moment.) It’s an interesting glimpse into what theatergoers would have experienced in 1941, when a night at the movies also included a newsreel, cartoons, and a musical short.
Makeup tests with Astor and audio from three radio show adaptations of the novel (two featuring Bogart, Astor, and others) round out the platter.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
Originally published April 10, 2023. Updated April 22, 2024.
