Product Description

A great giftset with four of Humphrey Bogart's most classic films. These include: The Big Sleep, Casablanca, Key Largo, and the Maltese Falcon.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40196 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-09-05
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 534 minutes

Amazon.com
The Maltese Falcon
Still the tightest, sharpest, and most cynical of Hollywood's official deathless classics, bracingly tough even by post-Tarantino standards. Humphrey Bogart is Dashiell Hammett's definitive private eye, Sam Spade, struggling to keep his hard-boiled cool as the double-crosses pile up around his ankles. The plot, which dances all around the stolen Middle Eastern statuette of the title, is too baroque to try to follow, and it doesn't make a bit of difference. The dialogue, much of it lifted straight from Hammett, is delivered with whip-crack speed and sneering ferocity, as Bogie faces off against Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet, fends off the duplicitous advances of Mary Astor, and roughs up a cringing "gunsel" played by Elisha Cook Jr. It's an action movie of sorts, at least by implication: the characters always seem keyed up, right on the verge of erupting into violence. This is a turning-point picture in several respects: John Huston (The African Queen) made his directorial debut here in 1941, and Bogart, who had mostly played bad guys, was a last-minute substitution for George Raft, who must have been kicking himself for years afterward. This is the role that made Bogart a star and established his trendsetting (and still influential) antihero persona. --David Chute

Casablanca
A truly perfect movie, Casablanca (1942) still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films. This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. --Tom Keogh

The Big Sleep
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall made screen history together more than once, but they were never more popular than in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel, directed by Howard Hawks (To Have and Have Not). Bogart plays private eye Philip Marlowe, who is hired by a wealthy socialite (Bacall) to look into troubles stirred up by her wild, young sister (Martha Vickers). Legendarily complicated (so much so that even Chandler had trouble following the plot), the film is nonetheless hugely entertaining and atmospheric, an electrifying plunge into the exotica of detective fiction. William Faulkner wrote the screenplay. --Tom Keogh

Key Largo
John Huston directed this smart 1948 thriller about a gangster (Edward G. Robinson) who holds a number of people hostage in a hotel in the Florida Keys during a tropical storm. Humphrey Bogart is the returning war veteran who takes on the villains, and Lauren Bacall is on hand as one of the people on the wrong end of Robinson's gun. Somewhat similar in tone to Howard Hawks's To Have and Have Not (which also featured Bogart and Bacall), this moody movie captures a certain despair offset by the bond between individuals united by common purpose. Claire Trevor won an Academy Award for her part as Robinson's alcoholic girlfriend. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

famous movie
I would wait for the two disc release ( if it ever arrives ) of Maltese Falcon, and Big Sleep.

Maltese Falcon was sloppily restored, and is missing the tail end of the scene during which Bogart was threatened by Lorre, in Bogart's own office. I do not know why the scene was deleted, but it came as a surprise!

Excellent Boxed Set of Classic Bogart
This boxed set contains four great classic movies. It is a perfect choice for any fan of Humphrey Bogart or classic films. Each movie is well rendered onto DVD and contains a great selection of special features often lacking on older movies. It goes without saying that these are excellent films. The movies, especially Casablanca and the Maltese Falcon, have been absorbed into the American national culture and references to them are seen everywhere from modern movies and books to Bugs Bunny cartoons. Bogart is great as a tough but three dimensional character. The supporting actors including Peter Lorre, Lauren Bacall, Sidney Greenstreet, Ingrid Bergman and Mary Astor are likewise interesting. This box set is a necessity for anyone who loves old movies.

Larry Carnes
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.