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List Price: $23.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 25115
Released: April 24, 2007 |
| Our Price: $26.95 |
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MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Disc 1: THE MALTESE FALCON Disc 2: CITIZEN KANE Discs 3 & 4: BEN HUR
Description of Essential Classics - Dramas (The Maltese Falcon / Citizen Kane / Ben-Hur):
This four-disc set, part of Warner's Essential Classics series, collects three truly classic films--The Maltese Falcon, Citizen Kane, and Ben-Hur--in one inexpensive package. The drawback is you don't get the bonus discs of the movies--one in the case of Citizen Kane, and two each for The Maltese Falcon and Ben-Hur (which still needs two discs just for the movie)--so if you're a documentary junky or if you simply have to see the earlier versions of The Maltese Falcon, you'll want to stick with the individual releases. But this set does include the commentary tracks, shorts, photo galleries, and other material that was on the movie discs of those sets, and best of all, they have the great remastered pictures of the previous releases. So if you just want the movies looking better than ever with some bonus features thrown in for good measure, the price per movie makes this set an attractive bargain. --David Horiuchi
Essential Classics - Dramas (The Maltese Falcon / Citizen Kane / Ben-Hur) Reviews:
excellent deal 
2009-01-18 - I was looking for a copy of Citizen Kane when I happened upon this sweet deal.
3 Great Classics
2009-01-17 - This is a great collection of some classic films. I had never seen the other two but I saw Ben Hur when I was a kid and loved it. The best thing is the value of having the three movies for this price. I got this as a Christmas present and just recently watched Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon for the first time and really enjoyed them both. I had always heard Kane was a classic but never got around to watching it but I can understand its relevance in this collection. Ben Hur is great and always has been even though disc two really isn't that long but it is really enjoyable. The Maltese Falcon was really good to for a movie I had never heard of starring Humphrey Bogart. The dvd transfer of these movies aren't really what I expected but they do a good enough job and its not like they look really bad nor are they very grainy. I just thought it would look better and possibly sound better but thats o.k. seeing the value in what you get. Fans of classic movies should really see this and odds are they have already but if not get them this collection.
Citizen Kane Defective Disc ! 
2009-01-05 - I bought this set in great anticipation. I'd wanted The Maltese Falcon in my collection for a long time: Wanted to replace my VHS copy of Ben Hur. Citizen Kane; considered by some the greatest movie ever made: was just a bonus ! Upon receipt I viewed all : Citizen Kane last. Unfortunately it was a defective disc. It would pop and skip and stall ; often missing huge chunks of the feed ; blotted out by digital sqares on the screen. It was terrible. I requested a replacement which they promptly sent. The replacement was the same: Defective ! Just like the other one. I wanted to keep the Maltese Falcon and Ben Hur ; they were good and asked them to either replace or refund what it would cost to replace Citizen Kane w/ a new (single)disc version. About $15. plus shipping. They refused. This would be a great package and a great bargan if it weren't for the faulty Citizen Kane disc. After receiving two defective copies I suspect the whole run is bad and I wouldn't reccommend anyone buy this package unless you don't care if Citizen Kane is unwatchable.
OLDIES AND GOODIES
2008-12-16 - Classic movies are called that for a reason.
Each is entertaining and can be viewed over and over again.
Two Great Films and One Clunker
2008-03-12 - The Maltese Falcon and Citizen Kane are two of the best films ever made. Getting both in the same set with lots of bonus material, including commentaries, is a terrific deal.
The dialogue and acting in these two movies is extraordinary. It is true, as Ebert points out in his commentary, that Citizen Kane was a great special effect movie for its time -- pioneering the use of low camera angles, deep focus, and seamless editing. But the gimmicks are all for the purpose of enhancing a great story. Citizen Kane is a movie one should own because every viewing brings new insights.
The Maltese Falcon is my personal favorite, and the dialogue in this movie is a thing of beauty.
Then we have Ben Hur. Why is this movie in the same set? Yes, the wide screen format, special effects, and epic style are all extraordinary. And the chariot scene is one of the great action sequences in movie history. But the dialogue and character development are dwarved by the bid budget bells and whistles. The progression of American movie making from Citizen Kane to Ben Hur shows the decline and fall of the art form. It's a progression from substance to form; from artistic brilliance to marketing-driven formulaic box office smash hits.
Buy the set. You'll only want to watch Ben-Hur once, but you'll watch the other two movies many times.
