 | |
List Price: $59.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 9723
Released: October 3, 2006 |
| Our Price: $38.95 |
| Used Price: $38.96 |
|
MPAA Rating: Unrated Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Includes: The Maltese Falcon (Three-Disc Special Edition), Across the Pacific, Action in the North Atlantic, All Through the Night, and Passage to Marseille.
Description of Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night / Passage to Marseille):
The movie that made Humphrey Bogart Humphrey Bogart anchors this second DVD box devoted to the mighty star. The Maltese Falcon gets--and merits--the deluxe three-disc treatment, and the other Bogie movies collected here are solid vehicles from his early 1940s Warner Bros. heyday. The essence of Bogart's world-weary yet mysteriously romantic aura is on luscious display, even if most of these films fall just short of classic status.
Bogart's letter-perfect incarnation as Sam Spade, the anti-hero of John Huston's debut film as a director, grounds The Maltese Falcon in a smart, sardonic groove. Even if Spade is one of Bogart's finest turns, it's hard to single out the film's best performance: Mary Astor as the mystery dame who trips off the case, Peter Lorre as the fey Joel Cairo, or Sydney Greenstreet as the massively erudite Kasper Gutman (the latter making one of the great debuts in film history). Dashiell Hammett's best-selling story had been filmed twice before, and both versions are included in the extras here: the 1931 Maltese Falcon, which has a fair amount of cheek and some near-identical snatches of Hammett dialogue as the 1941 film--but without the magic--and the 1936 Satan Met a Lady, which puts the story squarely in the realm of screwball comedy, with Warren William and Bette Davis acting as though they'd wandered into a Thin Man movie. Other extras include a commentary with Bogart biography Eric Lax, three radio versions of the tale, and a short documentary about the Falcon.
Huston also directed Across the Pacific, a fun and somewhat tongue-in-cheek picture that brought Bogart, Astor, and Greenstreet back together. After being drummed out of the military, Bogie finds himself aboard a ship sailing toward the Panama Canal--and as the date of Dec. 7, 1941, looms on the horizon, we suspect intrigue. Also from 1942 is the wisecracking All Through the Night, which is set entirely in a Damon Runyon NYC but nevertheless unearths a nest of Nazis (Conrad Veidt among them) planning a homeland attack.
WWII figures in the other two features. Michael Curtiz's Passage to Marseille (1944) burdens itself with too many flashbacks, but otherwise presents a nicely atmospheric tale of Devil's Island escapees trying to get home to fight for France. Lorre and Greenstreet are back, with Michele Morgan snuggling Bogart in the Casablanca-inspired love story. Action in the North Atlantic (1943) is a more conventional picture, with Bogart and Raymond Massey fighting the war in the Merchant Marines; the topnotch action sequences and crusty supporting cast keep it going. Bogart's covert socking of a loose-lipped bar patron gives us the vintage Bogie. Bartender: "Did you hurt your hand?" Bogie: "Never do." --Robert Horton
Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition / Across the Pacific / Action in the North Atlantic / All Through the Night / Passage to Marseille) Reviews:
Worthy of your collection 
2009-09-25 - If you are like me, and a fan of the older movies which depict that by-gone era of America when black & white described not only the movie medium, but the cultural more's of the time.
The quality - Great. And the choice of movies to include - Excellent.
I especially wanted the war-time classic -"Across the Pacific"; but was delightfully surprised at receiving "All through the Night". Aside from seeing Bogart at his best in the Maltese Falcon, you also get to see other greats such as Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and a very young and fit looking Jackie Gleason.
The price was right, and the value excellent.
A worthy addition to your movie collection.
Great actor 
2009-09-22 - This is a good collection but not great. Obviously the Maltese Falcon is one of the greatest movies of all time, but some of the others are not. So, while you have a nice mix of Bogart's work in the early 40's, you also have a couple of outright propaganda movies that you realize could never be made in today's Hollywood or culture. It's very interesting to watch the supporting cast of character actors. In many of these movies you'll find none better.
Hard-Boiled Bogart in Detective Novel and in the War 
2009-07-13 - Great Bogart's movies produced during the war. "The Maltese Falcon", the only produced just before the war, offers an interesting comparison with its earlier and not-successful versions.
god set at good price but lacks in special treatment 
2009-06-14 - this set i bought at discounted price and is wonderful.though it leaves you wanting.its a signature collection and their are no special stuff.compare this with mickey rooney judy garland 4 dvd set it stands no where.their is no trivia booklet,postcards ,old poster book nothing.only the dvd's in thin plastic cases.
War Films 
2009-05-03 - With the exception of The Maltese Falcon, this set is a bunch of war films. The War films are not of the same quality. However to appreciate the War Films, you need to watch them knowing they are a piece of Propaganda. By doing looking at them in this light, you realize the purpose they had.
If you are just getting into classic films, do not get this. Rather get Humphrey Bogart - The Signature Collection, Vol. 1 (Casablanca Two-Disc Special Edition / The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Two-Disc Special Edition / They Drive by Night / High Sierra) or Bogie and Bacall - The Signature Collection (The Big Sleep / Dark Passage / Key Largo / To Have and Have Not). These two collections are by far the best. Get these two first, then if you really like Bogart get this collection.