The Maltese Falcon 4K 1941 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Private detective Sam Spade begins a deadly hunt for the mysteriously disappeared priceless statue of the "Maltese Falcon.

Review 4K Movie

Film noir, also known as 'black film', can be considered one of the most revered and, at the same time, the most often buried genres in American, and subsequently in world cinema, along with the permanently collapsed western genre. While it's hard to pinpoint the noir's point of departure, many theorists would argue that Dashiell Hammett's brilliant 'literary thriller' The Maltese Falcon (1930) was the 'first choice' which brought the author recognition and in many ways marked the future of the detective genre. The success and new facets for self-expression did not go unnoticed by American filmmakers. However, promptly created by the same name film Roy del Root and William Deterle film "Satan meets Lady" had no great success, although it can not be called mediocre. Perhaps they simply did not fit the time. But for every story there is a prophet. For the Falcon, it was John Huston.

On the writer, who went to direct, always looked with some skepticism. And, interestingly, more often than not, this skepticism is quite legitimate. Many famous 'masters of the pen and typewriter' have produced rather mediocre directors (Stephen Zellian, Robert Towne, with some stretch - Christopher Hampton). The decision by Huston, by then already a respected screenwriter, who had achieved the greatest success with 'The High Sierra', to screen the famous novel for a third time, was at first also regarded with noticeable mistrust. But, as time has shown, in vain. 'The Maltese Falcon' was not only one of the most celebrated film phenomena of the '40s, but also marked the beginning of a truly distinguished director's career, perhaps becoming the pinnacle of his work. Here one does not notice the usual stiffness of the director, or, on the contrary, the excessive urge to stand out by any means. This is the work of a calculating master, who simply changed his role, which had become cramped, but who has not lost even a fraction of his talent.

So, the opening credits and the curtain is raised. A small office of a private detective agency and two partners, with undisguised interest looking at the young attractive woman, asking the detectives to follow a certain Thursby, allegedly escaped with her sister, for whom she is very worried. It's not bad money for a seemingly non-duty job, especially since one of the men clearly has his eye on the hottie. But an ordinary assignment turns out quite differently than expected, blood is spilled, and private detective Sam Spad finds himself in a very unpleasant situation. Soon he is visited by a strange individual with an obviously dark past, half a dozen passports and a loaded gun, who, or rather, who offers Sam a tempting contract to find the golden statue of the Maltese Falcon, which probably used to belong to the much-covered Order of Malta. Soon the hunt for the 'bird' begins with many unknowns, the end of which none of the participants in this theater of silhouettes can predict.

Gloomy, meditative atmosphere, filled to the brim with fatalism, bordering on hopelessness and cynicism. Harsh, cynical people, not afraid of the sight of blood, for whom the concept of 'crime' is an anachronism not worth special attention. Brutal beauties, for whom people are just tools to achieve their only known goals. The night, competing with the dim lanterns for the right to own the streets with varying degrees of success. An unfriendly subterranean world mockingly called a city. All this is the face of 'black film', its trademark, which is so fond of being used in all sorts of parodies and stylizations. But they didn't establish themselves right away. The Maltese Falcon was a pointer to these standards, much of it merely indicating the way forward, but it was only the finishing touches which reached its climax 17 years later with another evil genius, Orson Welles, in his last masterpiece, The Seal of Evil.

However, as an example of a basic noir concept, namely opposing the Hollywood fashion of the 1930s-40s to portray the world with the happy smile of an idiot, 'The Falcon' does a fine job. Light misanthropy and Nietzschean allusions are readily apparent in the seemingly ordinary plot of Big Crime. A viewer expecting a standard detective suspense would probably feel deceived, because there is no question-and-answer system, and the connection with the real world is realized through semitones, acting gestures, meaningful images, but certainly not through direct suspense, which is no doubt also present, but is not an end in itself. It is difficult to fault the visual aspect of the film even if desired. By the way, the picture ended up in the sad list of 'repainted', that is, for some reason remade in color, classic films, thanks to the vicious enthusiasm of media mogul Ted Turner. It's hard to say what hellish forces possessed this man's mind, but the 'modernized' version looks more like a child's play of paint and leaves the viewer familiar with the original baffled.

The strong production, the interesting actors, the characters, although this is more a credit to Hammett than to Huston, the lyrical, though seriously dissonant, both in form and content, the music, the obligatory intrigue, the metaphorical meanings - all this makes a good, even an excellent film. But there is something that makes 'Falcon' an integral part of the cultural heritage, and the name of this factor is 'X' - Humphrey Bogart. One of the greatest actors of the twentieth century may well have been stuck in the 'bad bandit' mold, but he still managed to break free from the cliché. His Sam Spade - the hero of ambiguous, outwardly cold and cynical, but firmly holding his principles. From the restrained game Bogart reeks so powerful magnetism that it is almost impossible to take your eyes off of him. Indeed, his charisma is the linchpin of the movie, without which the band would probably just fall apart like a house of cards because of the careless movement of its builder. But it doesn't. The Maltese Falcon remains a strikingly solid canvas, a true work of art.

The most delusional thing one can say about this film is that it is supposedly obsolete. No, things like this don't get old, they just acquire their own unique charm. The Maltese Falcon", along with other masterpieces by John Huston and Humphrey Bogart, is deeply ingrained in the world cinema, and to refute its status is simply meaningless, and there is no desire to do that. This film should be watched not only by fans of retro films, but by any self-respecting cinephile, and, frankly speaking, simply by an educated person, because 'Falcon' is eternal.