The Maltese Falcon (or, First, first, first!)
I caught The Maltese Falcon at acmi the other day. Richard has taken it upon himself to accompany on a brisk walk through early noir cinema. It all started with Double Indemnity a few weeks ago and it looks like it is going to continue very soon with To Have and Have Not.
Anyway. Loved The Maltese Falcon. Loved the creeping menace of the film. Loved the dialogue, especially Bogart's final speech. Loved Peter Lorre's gayer than gay character (as highlighted in The Celluloid Closet).
It is easy to see why it is considered a classic and championed as the beginnings of noir. Though it was a shame that the print acmi is showing is rather decrepit.
I don't suppose I can lay claim to not having seen a Bogart film any more. Or a Huston film. I can only consider that a good thing.
posted by walypala @ 11:52 am
6 Comments:
To Have and Have Not isn't actually noir, although it's a Bogey classic. How about for your next film noir installment we watch Orson Welles' Touch of Evil?
Aha! That one I have already seen. Saw it over at the Astor a couple of years back.
Chuck Heston is has the acting ability of a lump of pine. And about as much charisma.
Good movie though. Love those CRAZY drug addicts.
No worries, there's plenty of others. :-)
And you're right, Heston is fairly lifeless - and the fact that his character is supposed to be Mexican is just ludicrous - but how good is the sound design in the final sequence? And ohhhh, the lighting, the cinematography, the direction...
Wow that's so great that you're exploring old cinema. Although it's more about genre than period, isn't it?
I've been meaning to make some time and watch every Hitchcock film, and re-acquaint myself with being comfortable with black and white films.
Just curious, Bound? Office Killer? Do these count as noir?
Billy - Bound is definitely a superb example of neo-noir, yes. I haven't seen Office Killer though I'm sorry, so I can't really say.
In my opinion 'Office killer' does not classify as a neo-noir, try 'The Last Seduction' or 'Burnt Money' instead for some great neo-noir
Post a Comment
<< Home