Review of The Maltese Falcon (1941) by Vijay S — 05 Jun 2011

Made during the most important period of modern history, the Maltese Falcon is an incredible portrait of America in all of its blemishes and self righteous values shoved into one man played flawlessly by Humphrey Bogart. How fitting, that the film which birthed the genre known as "noir" is such a perfect portrayal of a headstrong America; when noir would later become the darkest, dampest microscope American film could turn on itself at the time.

This films importance outweighs any faults it may have, of which I was blind to. Asphalt Jungle (also a John Huston film) is a perfect film to watch as a sequel to the Maltese Falcon. With a plot that completely falls apart and characters whose dreams and aspirations are broken into heartbreaking violence, Asphalt Jungle would become a masterpiece to accompany a masterpiece of the genre. God damn I love film sometimes.