Review of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) by Greg P — 23 Sep 2012

RANDOM REVIEW.

Combining exciting action/adventure along with textured, detailed character studies, and wrapping it all up with sparkling cinematography, this movie is a stunning achievement that satisfies thoroughly on all facets.

We are first taken into the sad, poverty stricken world of Fred C. Dobbs, as he scraps his way just to make a buck, until a "golden" opportunity presents itself when a wily old prospector tells stories of gold mining out in the Sierra Madre. Fred, alongside his partner, end up teaming up with the prospector, in what originally starts as an honest expedition. Slowly though, it winds it's way down a path of lust and greed. Moments of mistrust and paranoia encapsulates the group, as the fear of being left out to dry wiggles it's way non-too subtly into the characters' psyche.

Among the internal problems within the group, there is also resistance in the form of the brutal wilderness, a suspicious outsider, and most memorably, pesky bandits in disguise as federalis, claiming "they don't need no stinkin' badges!".

Entertaining as it all is, what ties the movie together is the morality tale, which takes a seeming level headed man and shows his descent into evil and madness, portrayed most effectively during the suspenseful climax once Fred is alone with his partner.

While I could nitpick and say that Bogart's laughs were over the top, or that it is a little slow to get going, this is about as flawless as a movie can get.