As good as people say it is.

Rating: 9/10 (21 October 2009)

I usually find it hard to watch Bogart movies. It is not because I don't like him. It is because he's such a good actor that he usually makes everyone else look like a horrible actor in comparison. This is especially the case in Maltese Falcon. Luckily, most of the other main characters were good enough to compete. Ingrid Bergman was a great female lead. Peter Lorre was able to break out of his self-made cliché and become more than a simple sidekick though it still seems impossible with his character voice.
The sound was really good as well. A piano would often be played in the background to help create a feeling that there was a lot going on that wasn't being seen which made the world around them feel more rich and alive.
The special effects were good for the time as well. Considering the time period, scenes which would show the characters watching a plane fly looked pretty realistic. The lighting was the true visual gem. The whole movie felt like modern painting. I always had my eye trained on the screen looking for how my attention would be grabbed. There was one shot where Humphrey Bogart was opening his safe. To bring attention more towards Bogart while also showing and establishing the other character's presence, Bogart only had his shadow shown to imply his presence while making him look more highlighted. Every shot in some way was supposed to trick the viewer into seeing what the director wanted to be seen and only that.
It also had a great yet subtle message about honor and what someone or some people should do just because it is the right thing to do like go to war and that sometimes it is selfish to not enter a war rather than not.
I could probably go on and on for 10 pages, but this is the best I can do while being concise and also while not revealing too many spoilers. This should be seen by almost everyone just so that an opinion can be formed. It is that important of a movie.