The Maltese Falcon
This movie was definitely not what I was expecting when I looked up "The Maltese Falcon" on Google and saw drama/mystery as its genre. I was expecting much more violence and action than the movie actually had. This goes back to the definition of what is truly a mystery, since modern mystery movies often go together with action/adventure; I had a preconceived notion that movies listed under the genre mystery would automatically have this sort of thriller aspect to them, which I did not see at all in the movie.
Because I didn't get the action and thrill that I was expecting, the movie didn't keep my attention as much as mystery movies (one of my favorite genres of movies usually) normally do. I personally have always had a slight issue with old films since the sound and visual qualities are so different than today's. This really affected me during the few fights that occurred during The Maltese Falcon since the punches/kicks/gunshots looked so much less realistic than they do in current movies. To be completely honest, the scene in the beginning of the movie that shows Archer being shot made me laugh because the entire situation was so fake.
In terms of the actual content of the movie, I do think that it had lots of good aspects of a mystery. It reminded me in some ways of "Valley of Fear", especially when considering the idea of evidence and false evidence. The scene that reveals Spade and Archer's wife were having an affair sort of made me question Spade and his innocence. Additionally, I was suspicious of him because he did not seem to have any hint of sadness over the death of his parter, Archer. This reminded me of Mrs. Douglas seeming extremely guilty in "Valley of Fear" because she lacked remorse and appeared to be having an affair with Barker. Also, Spade reminded me a lot of Sherlock because he is constantly one step ahead of everyone else, including the audience, and no one can ever tell what is going on inside of his head.
Overall, I liked the general idea of the movie and think that it was well executed considering the year in which it was made, but I definitely enjoy modern mystery films more.
Because I didn't get the action and thrill that I was expecting, the movie didn't keep my attention as much as mystery movies (one of my favorite genres of movies usually) normally do. I personally have always had a slight issue with old films since the sound and visual qualities are so different than today's. This really affected me during the few fights that occurred during The Maltese Falcon since the punches/kicks/gunshots looked so much less realistic than they do in current movies. To be completely honest, the scene in the beginning of the movie that shows Archer being shot made me laugh because the entire situation was so fake.
In terms of the actual content of the movie, I do think that it had lots of good aspects of a mystery. It reminded me in some ways of "Valley of Fear", especially when considering the idea of evidence and false evidence. The scene that reveals Spade and Archer's wife were having an affair sort of made me question Spade and his innocence. Additionally, I was suspicious of him because he did not seem to have any hint of sadness over the death of his parter, Archer. This reminded me of Mrs. Douglas seeming extremely guilty in "Valley of Fear" because she lacked remorse and appeared to be having an affair with Barker. Also, Spade reminded me a lot of Sherlock because he is constantly one step ahead of everyone else, including the audience, and no one can ever tell what is going on inside of his head.
Overall, I liked the general idea of the movie and think that it was well executed considering the year in which it was made, but I definitely enjoy modern mystery films more.
I really liked how you connected this film with The Valley of Fear. I mentioned that story in my blog post, but I definitely did not catch the parallels that you did. I also agree with you that the movie was not what I was expecting. I enjoyed it, but I found it underwhelming because it did not feel as suspenseful as other movies and shows I have watched.
ReplyDeleteI'm a mystery movies fan too!! I was laughing throughout this whole movie because it was too dramatic and fake. The music literally had me rolling. I had to restart the movie a few times because I dozed off so many times! This is a mystery movie, just not the kind that I like.
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