The Maltese Falcon

1941.

#23 / #31

Nominated for 3 Academy Awards.

Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) has to investigate two murders while searching for the Maltese Falcon, a five-hundred-year-old statue alleged to be made of pure gold.

Eddie: THE MALTESE FALCON requires a lot of patience. The first hour of it is pretty slow, and the movie doesn't really bother to keep you up to speed. It's full of vague misdirection, which, of course, pays off in the last forty minutes. Bogart's performance kept me interested well enough, although Sarah was practically pulling out her hair because of the film's snail pace. As good as the story's twists and double crosses turn out to be, that first hour is brutal. However, FALCON is quintessential film noir - bleak, dark, and mysterious. ("Bleak, dark, and mysterious" is how I would describe myself if I ever joined an online dating service.) I think that neo-noirs like CHINATOWN, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, and even BRICK handle complex stories better than FALCON does. At least those movies don't leave you scratching your head for seventy minutes.

Sarah: This film defines the film noir genre and includes all its trademarks. From that perspective it is quite impressive. And Bogart shows again how versatile he is.

Still with all that said, I did not enjoy this film. The dialogue is spoken faster then the Gilmore Girls at their best. I have a feeling that even if I understood all of the dialogue, I'd still be bored. What is there to care about? The Falcon? No, it's just a MacGuffin. The characters? That's tough, too, because none of them have any cares outside of money and deception. If you are a big film person and love studying genres, then watch this film. Otherwise, I'd say pass to something else on the list. Something more viewer friendly.

Why You Should See It: Sam Spade's ability to disarm his enemies is priceless. He slaps Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) into a tizzy, and he takes Wilmer Cook's (Elisha Cook, Jr.) guns by trapping him in his own trench coat. Both episodes are pretty silly.

The Best Years of Our Lives

1946.

#37 / #37

Winner of 7 Academy Awards.

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES chronicles three veterans returning from combat in WWII. One soldier comes home to a family that he hardly recognizes, another to a wife he barely knows, and the third (Homer) returns home having lost his hands. They meet on the return flight home, and their lives intertwine as they re-adjust to civilian life.

Sarah: Though the movie is long, and a bit slow paced, it was rewarding. I was most impressed with the performances, especially the man who played Homer (Harold Russell). The man who played him wasn't an actor, but a real-life war-amputee. This added a lot of honesty to the movie. His performance is so inspiring that he won two Oscars for it.

The film touched on a lot of issues - angry vets who feel betrayed by the people they fought forand the loved ones who were forced to build a life without them. However, it didn't dive deep enough into any one topic. Alcoholism and post-traumatic stress is hinted at, but danced around. The movie never fully goes there.

Still, it was a sensitive and beautiful film, that's worth checking out.

Eddie: I enjoyed the movie, even though it's one of the heaviest ones we've seen so far. It was made right after the war, and one of the lead actors (as well as the director) were actually in the war, so it's pretty real. The movie doesn't let up. Besides a few drunk sequences, it's wall-to-wall seriousness, which was taxing on us as we watched the nearly three-hour film. (It took us three sittings to get through it.)

The film was shot by Gregg Toland of CITIZEN KANE fame, and he brings with him his mastery of both deep focus shots and black and white photography. In those ways, BEST YEARS embodies what is great about movies from this era (the 30s and 40s). Its deliberate pace and carefully composed shots reveal a story that is layered and complex, yet highly insightful, evocative, and compelling.

One of my few complaints is that the film is very neat. Its ending ties up all the loose ends. The only thing missing is a Porky Pig iris and a "That's All, Folks."

Why You Should See It: Homer. He may not have any hands, but God damn it, he can still use those hooks to tug at our heartstrings.