--- product_id: 12501204 title: "Maltese Falcon, The (BD)" price: "HK$153" currency: HKD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.hk/products/12501204-maltese-falcon-the-bd store_origin: HK region: Hong Kong --- # Maltese Falcon, The (BD) **Price:** HK$153 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Maltese Falcon, The (BD) - **How much does it cost?** HK$153 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hk](https://www.desertcart.hk/products/12501204-maltese-falcon-the-bd) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description A gallery of high-living lowlifes will stop at nothing to get their sweaty hands on a jewel-encrusted falcon. Detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) wants to find out why--and who'll take the fall for his partner's murder. An all-star cast (including Sydney Greenstreet, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Elisha Cook Jr.) joins Bogart in this crackling mystery masterwork written for the screen (from Dashiell Hammett's novel) and directed by John Huston. This nominee for 3 Academy Awards00Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Greenstreet) and Screenplay (Huston)--catapulted Bogart to stardom and launched Huston’s directorial career. All with a bird and a bang! Review: MOVIE: 5.0 • VIDEO: 4.5 • AUDIO: 3 - FORMAT: Blu-Ray UPC: 8-83929-11825-0 RELEASED: 2010-10-05 TITLE: The Maltese Falcon (1941) • NR • 1:40:32 Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet John Huston (Director) The movie that many film historians consider to be the very first example of "film noir"! (I personally DON'T agree with that assessment, as there are, in my opinion, MANY earlier examples of film noir — such as, Bogie's own Dead End from 1937.) Be that as it may, this is still an EXCELLENT movie — with its collection of odd-ball and/or duplicitous characters, with their various (and, nefarious) motivations, all plotting against one another in order to achieve some nebulous goal! This is the movie that cemented Humphrey Bogart as a superstar actor — and, it also changed John Huston from an erstwhile highly-respected screenwriter (and VERY small-time actor, on the side) into a VERY highly-respected screenwriter, and a MUCH sought-after director (with a slightly-more-frequent bit playing acting career, on the side). Of the MANY great things about this movie, one of the most important, in my opinion, is that EVERYBODY is perfectly cast — and, consequently, EVERY performance is pitch-perfect (Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, speaking of just two great examples of that aforementioned perfect casting, very nearly steal the movie). Another important aspect of this movie is its brilliant dialog — sometimes, while re-watching this movie, for the who-knows-how-many-time, I forget about following the plot and just absorb the wordplay between the characters (with the many snide remarks and sly innuendos). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. See the other reviews for more detail and/or other opinions regarding the plot of the movie. VIDEO: 1.37:1 • B&W • 1080p • VC-1 (28.6 Mbps) Let's get the bad news out of the way off the top: Those of you that have seen Warners' glorious blu-ray presentation of Casablanca (1942) , and expect that SAME level of visual presentation here, with this release of "The Maltese Falcon" will be disappointed — but, only slightly so. While this movie's image has MANY of the same VERY positive visual attributes as "Casablanca" (namely: excellent contrast and gray-scale, great sharpness and detail, and a total (or, nearly so) absence of artifacts such as black specks, white dots, hair-lines or dropped frames), it also has some negative visual attributes of its own — that were non-existent (or, nearly so) in "Casablanca" (namely: a pervasive, ever-so-slight softness in MANY scenes, and a very few scenes that were overly "contrasty", with very limited gray-scale [yes, I know that film noir is known for its stark, high-contrast cinematography, but these scenes didn't match the appearance of the rest of the movie, and, further, look like they may have originated from less-than-pristine source elements]). OK, that's the "bad" news. Now, for the "good" news: This is still an EXCELLENT transfer to blu-ray. As a person who has owned this movie first on VHS tape and then later on Laser Disc, before purchasing this blu-ray version, I can tell you that this version is a visual revelation, and it looks FANTASTIC! Only a hyper-picky, so-called "videophile" could possibly have a "reason" to condemn the picture quality of this release — the rest of us will simply count our blessings and enjoy the show. AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48 KHz, 24-bit) Again, just like with the audio presentation of "Casablanca", the fine sound engineers at Warner Home Video have done extensive clean-up work on the film's soundtrack, because there are no pops, bumps or hiss to speak of. Also, the dialog is very clear and natural sounding, with all voices being clearly defined and easily understood. However, the transfer's dynamic range is fairly limited, and there isn't any deep bass nor any top-end to speak of (though, the musical score does sound better than one would expect under the circumstances). Otherwise, considering the age of the source elements and the fact that this is a monophonic, dialog-driven movie from the early 1940s, this film's soundtrack has VERY good sound quality. EXTRAS: Commentary (by Bogart biographer Eric Lax) 'Making Of' Video (The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird [SD]) Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart [SD] Warner Night at the Movies (interactive featurette [SD]) Gag Reel/Bloopers (Breakdowns of 1941 [SD]) Makeup Tests [SD] Trailers ('The Maltese Falcon' and 'Satan Met a Lady') Three Radio Show Adaptations of 'The Maltese Falcon' [SD = Standard Definition] None of the extras were reviewed. Review: "I'll have a few rotten nights after I've sent you over, but it'll pass." - If one wished to be brutally objective, "Blood Simple" and "The Usual Suspects" are "better" films than "The Maltese Falcon". But "better" is a relative term, and frankly, they just don't make them like this any more. "The Maltese Falcon" is gritty and unpleasant in a nasty, unsanitary way -- just the antidote for Sonja Henie and Shirley Temple. The Blu-ray transfer is excellent, without apparent grain reduction or edge sharpening. My only complaint is that skin highlights are sometimes burned out, but this is minor. There was no dirt or scratches, but there are occasional density fluctuations. It's hard to imagine a better transfer. The pleasure of seeing classic B&W films in HD on a large screen -- probably better than they ever looked in a theater -- is that one can better appreciate the performances. I never thought much of the younger Bogart as an actor, but I'm starting to develop respect. No one seems to have pointed out the story's misogyny and "male-bonding" -- possibly because the presence of three homosexual characters blinds us to it. Though Sam Spade could have protected Brigid and had her (for a while, anyway), sex is far less important than loyalty to his partner, and the need to avenge his death. By the way, a "gunsel" is not someone who "carries heat" for a criminal -- not in the "firearms" sense, anyway. (This went right past the Production Board.) "Gunsel" comes from a Yiddish word meaning "little goose". When Gutman says he cares for Wilmer as much as if he were his own son -- well, you figure it out. The supplemental material follows the "Warners Night at the Movies" format. It includes one of the first Bugs Bunny cartoons, "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt". Absolutely recommended, a necessity in any film collection -- unless you think movies have to be in widescreen and color. PS: There is a valid criticism that /might/ be made of this film. It is not "about" a valuable object disreputable people are searching for, but a story about people lying to each other -- which necessarily results a scene after scene of "talking heads". Showing us what /actually/ happened would make the film more superficially "entertaining" -- but largely destroy the point. "The Maltese Falcon" is a drama about delusion and disillusion -- not a melodrama about crime. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Contributor | Gladys George, Humphrey Bogart, John Huston, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 2,094 Reviews | | Format | Black & White, Blu-ray, Dolby, Full Screen, Multiple Formats, Subtitled | | Genre | Classics, Mystery & Suspense, Mystery & Suspense/Crime | | Initial release date | 2010-10-05 | | Language | English | ## Product Details - **Contributor:** Gladys George, Humphrey Bogart, John Huston, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre - **Format:** Black & White, Blu-ray, Dolby, Full Screen, Multiple Formats, Subtitled - **Genre:** Classics, Mystery & Suspense, Mystery & Suspense/Crime - **Initial release date:** 2010-10-05 - **Language:** English ## Images ![Maltese Falcon, The (BD) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81lLisKHXkL.jpg) ![Maltese Falcon, The (BD) - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91qdjyTe92L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ MOVIE: 5.0 • VIDEO: 4.5 • AUDIO: 3 *by C***K on August 3, 2017* FORMAT: Blu-Ray UPC: 8-83929-11825-0 RELEASED: 2010-10-05 TITLE: The Maltese Falcon (1941) • NR • 1:40:32 Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet John Huston (Director) The movie that many film historians consider to be the very first example of "film noir"! (I personally DON'T agree with that assessment, as there are, in my opinion, MANY earlier examples of film noir — such as, Bogie's own Dead End from 1937.) Be that as it may, this is still an EXCELLENT movie — with its collection of odd-ball and/or duplicitous characters, with their various (and, nefarious) motivations, all plotting against one another in order to achieve some nebulous goal! This is the movie that cemented Humphrey Bogart as a superstar actor — and, it also changed John Huston from an erstwhile highly-respected screenwriter (and VERY small-time actor, on the side) into a VERY highly-respected screenwriter, and a MUCH sought-after director (with a slightly-more-frequent bit playing acting career, on the side). Of the MANY great things about this movie, one of the most important, in my opinion, is that EVERYBODY is perfectly cast — and, consequently, EVERY performance is pitch-perfect (Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, speaking of just two great examples of that aforementioned perfect casting, very nearly steal the movie). Another important aspect of this movie is its brilliant dialog — sometimes, while re-watching this movie, for the who-knows-how-many-time, I forget about following the plot and just absorb the wordplay between the characters (with the many snide remarks and sly innuendos). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. See the other reviews for more detail and/or other opinions regarding the plot of the movie. VIDEO: 1.37:1 • B&W • 1080p • VC-1 (28.6 Mbps) Let's get the bad news out of the way off the top: Those of you that have seen Warners' glorious blu-ray presentation of Casablanca (1942) , and expect that SAME level of visual presentation here, with this release of "The Maltese Falcon" will be disappointed — but, only slightly so. While this movie's image has MANY of the same VERY positive visual attributes as "Casablanca" (namely: excellent contrast and gray-scale, great sharpness and detail, and a total (or, nearly so) absence of artifacts such as black specks, white dots, hair-lines or dropped frames), it also has some negative visual attributes of its own — that were non-existent (or, nearly so) in "Casablanca" (namely: a pervasive, ever-so-slight softness in MANY scenes, and a very few scenes that were overly "contrasty", with very limited gray-scale [yes, I know that film noir is known for its stark, high-contrast cinematography, but these scenes didn't match the appearance of the rest of the movie, and, further, look like they may have originated from less-than-pristine source elements]). OK, that's the "bad" news. Now, for the "good" news: This is still an EXCELLENT transfer to blu-ray. As a person who has owned this movie first on VHS tape and then later on Laser Disc, before purchasing this blu-ray version, I can tell you that this version is a visual revelation, and it looks FANTASTIC! Only a hyper-picky, so-called "videophile" could possibly have a "reason" to condemn the picture quality of this release — the rest of us will simply count our blessings and enjoy the show. AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48 KHz, 24-bit) Again, just like with the audio presentation of "Casablanca", the fine sound engineers at Warner Home Video have done extensive clean-up work on the film's soundtrack, because there are no pops, bumps or hiss to speak of. Also, the dialog is very clear and natural sounding, with all voices being clearly defined and easily understood. However, the transfer's dynamic range is fairly limited, and there isn't any deep bass nor any top-end to speak of (though, the musical score does sound better than one would expect under the circumstances). Otherwise, considering the age of the source elements and the fact that this is a monophonic, dialog-driven movie from the early 1940s, this film's soundtrack has VERY good sound quality. EXTRAS: Commentary (by Bogart biographer Eric Lax) 'Making Of' Video (The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird [SD]) Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart [SD] Warner Night at the Movies (interactive featurette [SD]) Gag Reel/Bloopers (Breakdowns of 1941 [SD]) Makeup Tests [SD] Trailers ('The Maltese Falcon' and 'Satan Met a Lady') Three Radio Show Adaptations of 'The Maltese Falcon' [SD = Standard Definition] None of the extras were reviewed. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I'll have a few rotten nights after I've sent you over, but it'll pass." *by W***K on June 14, 2011* If one wished to be brutally objective, "Blood Simple" and "The Usual Suspects" are "better" films than "The Maltese Falcon". But "better" is a relative term, and frankly, they just don't make them like this any more. "The Maltese Falcon" is gritty and unpleasant in a nasty, unsanitary way -- just the antidote for Sonja Henie and Shirley Temple. The Blu-ray transfer is excellent, without apparent grain reduction or edge sharpening. My only complaint is that skin highlights are sometimes burned out, but this is minor. There was no dirt or scratches, but there are occasional density fluctuations. It's hard to imagine a better transfer. The pleasure of seeing classic B&W films in HD on a large screen -- probably better than they ever looked in a theater -- is that one can better appreciate the performances. I never thought much of the younger Bogart as an actor, but I'm starting to develop respect. No one seems to have pointed out the story's misogyny and "male-bonding" -- possibly because the presence of three homosexual characters blinds us to it. Though Sam Spade could have protected Brigid and had her (for a while, anyway), sex is far less important than loyalty to his partner, and the need to avenge his death. By the way, a "gunsel" is not someone who "carries heat" for a criminal -- not in the "firearms" sense, anyway. (This went right past the Production Board.) "Gunsel" comes from a Yiddish word meaning "little goose". When Gutman says he cares for Wilmer as much as if he were his own son -- well, you figure it out. The supplemental material follows the "Warners Night at the Movies" format. It includes one of the first Bugs Bunny cartoons, "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt". Absolutely recommended, a necessity in any film collection -- unless you think movies have to be in widescreen and color. PS: There is a valid criticism that /might/ be made of this film. It is not "about" a valuable object disreputable people are searching for, but a story about people lying to each other -- which necessarily results a scene after scene of "talking heads". Showing us what /actually/ happened would make the film more superficially "entertaining" -- but largely destroy the point. "The Maltese Falcon" is a drama about delusion and disillusion -- not a melodrama about crime. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Maltese Falcon 4K *by P***N on February 23, 2026* Great 4K of classic film. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hk/products/12501204-maltese-falcon-the-bd](https://www.desertcart.hk/products/12501204-maltese-falcon-the-bd) --- *Product available on Desertcart Hong Kong* *Store origin: HK* *Last updated: 2026-05-16*