This box set contains four fully restored films and is essential for Bogart fans. The films are as follows:
CASABLANCA (1942) (2 disc set) This started out as an ordinary production line film and the story was made up as they went along. However, something magical happened and it turned into one of Hollywood's greatest movies. Perhaps its quality is due to the electricity between Bogart and Bergman, but the wonderful performances by all the members of the cast add substantially to the overall quality of the film. I would single out Claude Raines as the French officer who has no idea which side he is on until the very end of the film. Unmissable!
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) (2 disc set) The first - and one of the greatest - "film noires", it is the story of private eye Sam Spade, who seeks to track down the people responsible for the murder of his partner. The cast is beyond compare, with Mary Astor who tries to win Bogart and the strange trio of Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Elisha Cook Jnr. who are looking for the jewel-encrusted falcon. You can watch this film over and over again and never tire of it.
HIGH SIERRA (1941) After spending years in gangster films being gunned down by James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson, Bogart made his great breakthrough with this film. Released from prison, Bogart decides on one final robbery - but things go wrong and he retreats to the mountains to await his fate. This is quite a good film, but I prefer the scene by scene remake as a western called "Colorado Territory" (1949).
THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) A film all about greed, and how, in the end, it can all come to nothing. Three prospectors go in search of gold, but they start to distrust each other - leading to inevitable destruction. There's no doubt that this is a great film, but it's also one of the most depressing ever made and can leave a sour taste!
The set is of very high quality throughout.