Say it again, Sam

The Movie: The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston
Recommendation: AFI Top 100 (number 23)
Reason: Film Noir, baby. All the way.

I like to say I'm a pulp fan and a afficionado of noir. I've had limited recent experience with most of the genre, I have to admit. Therefore, I was pretty thrilled to find The Maltese Falcon in my hands, brimming with Bogey and one-liners that today's screenwriters can't come close to matching. That charming grin and smooth patter of Bogart's was exactly what I was looking for, and kid, it was fantastic. Black and white doesn't bother me (anymore than subtitles do, and people insist on warning about both...go figure), and with quality like The Maltese Falcon shot in light and shadow, I don't see how anyone else could care about the lack of color.

It's tempting to say that noir just can't be done in color (but I've seen L.A. Confidential, and I know that it really can). While color isn't necessary, shadow is. It's hard to discuss shadow in the film without showing images, so I'll have to rest on this. Film, whether still or in motion, is a study of light and dark. The meaning of those things is crucial to understanding the piece, and in the shadow-and-grey packed noir...well. Nothing's pure white.

Incidentally, much like Alan Rickman, I can listen to Humphrey Bogart talk forever. Especially with that awesome grin. Sam Spade's the PI for me, any day. If you're not such a philistine that you can't tolerate black and white, find this movie. Not as impactful as some, but certainly an utterly awesome detective story.

-29/365 down, 336/365 to go