THE MALTESE FALCON (3 STARS)

This restoration is one of the sharpest black and white pictures I've ever seen. John Huston's 1941 Noir starring Humphrey Bogart is said to be the quintessential "film noir". I was under the impression that it was gripping and mesmerizing. I thought it was campy at best. I feel like an idiot for saying this but the only thing interesting about this film are the ridicules characters we've seen replayed a million times since, and the silly campy physical comedy that takes place (that I'm pretty sure is not meant to be). For instance; Judo chopping a hand so that they drop the gun they're pointing, a slapping of a coat collar, the little guy constantly getting slapped around by everyone. Everyone just keeps getting slapped and hit and kicked. I have nothing more to say about this movie.