Which of these two films do you prefer or think is the best.
I think MF has better character portrayels(Bogarts best perfomance}.
Ultimatly though I think BS is more gripping and entertaining.
Big Sleep has the better chemistry between the leads and with the better dialogue would just about edge it for me.
Also can't see Big Sleep being able to be set in a high school, no matter how good the remake might be.
I disagree that Bogart is better in TMF. He pulls them both off great in my view. Bogart is so smooth in The Big Sleep, his performance suits the terrific dialogue of TBS so perfectly. He totally comes off as a very sharp and slick detective with a great deal of coinfidence. He epitomises the word cool in TBS. He is cool in TMF too, but the story and writing is just not as good in my view. The more times I see TBS, the more I'm amazed by the dialogue in the film. The one draw back in TBS for me is the ultra fake looking fight scene when Bogart catches that guy coming out of the house. I don't know why Hawks didn't spend a little more time making that scene look better. Otherwise though, I think TBS is such an awesome film. Honestly, I think TMF is quite overrated by many. It has some great performances and is a good film, sure, but I really don't see what is so extremely great about it. Other than the acting that is. I think TMF has a few pretty cheesy parts to be honest, the story is good, but not great in my view. TBS is far more interesting, complex, and a far better written film in my view. I would agree that overall TMF does have better all around performances. In TBS I'm not big on Becall in some scenes, but she is also good in some. But of course, everyone has their own opinions.
My body's a cage, it's been used and abused...and I...LIKE IT!!
I liked the Maltese Falcon more.
Sleep had way too many characters I got confused and since I had no idea who was who I got bored.
The Maltese Falcon by far. Though I admit I need to see the Big Sleep again. But the first time I watched it, I actually did fall asleep. I think having seen The Maltese Falcon first, which I found very entertaining with Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, and Elisha Cook Jr's performances, the big sleep seems darker and less entertaining.
But like I said, I want to see the Big Sleep again. I feel like I missed something since it is judged argueably the best noir movie ever.
They are both considered among the greatest film noir movies ever along with Double Indemnity. They are classic murder mysteries because they leave the solution to the very last. Bogart is the essence of cool in both because he always seems in control of the situation. It is interesting to speculate on what becomes of the characters after the film ends. There could also be a cottage industry for authors to write novels involving the continuing adventures of the same characters.
shareThe Maltese Falcon. It is the film to which all films after should be judged. Without MF there is no BS.. Both fine films.. But Sam Spade was just too damn good.
-- 'I dont mind a reasonable amount of trouble.' Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon for me.
TBS is great, of course, and I just rewatched it again last night. It is quite confusing, and all of the questions are not answered, but the dialogue between Bogie and Bacall is what makes it a classic.
The best Bogart movie ever is Casablanca, IMO, followed by Treasure of The Sierra Madre and African Queen.
BS has Bacall.
MF doesn't.
Need I say more?
"I'm going crazy. I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands and going crazy."
But, MF has Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet.
It's a tough call, like many here I love both, but MF has the edge for me. If only for the brilliant climatic scene when Spade gives Brigid over to the police. Spade proves once and for all just how cold blooded he can be, and possibly, possibly not, we never can tell with Brigid, he was right to be. "I hope they don't hang you, precious, by that sweet neck."
The finale in TBS where Marlowe tricks Eddie Mars into getting himself shot just doesn't have the same impact. Although, that said, the final shot of Bogart&Bacall waiting with police sirens in the background is pretty iconic. As I said, it's a tough call!
While I agree that it is not warranted to try and define "which movie is better", since both are wonderful, "compare and contrast" can still be wonderfully illuminating:
In MF, Sam Spade lets the girl take the fall because she is guilty, and without morals. In TBS, Philip Marlowe protects the girl even though she is guilty, because there's a gangster convenient to take the fall, and he's in love with her big sister!
One more comparison, MF was pre-war. TBS was post war (the movie version), and there was a huge social "sigh of relief" going around in which "getting things back to normal" was a powerful incentive to put male and female characters, with traditional behaviors on the screen (guy saves girl). Sure, after a time, the film noir really got going (through which the jaded audiences who had lived through so much horror and depravation could see stories gritty and realistic beyond pre-war imagining. But the "Ozzie and Harriet" surge was begun immediately following VE and VJ day. People just wanted to get back to being "girls" and "boys", rather than "working moms" and "soldier, absent dads".
With that epic social sea change in the background, I find the differences between these two movies that much more interesting.
"If this is tea, then bring me your coffee. But if that was your coffee, please bring me your tea." - Abraham Lincoln
Didn't see if it's been noted above but the recent Sight & Sound poll gave The Big Sleep 10 votes vs The Maltese Falcon's 4 (including director votes with critics'). Critic Geoff Dyer voted for both. I'll give my vote MF by a nose (or is it a beak?). Film Noir was effectively defined by the cinematography in Falcon, whereas BS feels more staged.
shareI have seen MF several times and I finally got around to BS this past week. Maybe BS was ruined for me when Robert Osborne explained how the "studio" added more witty banter dialogue between Bogart & Bacall than was needed. At any rate I think MS is superior in every way. In MF I was able to find a reason to like every character (well, except for Wilmer), and I thought Mary Astor was superb. In BS I didn't find much to like.
I am going to hunt around for the Robert Mitchum version.
PS: I enjoyed the 1931 version of MF more than I liked BS. Just sayin...
For me, the fave is unquestionably The Big Sleep. It's impossible for me to sit through The Maltese Falcon thanks primarily to Mary Astor, whose performance is a puke fest in search of a vessel.
The 1945 version of The Big Sleep is pretty good - doesn't include the amped-up Bogart/Bacall dialogue and scenes.
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Personally I like Bogart's role and dialogue so much in this film, (Apart from the terribly cheesy fight scene.). I think it's quite a bit better than TMF to be honest. While TMF is a good film no doubt, I've always felt that it was a little overrated in general.
My body's a cage, it's been used and abused...and I...LIKE IT!!