The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre_360P

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Let me start by saying that this is easily one of the top 5 pre-1950 films in existence. No doubt about that in my mind. Not only that, but it is easily one of the greatest films ever made after 1950 as well. To me, this film in the end plays as a dark comedy. A dark comedy that pokes its fun at the greedy devil within the minds of men. The thing that stands out to me the most about this film is the writing. The Oscar winning screenplay is in my view still under-appreciated. This film's writing is totally devoid of any prejudice at all, and has a depth that almost every other film can only dream to have. A truly amazing work. I could go on and on about this film, but I will just end by saying that as a story, and as a film, The Treasure Of Sierra Madre will stand as an artistic landmark for all of human history. 10/10.

There's so much that's already been said in previous reviews that it's senseless to repeat, but hard not to. On my 1st viewing 15 years ago, 'Treasure...' got catapulted into my top 10 best "1st time movie viewing" experience and it still remains there. Bogart, who displayed such cool confidence in "Maltese Falcon", "Casablanca" and "Big Sleep" is devastating as Fred (don't forget the 'C.') Dobbs. Hollywood brass wanted a more uplifting denouement, but that would have undermined the whole powerful impact of the story. It's dirty, gritty and unrelenting in the power of greed that comes with the lure of wealth. I totally understand if anyone places this as their #1 favorite. Another testament on the shallowness of the Oscars. Time is the only true testament on the truthful quality of a movie...and this movie stands high. Can't wait for the 2 disc edition being released in Sept, 2003. Not for all tastes, especially for those looking for the typical glamorized Hollywood product of a bygone age. This is a simple tale of gold and greed that is uncompromising...and refreshing. 10 out of 10

In 1925, in Mexico, Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) is an American begging for food and trying to get any job. He meets Bob Curtin (Tim Holt), another American in horrible economical situation and also looking for job, and the former gold prospector Howard (Walter Huston), and together they go to the Mexican mountains seek for gold. After ten months of hard and tense work, including confrontation with bandits, each one of them gets a small fortune in gold. Meanwhile, their personalities are disclosed, and Dobbs shows himself a man obsessed by greed. The end of their journey is ironic and tragic. This movie is a masterpiece. Having an outstanding direction of John Huston, an astounding performance of Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt and supported by a fantastic screenplay, it is certainly one of the best movies ever, highly recommended for any audience. Walter Huston and Humphrey Bogart are really stupendous in their roles. My vote is ten. Title (Brazil): `O Tesouro de Sierra Madre' (`The Treasure of the Sierra Madre')

This is one of those great old movies that is worth a repeat viewing every now and again in a person's life. Sure, much of the acting and dialog have gotten corny and dated over the years, and I agree with one of the previous commenters who said that Bogart's acting seems very forced - like he's obviously just reading lines from script. Be that as it may, the story that is told here is every bit as important and thought provoking as something from the Bible. Throughout the film there is a spot-on wisdom about man and his endless quest for wealth (in this case, gold). I always come away from this movie feeling secure in my belief that in life you just can't have it all, and all that glitters is not gold (i.e. there are things in life more important than money). Since this movie was largely about lost fortunes (literally "dust in the wind" if you think about the end sequence), it must have made quite an impression on audiences back in the forties when it was released. I'm sure more than a few viewers back then still had painful memories of catastrophic losses caused by the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing Depression of the 1930's. Also, many people lost a lot in the war years that followed, and which predated this movie by just a few years. That's why I think this movie qualifies for repeat viewings, because just think how appropriate this wisdom is for our current generation of people: just consider the losses from, say, the stock market crash of 2000, the events of September 11th, and of course we just witnessed the horrific losses caused by the Asian tsunami... the cycle repeats. Fortunes come and go, gold is often times nothing but dust in the wind, but life goes on and so man must go on. That's what this movie says to me whenever I see it.

The only thing I have to add to the many well-written reviews here is this: it's astounding that Bogart wasn't nominated in the Academy Awards' Best Actor category. Sure, he had his share of nods in other years, but his portrayal of the complex Dobbs is unique. Watch this classic-for many reasons-and see if Bogie's performance isn't Oscar-worthy.

Some movies have certain scenes in them that hold the viewers interest more than others. However every single scene in this film holds the viewers interest. There is never a dull or lagging moment. Three down and outers who at one time in their lives were maybe up and comers strike out in search of a fortune or at least enough to live better than they have been. While Humphrey Bogart gives a superb performance it is Walter Huston who turns in the greatest performance as the old prospector Howard. The scene in the Indian village where he helps to restore a comatose child is one of the most touching in all of film history and is done virtually without any dialog. Mexican character actor Alfonso Bedoya of course steals all the scenes he appears in and delivers his classic "Stinking Badges" line. (what person would dress up as a Bandito for a costume party and not want to look exactly like Bedoya's Gold Hat character?) This film probably should have been a little higher on AFI's top 100. A must see!

This film is a sharp-edged study of the effects of greed on otherwise normal men, and one man in particular: Bogart's Fred C. Dobbs. Dobbs and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) are down and out and meet up with prospector Howard (Walter Huston). When Dobbs wins a lottery, he uses the proceeds to finance a trip for the three to central Mexico to search for gold. The three have to deal with the lawlessness of central Mexico at the time - bandits were actually on the loose in that country killing anybody with stuff, and taking that stuff. The Federales were a violent solution to a violent problem - killing the bandits after a summary judgement and the bandits having dug their own graves. So our trio not only have to worry about bandits once they strike gold, they have to worry about the darkness of their own souls. In the beginning, Bogart's Fred C. Dobbs is a decent guy who does not take advantage of others. Dobbs only takes his money from the guy that wouldn't pay and he does share his lottery ticket and is generous with his fellow miners, but as greed begins to take root in him, little by little we see his goodness eaten away. It's a great credit to the writing and Bogart's skills that this is done gradually and played out over time. Incidentally, that's director John Huston "staking him to a meal". One of the best director cameos ever (although Polanski in Chinatown is equally great)! Dobbs overestimates himself and the fallibility of human nature. Walter Hustons character freely admits what gold could do to any of them including himself. Dobbs is sure it will never happen to him, but he's never had anything, so he's never faced temptation, and when he falls it's a long way down. This may be Tim Holt's finest performance - it was probably his finest opportunity given he had spent years laboring as a B western star on the RKO lot. Walter Huston as the prospector, minus his dentures and plus a bunch of pounds and with holes in his clothes is not the debonair fellow you are used to seeing in film . If Mary Astor's character in Dodsworth could have thought this was the future appearance of the man she loved, would she have taken her gondola in the other direction? I guess we'll never know. Highly recommended as one of the great character studies in which several characters get studied in detail.

I only saw this one time. It was enough for me. For the acting alone - and for Walter Huston - I would give it five stars but no stars for anything else. Maybe it's just me, but watching a paranoid, greedy, whiny person act nasty for an hour toward two innocent good guys is is not my idea of entertainment, whether it's Humphrey Bogart (here, as "Fred C. Dobbs") or Elmer Fudd playing the lead. The only actor I enjoyed watching was Huston, which is no surprise. I always found him fascinating in whoever he played on film. Then again, I might have put up with this story better had it been a little shorter, but 120 minutes of this was too much. I really believe this is one of those movies that critics have made it far more than it really is, meaning vastly overrated. I like Bogart in many films, but not here.