The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Movie Review
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a 1948 western adventure drama film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart. It’s one of the best movies of all time.
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“Badges? We ain’t got no badges.
We don’t need no badges.
I don’t have to show you any stinking badges“
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Two down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains. This leads to chaos and eventually tragedy. This is one of my favorite films of all time, and upon rewatching it I still find it to be a masterpiece that has stood the test of time gloriously. It’s a film that was ahead of its time in more ways than one.
For one, its depiction of Mexicans was not racist at all, but actually quite believable and at times even admirable. There is also the fact that the film was actually shot on location, which was a big rarity for the time, which resulted in a gorgeous-looking, truly epic cinematic experience. And by far the most modern thing about is its inherent darkness and how they dealt with the main actor and character. It was uncharacteristic of the era to say the least.
Yes, Humphrey Bogart was very unglamorous in this role that made him look like a dirty hobo who eventually becomes a sheer madman. He really needs to be applauded for actually going there and fully committing to this very strange for the time, highly demanding role. Fred C. Dobbs is an iconic movie character, one that is complex yet utterly believable throughout.
How in the hell did Bogart lose on an Oscar nomination this year? He should have won, but he wasn’t even nominated. The answer is that this was too much for the Academy, just pinpointing how revolutionary this performance was. Bogart had and would never be this good again. His grins, his insane look in his eyes, his fits of rage – all of it was beautifully acted and with so much commitment from this brilliant actor. Bogart would never get this kind of an amazing role in the future, which was sad. But at least he got this film to forever cement him as one of the greats.
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Tim Holt was also quite good. People don’t often talk about him when discussing this film as he was outshined by the other two performers, but I found his performance to be excellent too and he deserves more attention for it. But of course the Oscar-winning performance of Walter Huston is phenomenal. He plays by far the most sympathetic person in the story and he was so charismatic throughout. The Academy honoring this year both an actor father and his director son was a wonderful choice.
Yes, John Huston won an Oscar for his superb directorial work on this masterpiece. He got the best possible performances out of his tremendous cast and every single decision in adapting the screenplay from the titular novel and in terms of technical aspects paid off in dividends. He did such an amazing job here that he would never replicate afterwards.
A story about greed and what it can do to people, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is also very much a deep character study. Dobbs is a complex figure, a man whom we despise, but also pity. The fact that he is the main character in a way and that he got such an unceremonious death toward the end only further showcases the brilliance of this movie that was ahead of its time in its extremely dark approach to storytelling and a refusal to tack on a very happy ending.
With that being said, the final scene is still wonderful in its own way as the two surviving heroes contemplate about their futures. It’s a lovely scene that ended this immensely dreary movie on at least somewhat positive note. Nobody got the gold, which was also wonderful to witness. It’s such an anti-Capitalism, anti-greed film in every fiber of its being that I couldn’t help but admire it for it.
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This is a western film, but it’s also very much an adventure and a character drama. It worked within the confines of all three of these genres, perfectly encapsulating and elevating forties cinema in the process. The score is beautiful, the editing truly remarkable and the cinematography strikingly strong. It made perfect use of its Mexican rural, montane setting and it looked gorgeous while still being eerie and shadowy in the more suspenseful sequences. The dialogue was great and the tone was just right. I did prefer the second brisker half over the somewhat slower beginning, but the movie is pretty much immaculate in everything that it did oh so right.
Gorgeously shot on location and superbly directed by John Huston in what was his career highlight, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is an undisputed masterpiece that was so ahead of its time in more ways than one. It’s an uncharacteristically dark, honest look at what greed does to people while featuring one of cinema’s greatest antagonists. Humphrey Bogart here delivered his career-best performance in the role of the iconic Fred C. Dobbs. He was so daringly unglamorous in the role and so thoroughly believable as a madman. Walter Huston was terrific himself in such a wonderful supporting turn. This is a technically superb, narratively potent film, one that is still impressive in everything that it did oh so right. Consequently, it’s clearly one of the best movies of all time.
My Rating – 5
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