This boxset release from the venerated house of Warner Bros., is exactly what its name says. It’s truly an essential collection that every Humphrey Bogart aficionado, hell, every cinephile worth his salt, would love to lay his hands on. At its barest essence, this collection comprises of 24 Bogart movies (6 cases, with each containing 2 double-sided dvd’s), including some of the most enduring classic Hollywood and film noir classics like Casablanca, Maltese Falcon, Sierra Madre, Key Largo, Big Sleep, They Drive By Night, To Have and Have Not, Dark Passage, etc., along with some of his lesser known films like, The Petrified Forest, Marked Woman, All Through the Night, etc. The movies cover over a decade's relationship between the actor and the studio. But, in effect, its more than just that. The elegant, pristine-white box-set comes with a beautiful hardbound booklet whose glossy plates contain synopses of each of the films and a plethora of excellent pictures. Wait, it ain’t over yet. The set also has in it some of the press-releases, memos and letters (including one written by the great man himself) which are worth their weights in gold, as well as, strikingly attractive reprints (on colour plates) of the original posters of some of the films. If these were not enough, the set comes with a bonus documentary feature called The Brothers Warner. The studio should be applauded for coming out with this collector’s item.
p.s. I would like to thank Warner Bros. for contacting me and sending across this boxset in order for me to review it here at my blog.