Thus movie grabbed my attention with it's ratings on imdb and Matascore. Unfortunately after I have seen a movie I was deeply disappointed by too much dialog and no suspense, which defines a WESTERN genre, but I have to give them a credit, because picture is looking beutiful and a acting is good. Just it wasn't my expectancy and gust.

It's amazing how vibrant these older movies can be without using color, whether it be the characters or the score, there's something about older movies like this that makes you feel something. Even though I've seen the plot of this play out in other movies, it still engaged me, it still interested me. The film drags on a little bit, maybe the scene between Howard and the Natives goes a little longer than it needs to, but the movie still has a good flow and doesn't drag that much. I do kind of wish that the gold corrupted more than just Bogart, maybe make a Shakespearean tragedy out of it to really get the message across. Regardless, the film's aged incredibly well, and definitely worth a watch if you're interested.

'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre' can be found in the Required Viewing list for Werner Herzog's 'Rogue Film School' programme. After having watched the film, I can completely understand why Herzog must have been influenced by this. The reason for that is the fact that this film has a very 'Heart of Darkness'-like feel to it and it explores themes that Herzog has time and again dealt with in his own films.An important theme in the film is how nature can use darkly funny ways to undermine the audacious ambitions of humans who try to venture into uncharted territories, into the wilderness and conquer nature. The three men try to fight the forces of nature and persevere to get their treasure, but in the end they can't escape the mysterious ways of nature and nature ends up having the last say in the deciding the fate of the treasure. Another important theme is greed. The film might have the word 'treasure' in the title, but the treasure/gold in itself is really insignificant in the bigger picture. The film is about the changes that the lust for the treasure brings about in the characters, most particularly Dobbs. Being completely out in the open for months and being completely enveloped by the paranoia brought on by his greed, Dobbs slowly and gradually becomes a paranoid, heartless monster over the course of the film. One can easily see a bit of Dobbs in Herzog's 'Aguirre'. The original book by B. Traven as well as the film by John Huston undoubtedly offer a commentary on reckless capitalism and the underlying greed which fuels such tendencies.Huston's script retains the catchy, sharp dialogue that can be found in his other films. However the film lives and dies by Huston's direction. The cinematography is fantastic. Although the camera-work and camera movements remain somewhat standard during the initial moments, but once things start falling apart and the greed fueled paranoia and lunacy start to envelope the characters(mainly Dobbs), Huston also simultaneously cranks up the frenetic nature of the camera movements and the intensity with which certain scenes get staged to complement the transition in tone. There is a grittiness to the film that I genuinely liked. There is a very poignant use of close-ups in this film to underline changing emotions in the characters. One of my favourite moments in the film involves Curtin's character caught up in a crucial moment of moral dilemma when he has to choose between doing the right thing, and doing the selfish thing. It is a wordless moment of brilliance.Bogart is brilliant as Dobbs. This is a character that gradually loses his mind and I believed that transition completely. His intensity towards the last act of the film made the character in equal measures pathetic, as well as scary. Walter Huston and Tim Holt deserve a lot of admiration for their respective performances too.With a name like 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre', one could expect to get a film about the thrills of the adventure in the journey to the treasure ending with the protagonists finding the elusive 'treasure'. But this film subverts expectations and offers a terrific exploration of human greed and nature's indifference to such greed. It's a great film that is easily worth recommending.

I had the great pleasure of being shown this film in my Screen writing course at my University and from the moment it ended, it has stayed with me. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a very hard film for me to categorize. It is a film that exists outside of the boundaries and genres; thus creating it's own style in the process. It appears that many films since have borrowed several elements from the story (Raiders of the Lost Ark, There Will Be Blood, etc.) but I can think of none that are exactly like it.The story is kept neat and simple; three men head off on a journey into the Mexican mountains to find gold. Yes, gold is what they came for but what they found was much more complex. Each character in the film discovers something about themselves as the film progresses. It's more than just a simple screen story; it's an amazing study of character and drama.Now, for all of my praise the film does suffer from a few inadequacies. I did not particularly care for the second act nor did I find the antagonists very threatening. They played more for comic relief than anything else. However, these are very trivial errors when you compare them to the film's more amazing qualities.Humphrey Bogart gives a very menacing and powerful performance in this film, though he is not initially frightening. The audience is instead forced to sit and watch as his character slowly descends into madness and is completely corrupted by greed. The role appeals to our morbidly curious side; we crave to look away from the destruction that unfolds from within his character's psyche and yet we cannot pull our gaze away from it. It is Bogart's best acting. Yes even better than Rick from Casablanca and I do not feel bold in the slightest for saying so.The lead star is only matched by his supporting cast. Walter Huston, speaking about one hundred words a minute in his incredibly endearing, academy award winning role. Tim Holt is also highly capable as the young, impressionable sidekick to Bogart. He stays morally and ethically sound; remaining firmly on the side of goodness and integrity. You can well imagine what kind of brutal conflict this creates between him and Bogart; some of their shared scenes are among my favourites in the film. This review would be a failure if I never mentioned Max Steiner's amazing score. Sierra Madre contains some of the best accompanying music I've ever heard from a film of it's age. The main theme in particular is exhilarating, powerful and adventurous. I do have the very distinct feeling that John Williams was influenced by this score.I could probably sit here and write page after page of why this film is so significant, but the best way to know why is to just experience it for yourself. Once again, this film is more than just a simple story. One by one, it progressively peals back layers of itself to reveal the true story underneath. The human psyche, moral codes and relational conflict are all explored to a great extreme and I enjoyed every moment of it. The third act in particular is absolutely exceptional. This film is a mirror to humanity; displaying all of it's worst and all of it's best. Watch The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and you will know yourself better than you ever thought you did.