Humphrey Bogart: The Essential Collection

Completed watching the first two discs, really enjoyed watching the movies listed even if Bogart wasn't the top or even billed star in a few.

Twenty-four films; a hardcover booklet; a bonus disc of "The Brothers Warner" documentary (well, more like a promo, but what the heck). Among those twenty-four films: The Petrified Forest; High Sierra; They Drive By Night; The Maltese Falcon; Passage to Marseille; To Have and Have Not; The Big Sleep; Dark Passage; Key Largo; Casablanca; Treasure of the Sierra Madre; and others. Excellent transfers - and while not blu-ray, you'll not miss that unless you're watching on a very large display. [If you must have blu-ray format, you'll pay quite a lot more to own these films - entirely up to you whether it's worth the considerable additional cost].All of this for about $2.50 per film. Yet somehow, many reviewers here carp about missing discs, or included films in which Bogart doesn't have top billing, or didn't include Bogart's later movies, or does contain reportedly defective or damaged discs, or whatever nit you'd care to pick. [I'll note that some inexpensive dvd/blu ray drives have difficulty tracking dual-sided discs, which could well explain some of the 'defect' complaints here].Perhaps there has been a QC problem with some of the boxed sets - mine does not suffer from any such defects or damage. If you did receive a defective box, the solution is to get a replacement, not to trash the set in a review on amazon.Here we have hours and hours of excellent vintage Hollywood films for a song, in a very nice package. Absolutely nothing a reasonable person could find not to like here; and to quibble is simply unseemly."Humphrey Bogart - The Essential Collection" is an outright gift to movie lovers from WB. And that's something that doesn't come along all that often. You'd be well advised not to pass it up.

Although not completely comprehensive, this collection provides a wide array of Bogart'sversatility. One or two of my favorites are missing but it's still an excellent collection.

First of all, I hate the title -- any Bogart compilation that's missing "African Queen" and "Caine Mutiny" but includes "Virginia City" and "The Amazing Mr. Clitterhouse" is hardly an "essential collection." I do understand that Warner can only include films to which it holds the rights (but where is "Dead Reckoning"?) -- so a more accurate title could have been "The (Incomplete) Warner Bros. Collection."Second, I hate it when Amazon doesn't tell you exactly what you're getting in a collection! So as a public service, here is what you get:Petrified ForestMarked WomanKid GalahadBlack LegionSan QuentinThe Roaring TwentiesDark VictoryVirginia CityThe Amazing Dr. ClitterhouseInvisible StripesHigh SierraThey Drive by NightMaltese FalconAcross the PacificAll Through the NightBrother OrchidAction in the North AtlanticPassage to Marseilles,To Have and Have Not/The Big SleepDark PassageKey LargoCasablancaTreasure of the Sierra MadreAs you can see, some curious choices of inclusion and exclusion, but for the price it's a great deal. And you just need to understand that some important films are missing. Go out and find "Dead Reckoning", "In a Lonely Place", "African Queen" "Sabrina", "Beat the Devil", "Caine Mutiny", and "The Harder They Fall" -- and you really will have an "essential Bogart collection."

First off, let me say, I love this set. I previously owned the first version of the Signature set (The Bogart Collection (Casablanca/The Maltese Falcon/To Have and Have Not/The Big Sleep/The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)), and will be giving it to a friend. Fantastic to own so many great Bogart flicks -- all those on the Signature Collection, plus rarer gems like They Drive By Night.As I was giving my Signature set one last look before giving it away -- watching all the 2nd disk stuff that isn't in The Essentials -- in the case of Casablanca and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, I got what I expected: The Essentials included all the data from the first disk, but not the second. Fine... better to get 24 movies instead of 5, even if it means giving up a few bonus features.In the case of "The Big Sleep" however, they included instead what was on the B side of that two-sided disk: the inferior prerelease 1945 version, not the better 1946 theatrical release. There was a reason WB held up the release for a year, because the 1945 version simply isn't as good. The 1945 release was the bonus selection in the Signature Collection, but in The Essentials, they pass it off as the main feature.Looking at the comments in response to the 3-star review "A Few Bugs In Bogart", it is apparent that WB's quality control is lacking, and different copies of The Essentials have different versions of the DVDs. (It is also apparent from those comments, that requests to WB to replace this disks are not always successful -- I will be trying my luck on that.)To tell which version of "The Big Sleep" you have, go to chapter 18. If you see Lauren Bacall wearing a ridiculous looking veil (presumably in mourning after the death of her family's chauffeur), you too have the wrong version.I was thrilled when this set came out, but am disappointed that "The Big Sleep", my favorite Bogart movie of all time, will no longer be my favorite on this set.