The Treasure of the Sierra Madre poster & wallpaper

Alfonso Bedoya, Barton MacLane, Bruce Bennett

Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, both down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico in 1925, meet up with a grizzled prospector named Howard and decide to join with him in search of gold in the wilds of central ...( read more  read more... )Mexico. Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but bandits, the elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster.

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Unrated, 2 hrs. 4 min.

Directed by: John Huston

Release Date: January 7, 1948

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DVD Release Date: September 30, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (1,052)

  • shortcartoonist
    July 2, 2008
    shortcartoonist
    Greed and karma stricken onto an epic, open landscape - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is morality told through grim drabness. Huston's capturing of an endless Mexican desert houses the isolation and slow-burning change in the men of the picture; mentally salivating over the po...( read more)tentials of their labour. Where the film truly excels is in pushing the audience to blur insanity with greed all the while questioning whether the pits of the souls are deep as we initially think. Where the film tends to lag, however, comes in it's uneven scoring, where some scenes flow effortlessly while others screech with a trying tone.
  • hypathio7
    May 13, 2008
    hypathio7
    Bogie's character arc is unforgettable. He turns so ugly, from the inside out. The best study of greed.
  • PvtCaboose91
    April 22, 2008
    PvtCaboose91
    "Conscience. What a thing. If you believe you got a conscience it'll pester you to death. But if you don't believe you got one, what could it do t'ya? Makes me sick, all this talking and fussing about nonsense."


    The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a riveting c

    ...( read more)lassic adventure tale that made a huge impression on global cinema. Even though it's over 60 years old the film holds a major influence on the way adventure films have been made to this day.

    Many will wonder what makes the film so special. For me it was a great way to spend two hours because it was highly entertaining, fascinating and has a high sense of excitement. Then underneath the surface we have a great underlying message about human nature and the lust for greed.

    The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a tale set in 1920s Mexico. Two poor men named Dobbs (Bogart) and Curtin (Holt) are desperate for a pay check and will do anything to strike wealth. Lucky for them they run into an old codger named Howard (played by director John Huston's dad Walter) who endlessly drones on about mining for gold and knowing the spot where one can find gold worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

    And so the three men set out into the mountains for a spot of gold prospering after pooling together their funds to purchase all necessary equipment. During their adventure they encounter bandits and Indians but none of these threaten them as much as something they never anticipated - human nature and greed.

    This classic tale is one high adventure film that you won't want to miss. It delivers a sense of true adventure; making the experience exhilarating and a whole heap of fun. But what really makes this one unlike all other adventure films is its subconscious message about how easily mankind can be corrupted and manipulated by the thought of money.

    Some of the scenes throughout the movie during which characters quarrel over the gold is spellbinding. Because of the fantastic characters we can easily find ourselves engaged in what's going on for the film's two hour period.

    And what was imperative for this to work? It's simple - the extraordinary performances from everyone in the cast. Humphrey Bogart was already an established star and was raking in lots of money. Especially after The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca this man was extremely distinguished amongst the thousands of other actors working at the time. Bogey's portrayal was captivating and brilliant. He got his role perfected in no time. He seemed like a gruff, poor beggar at the beginning of the movie. And by the end we get the sense of what occurred after he got his hands on such a large amount of gold. His lust for wealth got the better of him, and Bogart gets his character across in a stunning way.

    Walter Huston, father to director John Huston, finally received an Oscar as the aging gold prospector. Clearly there are little flaws to find in his character. Tim Holt was only known for trashy B-Grade flicks up until he got his big break here. He is always so focused, and so dissimilar to the other two protagonists. With this in mind, each of the three title characters are so divergent.

    John Huston both wrote and directed the film himself. He was without question the perfect man for the job. He excelled himself, and I liked this film better than The Maltese Falcon which is also among the screen greats.

    Above all this, the cinematography is what sold the film for me. Each location was brilliant and looked completely gorgeous on the big screen. The use of such dense bush and the sense of isolation totally blew me away.

    But wait - there's more. Just when you think things couldn't get any better, I also found the invigorating score by Max Steiner to be the perfect way to top it all off. I don't think there are any flaws to be pointed out in this classic production. Quotable lines, great messages about humanity and just all round inspiring filmmaking.

    The Treasure of Sierra Madre is a phenomenal achievement and will forever be a movie that stands the test of time. It's groundbreaking, exciting and adventurous. Quite simply if you've never seen this classic cinematic gem then you have no idea what you're missing out on.
  • sainttom93
    March 1, 2008
    sainttom93
    For a western, it's a classic
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 12, 2008
    sanjurosamurai
    this is a phenomenal film. a tale of greed and paranoia, this film creatively chronicles the journey of three gold prospectors who begin as friends. greed grips one of the men and everything falls apart as you see him drop into insanity. huston won an acting oscar for his role,...( read more) and he deserved it, but bogart really pulled of a great performance in this film. he started off as the focus of the film as an incredibly likeable character and by the end he becomes brash, unreasonable, and hated. a great film that accomplishes its task of showing greed for what it is. a timeless film.
  • michaelcorleone
    November 6, 2009
    michaelcorleone
    John Huston handles this project with masterful grace, structuring it in such a way that emphasizes the themes without being overly forceful. It's a beautifully directed film that makes full use of its locations, imbedding the audience in a gritty atmosphere. The photography is e...( read more)xquisitely composed, and the screenplay is full of powerful dialogue. Humphrey Bogart delivers one of his finest and most unsettling performances here, standing out in a cast of solid actors. This movie is constantly praised as one of the best American pictures in history, and I have to say it lives up to its status.
  • mayorcrunch
    October 11, 2009
    mayorcrunch
    Que tragica y entretenida historia cuenta "The Treasure of Sierra Madre" y que valor de Humphrey Bogart por no transformar a su personaje en un heroe caido. Estrenada en 1948, esta pelicula pudo haber sido una simple aventura, sin embargo cuando la codicia empieza a atacar al gru...( read more)po de buscadores de oro, esta se convierte en una tragedia con un final ironico.
    La historia nos atrapa desde el principio y las actores dan estupendas actuaciones (Bogart da una actuacion muy diferente al personaje de Rick que hizo en Casablanca). No es dificil comprender porque es llamada un clasico del cine.
    "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" es una cinta que todo cinefilo debe tener en su coleccion.
  • Arianeta
    October 4, 2009
    Arianeta
    The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is John Huston's 1948 American feature film adaptation of B. Traven's 1927 novel of the same name, in which two penurious Americans (Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt) during 1920s in Mexico join with an old-timer (Walter Huston, the director's father)...( read more) to prospect for gold
  • lizzardb72688
    September 24, 2009
    lizzardb72688
    Not at all what I expected, but entertaining none-the-less.
  • jscottcorley
    September 5, 2009
    jscottcorley
    This is one of my top 10 favorite movies. Walter Huston is born for his role and, damn, can he dance.

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Critic Reviews

January 15, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie has never really been about gold but about character, and Bogart fearlessly makes Fred C. Dobbs into a pathetic, frightened, selfish man -- so sick we would be tempted to pity him, if he wer... full review

View more The Treasure of the Sierra Madre reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Trivia

  • What movie first hade this line used in it "badges we don't need no stinking badges"?  Answer »
  • Top 100 Movie Quotes Which 1948 movie has the quote "Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!"?   Answer »
  • In which Humphrey Bogart movie is this line from: "We don't need no stinkin' badges"?  Answer »
  • Humphrey Bogart played a prospector looking for gold in Mexico in this 1948 John Houston classic.  Answer »
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