Maltese Falcon, Rebel Without a Cause & Cool Hand Luke 4K Review: 3 Eras of 4K

The Warner Bros. 4K catalog keeps growing with the release of three more classics: The Maltese Falcon, Rebel Without a Cause and Cool Hand Luke, out today. Each display a unique 4K aesthetic worth adding to your library.

The Maltese Falcon features Black and White on bar with the studio’s Casablanca. There are some epic shadows in Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart)’s dark apartment, which pays off later when he’s walking into dark rooms revealing others when the lights come on. The nighttime crime scene, the black trench coats and widow’s dress all create the ultimate 4K film noir.

Rebel is a widescreen technicolor movie, so James Dean’s red leather jacket is bright, as is Natalie Wood’s coat. The deep night of most of the film’s events is pure pitch black, especially the street race. The black leather jackets hold up against the dark too. There are more shadows in the abandoned house and planetarium too. 

Cool Hand Luke is the sweatiest of the three releases. There’s a lot of male skin on display here. Dirt sticks to them as they work and you can see every grain. 

These are three distinct eras of cinema worth revisiting. The detective mystery is a hallmark of the genre. The social commentary of Rebel completely holds up today with parents telling kids what to do until it inconveniences them and police ignoring witnesses trying to come forward. Cool Hand Luke is the ‘70s antihero tragedy but it remains poignant.