Casablanca (Snap Case)
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Movie Reviews of Casablanca (Snap Case)
Movie Review: "As Time Goes By." "Here's Looking At You, Kid." A Classic.
Summary: 5 Stars
This cinematic masterpiece won 3 Academy Awards in 1943: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. The acting as is timeless as the movie itself. Screen legends Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman make the perfect pair as star-crossed lovers Rick and Ilsa who meet again in war-torn unoccupied France. Paul Henreid is memorable as resistance fighter/leader Victor Laszlo. Claude Rains ("The Adventures Of Robin Hood", etc.) is a cross between neutral and non-neutral as Louis Renault, prefect of police. Peter Lorre is subtly devious as the scheming Ugarte. Sydney Greenstreet ("The Maltese Falcon", etc.) is an accessory as Rick's business rival Ferrari. Conrad Veidt oozes pure venom as the evil Major Strasser. The movie works very well, not only in terms of story, but the techniques that were used: flashbacks where almost all of it was music, close-ups of the characters in the right places, etc. Max Steiner (Oscar winner for "Gone With The Wind" four years earlier) composed the score for this bittersweet tale of love, intrigue and patriotism. The movie's only real special features are the original theatrical trailer, trailers for other classic movies starring Humphrey Bogart and a revealing documentary, "You Must Remember This" (the first line of "As Time Goes By", featured in the film), which offers an exclusive look at the making of this landmark movie, hosted by none other than Bogie's wife (from 1945, a year after they starred in "To Have And Have Not" until his untimely death in 1957) and legendary actress, Lauren Bacall. This movie also should've won Bogie the Oscar for Best Actor, Ms. Bergman Best Actress, Mr. Steiner Best Score and Best Song ("As Time Goes By"). One of the movie's final lines, "Round Up The Usual Suspects", was the inspiration for the mind-bending, Oscar-winning film "The Usual Suspects." (Look for my review of that twist-filled thriller later on). This film is, in the strictest sense of the word, a classic. Features the famous line "Here's looking at you, kid" and the timeless song "As Time Goes By." Rated PG for mild thematic elements and some violence.
Movie Review: Suspend Your Disbelief
Summary: 5 Stars
If you suspend your disbelief, Casablanca is truly one of the best films ever made. It succeeds because the most improbable thing that the Bogart character could do was to give the letters of transit to the most beautiful woman of all time and her husband the resistance singer. It's simply out of character, don't you agree? And yet, for a moment at the end, we believe it! And this is a tribute to the way the movie was constructed from the very opening shot. But if you look at it in its context of 1943, the suspension of disbelief was in fact rather prevalant. I'm talking about the war movies. The war movies of that era showed unbelievable self-lessness: soldiers throwing themselves on hand grenades, etc. How could "war" motivate people to do such things? Well, people were swept by the patriotism of the time--and it was an extremely justifiable patriotism, given the evil of Hitler. So, what I'm saying (and I don't know if it's been said before) is that Casablanca is, preeminently, a war film. It's a film about doing the right thing, not in combat, but in an occupied territory, with nasty Nazis around. What was the opening shot? Well, it was exactly the opening shot of a war movie! We saw Casablanca on a map. So we are set up to think in terms of a war movie. Could the idea of Casablanca ever work in a non-war context? Woody Allen's "Play it Again, Sam," is of course a mild--and affectionate--spoof of Casablanca. Allen is "our hero" at the end of the film. We don't quite buy it, and "Sam" doesn't quite come off. It's an interesting movie, badly edited, but I cite it because it reinforces my main point: that to understand Casablanca, you have to have seen some of the war films that came out at the same time.Movie Review: We will always have Casablanca
Summary: 5 Stars
From 1939 through 1941, many Europeans were wondering what ... was taking America so long to join the fight against Hitler. Keeping in mind that Rick Blaine(Bogart) is an American who refuses to get involved in other people's affairs, even with life and death on the line, CASABLANCA can easily be interpreted as a criticism of America's callous indifference to the horrors going on across the ocean. The film makers had acknowledged this as a catalyst for making this movie. And on that level, CASABLANCA is an enormous success.But films rarely make it on just their political or social messages. What makes CASABLANCA the classic it is, is the incredible balance of top-notch acting, impeccable writing, and flawless pacing by the director. As one previous reviewer mentioned, the military intrigues and dangers are heightened by the tensions of the love story. Rick's love for Ilsa (part nostalgia, part real) is what finally gets him involved, but given his previous associations with all levels of Casablanca's society, he must be careful where this love leads him. This movie is a thriller and a sentimental love story, neither of which is overblown or corny. Bogey, Bergman, Jordan, Lorre all turn in performances which will be remembered for so long as films are shown.
Lastly, the serious nature of the plot finds relief in several moments of humor. As a New Yorker, this is my favorite bit of repartee:
Major Strasser (To Rick): Are you one of those people who cannot imagine the Germans in their beloved Paris?
Rick: It's not particularly my beloved Paris.
Heinz: Can you imagine us in London?
Rick: When you get there, ask me!
Major Strasser: How about New York?
Rick: Well, there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn't advise you to try to invade.
What a wonderful film!
Movie Review: As time goes by
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the best love stories of the twentieth century. This was originally just a low budget film produced by Warner Bros in the 1940's, and wasn't expected to do too well at the box office.This is the one film that Humphrey Bogart starred in with Ingrid Bergman, but together they light up the screen like no other screen couple has since. He is Rick Blane, he owns a nightspot in Casablanca called Rick's Cafe ( the original title of this movie was 'Everybody Comes To Rick's'). Rick spends most of his time running his saloon, or sitting in the dark drinking bourbon and dreaming of memories past. Into all of this comes Ilsa Lundt, a woman he fell in love with in Paris, but who mysteriously stood him up at the train station when they had planned to elope.
Rick has never laid eyes on her since that day when his insides had been kicked out, but here she is again in the company of Victor Lazlo, a freedom fighter considered an enemy of the Nazis. And they have come to Casablanca seeking safe passage to America, and Rick may be the only one who can help. But will he let his feelings for Ilsa (feelings he has long denied having)interfere with what is best for the woman he loves?
This is a standout classic not just for some of it's lines "We'll always have Paris", or Dooley Wilson's dulcet tones crooning 'As Time Goes By' just for the two star crossed love birds. But also for the gorgeous Ingrid Bergman who lights up the screen each time she walks on, or for the brooding Humphrey Bogart as he cries into his bourbon for his torn heart. This film will certainly prove that sometimes you just have to let love go, that sometimes even though it feels right, you just have to say "We'll always have (fill in the blank)' A film not to be missed.
Movie Review: "You must remember this"....
Summary: 5 Stars
It's hard to believe that when Casablanca was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in 1942 it was "just another" of the 50 or so films that the studio was producing every year, as Lauren Bacall points out in the documentary about the film included in the special features. The movie was an instant success with audiences everywhere, and won three Academy Awards including Best Picture. Called "America's most popular and beloved movie- and rightly so" by The Motion Picture Guide, and "The best Hollywood movie of all time" by Leonard Maltin, Casablanca was voted the #2 film in a list of the top 100 films of this century by the American Film Institute.Set in refugee strewn French North Africa in 1942, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a night club owner, and his friend Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), Prefect of Police, enter into a wager as to whether or not Resistance Leader Victor Laslo (Paul Henreid) will be able to escape Casablanca and reach the Free World. When Laslo arrives in Casablanca, Rick is stunned to find him accompanied by his ex-lover, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). Filled with mystery, suspense, intrigue and romance, Casablanca will remain a favorite of classic movie lovers for years to come.
The supporting cast include Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson as Rick's piano playing confidant, Sam. The entire cast are superb, the settings are excellent, and the cinematogrophy is wonderful.
The song "As Time Goes By" was made famous by Casablanca, as it's melody is entwined throughout the film, and it too is now a classic, filled with romance and nostalgia.
This is one film that absolutely MUST be in your DVD library!