Sunday, March 3, 2013

Best Picture: "Casablanca," 1943


Movie Stats:
Released 1943 (USA)
American, in English (small amounts of non-translated French & German)
Director – Michael Curtiz
Stars – Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, & Claude Rains

Plot Summary:
It’s December 1941. Casablanca, Morocco, under the control of Vichy France, is overrun by people desperately seeking a way to escape Nazi-controlled Europe. In the midst of it all is American Rick Blaine (Bogart), a bar owner who’s just trying to survive it all. He’s getting by all right until the arrival of Victor Lazlo (Henreid), a symbol of the resistance whom the Nazis are determined to capture, and his female companion, Ilsa Lund (Bergman). Rick and Ilsa share a mysterious past. Now that she is involved, will Rick be able to remain neutral, or will he decide to stick his neck out for her? Claude Rains stars as the local French leader, Captain Renault.

Bad Stuff:
My one and only complaint is that there’s not enough Peter Lorre (who plays the shifty Ugarte). He’s probably my favorite character actor of all time.

Good Stuff:
EVERYTHING.

I’m serious. To me, this movie is pretty much perfect. The casting was great, so the acting is phenomenal. The costumes are gorgeous. The music is fantastic. The story is interesting. I love the ending. The absolute best part, though, is the dialogue. I’d only seen it once before, probably a good ten years ago, so I’d completely forgotten how funny it is. There were several lines that had me laughing out loud (i.e. “What nationality are you?” “I’m a drunkard.”). There are few things I love better than snappy dialogue.

I never thought of Humphrey Bogart as a particularly handsome man, but there is one scene in this movie where he gives a very genuine-seeming smile, and for once I saw how handsome he was.

The Verdict:
If you’ve never seen this movie, go watch it right now. If you’ve already seen it, go watch it again. I mean it. Few movies that have received the Best Picture Oscar have deserved it as much as this one did.

I give it 5 stars.

Bonus Blog Fun Fact: Paul Henreid also starred in Night Train to Munich, one of the gems I saw due to Instant Watch.

3 comments:

Patricia said...

I first watched this very late at night when I was in college. It was part of a triple feature: Casablanca (from the 40s) An Affair to Remember (from the 50s) and something from the 60s. Maybe Hair? It was a long night. I think Casablanca suffered a bit, due to the late hour.

The second time I watched this movie I was on a date in Boston and it was one of the "movies on the Common." I think we ended up leaving early and wandering around downtown Boston.

So clearly I need to give this move the viewing it deserves.

balyien said...

I avoided this movie for years, thinking I would hate it. You should definitely give it another chance!

Patricia said...

It's not that I don't like it, It's just that I think I haven't really given it my full attention. Of the triple feature, it was the best, especially if the third was Hair. That movie is boooooooorrrrrrriiiinnnnnggg.