Casablanca
1942; USA; 102 min.
Director: Michael Curtiz
Screenplay: Murray Burnett, Joan Alison, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, Casey Robinson
Music: Max Steiner
Cast:
Rick Blaine - Humphrey Bogart
Ilsa Lund - Ingrid Bergman
Victor Laszlow - Paul Henreid
Captain Renault - Claude Rains
Major Strasser - Conrad Veidt
Signor Ferrari - Sydney Greenstreet
Ugarte - Peter Lorre
I was extremely excited to watch "Casablanca" because of its famous reputation as a classic film. It was one of those movies that I have been meaning to watch for the longest time, but have not had a chance to. I think I definitely had high expectations for this film. This being said, I wasn't overly impressed with the film. I thought I would absolutely love "Casablanca," and this was not the case. I didn't really get into the political aspect of it. That was not interesting to me at all. I'm really just not into politics, I guess. I did like the "old time cinema" feel to the film, which was probably due to the fact that this is a 1942 film.
The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked this the number one romance of all time. I beg to differ. The romance aspect of the film was alright. Maybe I'm just a fan of the modern day romantic comedy, but this doesn't exactly compare to my favorite romance films. Sure, some parts of the film were extremely romantic. But I was extremely disappointed when Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) (SPOILER ALERT) didn't end up together. How could that happen? Why would a writer make that choice? How could an actor go along with that? There's no real closure, in my opinion, in the film. Sure, Ilsa gets to stay with Laszlow (Paul Henreid), a man that she doesn't really love. And Rick? Well, he gets a friendship with Captain Renault (Claude Rains). So Rick gets to live his life alone, but no worries, he has a new best friend. Ilsa gets to live her life with someone, probably yearning for the person that she truly loves [Rick] for the rest of her life. As you can see, I wasn't exactly happy with the ending.
One part of the film that I did like was the music. I really enjoyed the song, "As Time Goes By." The lyrics were very appropriate to the plot. I find this stanza particularly apropos to the idea of the film...
It's still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die.
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by.
So I think that the reason that I was critical of the film was because my expectations for it. I'm sure that if I watch it again, I'll enjoy it more. I will give it another try in the future. I really do love romance films. I consider myself an expert (well, maybe not exactly an expert, but well-rounded in the field) in romantic comedies. This film just didn't do it for me. If you do like 1940s politics, and romance (with a bad ending), I would recommend "Casablanca."
iRate: 2/5 visas
Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3749445913/
2 comments:
MD!
I'm so upset that you didn't love this movie. I thought it was wonderful. and unlike you I actually really liked they ending. It was different, it wasn't exactly the happy ending we all hope for, it was original.
-your fellow library employee haaaa
Rats, Maddie. I hope in the future you'll watch it again--as time goes by--and enjoy it more. But don't be brainwashed by the masses--maybe it's not your cup of champagne (or whatever they were constantly drinking). We'll always have "Piece by Piece." =)
Post a Comment