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Set in the titular city in 1941 Morocco, Casablanca follows Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), an American cafe owner with a cynical shell, but maybe a sentimentalist heart. So when a former lover, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) unknowingly ends up at his cafe looking for safe passage to America for her husband, Rick has to decide whether to help them or not.
Casablanca has been a favorite of mine for a long time, but for some reason, I hadn't seen it in a while. So when the opportunity to rewatch it came this month, I really didn't hesitate much. What else can be said about a film like this? If anything, I think this time I appreciated more how seamlessly it moves between romance and drama to adventure and thrills; from the bitterness of Rick to the perfect comedic timings of Captain Renault (Claude Rains); from the romance between Rick and Ilsa to the powerful "La Marseillaise" scene.
Casablanca is the perfect example of a studio production coming to fruition in a way that feels harmoniously constructed from all angles. The film is a masterpiece and by most accounts, pretty much perfect; Curtiz direction is flawless, the script offers depth to the characters while giving an endless supply of memorable lines, the performances are all top-notch, and that ending!
Speaking about the cast, Bogart was born to play this role, while Bergman does so much with her eyes and body language. On the other hand, Rains crafts a truly compelling and layered character that happens to be funny, but that feels real and complex. If anything, Paul Henreid's Victor Lazslo is the character that I feel warranted maybe a tad more. The cast is rounded out by excellent supporting performances from Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, and Dooley Wilson.
I know that raving about this film can be seen as cliché and predictable, but it is so for a reason. It is the kind of film that I feel deserves praise about pretty much everything in it, from pretty much everybody; regardless of how cynical is your shell.
Grade:
CASABLANCA
(1942, Curtiz)
A film from the Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time list whose ranking includes the #5 (#65)
(1942, Curtiz)
A film from the Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time list whose ranking includes the #5 (#65)
"My dear Ricky, I suspect that under that cynical shell, you are at heart a sentimentalist."
Set in the titular city in 1941 Morocco, Casablanca follows Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), an American cafe owner with a cynical shell, but maybe a sentimentalist heart. So when a former lover, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) unknowingly ends up at his cafe looking for safe passage to America for her husband, Rick has to decide whether to help them or not.
Casablanca has been a favorite of mine for a long time, but for some reason, I hadn't seen it in a while. So when the opportunity to rewatch it came this month, I really didn't hesitate much. What else can be said about a film like this? If anything, I think this time I appreciated more how seamlessly it moves between romance and drama to adventure and thrills; from the bitterness of Rick to the perfect comedic timings of Captain Renault (Claude Rains); from the romance between Rick and Ilsa to the powerful "La Marseillaise" scene.
Casablanca is the perfect example of a studio production coming to fruition in a way that feels harmoniously constructed from all angles. The film is a masterpiece and by most accounts, pretty much perfect; Curtiz direction is flawless, the script offers depth to the characters while giving an endless supply of memorable lines, the performances are all top-notch, and that ending!
Speaking about the cast, Bogart was born to play this role, while Bergman does so much with her eyes and body language. On the other hand, Rains crafts a truly compelling and layered character that happens to be funny, but that feels real and complex. If anything, Paul Henreid's Victor Lazslo is the character that I feel warranted maybe a tad more. The cast is rounded out by excellent supporting performances from Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, and Dooley Wilson.
I know that raving about this film can be seen as cliché and predictable, but it is so for a reason. It is the kind of film that I feel deserves praise about pretty much everything in it, from pretty much everybody; regardless of how cynical is your shell.
Grade: