Casablanca
consider among the greatest movie of all sentence , Casablancais being re - released in theaters for audiences to experience on the big screen . For those who have n’t pick up it before , there may be some preconceived whimsy , perhaps thinking it ’ll get along across as ego - crucial or too slow for modern spectator to revel . Fortunately , I think newcomers will be sunnily surprised . For an 83 - twelvemonth - old picture show , Casablancaremains incredibly approachable , with a electrifying , romantic account that ’s peppered with unforgettable lines , all bright delivered byits grand cast . It ’s thoroughgoing entertainment as only the Golden Age of Hollywood could deliver , and its message remain salient even today .
Set in December 1941 , refugees fleeing the war in Europe pour into the titular Moroccan urban center with hopes of securing an evasion to America . Two German couriers have been bump off , and the alphabetic character of transit they were carrying stolen . This set in question a cascade of upshot as officer of Nazi Germany and Vichy France endeavor to recover these letter , whose economic value rest in their power to allow anyone who possesses them safe passage out of Casablanca .
Amid the originate tension , a noted resistance drawing card , Victor Laszlo ( Paul Henreid ) , and his married woman , Ilsa ( Ingrid Bergman ) arrive in the metropolis , hoping to consist hands on those letters , which have since get along into the possession of night club owner , Rick Blaine ( Humphrey Bogart ) . Rick and Ilsa , it ’s soon discover , share a romanticist history , set up one of the most famous love triangle in cinema history . As Ilsa sorts through her feelings and decide which man she really loves , Rick must decide whether it ’s time to set aside his isolationistic scene and last join the engagement against the Nazis .
Casablanca May Surprise Modern Audiences With How Accessible It Is
A Tight Script, Deft Directing, & Sharp Editing Deliver A Film That Doesn’t Waste A Single Frame
Casablancais very much a product of the studio apartment system , which moil out pic like a mill from the 1920s through the early 1960s . One of over 30 production Warner Bros. released in 1942 , it was n’t made with any intention of being a peculiar motion picture . And yet , because everything is so efficiently care — from the writing , direct , spew , editing , art management , and more — it is an example of a nearly dead assembled film .
Casablanca ’s playscript has no fatty tissue , with every panorama expertly displace the story along while also develop the character . Four author worked on it – Julius and Philip Epstein , Howard Koch , and an uncredited Casey Robinson – but even so , the script is miserly and filled withiconic line that are still quoted today . There ’s nothing flashy about Michael Curtiz ’s focussing , either , but it is exceedingly skillful ( unsurprising for a managing director of over 100 films ) , with the camera seamlessly tracking to come after the legal action within Rick ’s Café Américain and the occasional dolly shot to put focus on the most important moments .
AFI ’s 100 Years … 100 Movie Quotes order
No . 67- Rick : " Of all the gin joints in all the townspeople in all the humans , she walks into mine . "
No . 43- Rick ( to llsa ): " We ’ll always have Paris . "
No . 32- Renault : " round out up the common defendant . "
Casablanca is a classic film set in December 1941, starring Humphrey Bogart as a cynical American expatriate in Morocco. When he encounters a former lover, portrayed by Ingrid Bergman, complicated personal and political tensions arise amidst the backdrop of World War II.
No . 28- Ilsa : " Play it , Sam . gaming ' As Time Goes By ' . "
No . 20- Rick ( to Renault ): " Louis , I cogitate this is the source of a beautiful friendship . "
No . 5- Rick ( to Ilsa ): " Here ’s looking at you , kid . "
The lighting evokes thestyles of film noirand expressionist movies , as recondite shadows are contrast with sharp highlights , creating mood and drawing our focus to those of import beats . Casablanca ’s editing is just as efficient , keep the moving-picture show ’s pace moving along steadily as the twists and turns of the romantic and political plots converge . With a runtime of under two hours , the pic never dawdle . The cinematography and editing were handled by industry veterans , Arthur Edeson and Owen Marks , so it ’s no surprise how approachable the motion-picture show feel thanks to their competent work .
Casablancaholds the most spots of any film on AFI’s100 Years … 100 Movie Quotes lean with six . OnlyGone with the WindandThe Wizard of Ozcome nigh with three apiece .
Whether it ’s the opening scene that swiftly outlines what ’s at wager or the Parisian flashbacks that compactly bring us up to speed on Rick and Ilsa ’s love affair , Casablancais an easy moving-picture show to get into . The smutty - and - white photography has aged attractively , and the staging within Rick ’s café constitute the obvious sound stagecoach feel like a veridical position . It ’d be easy to take that as an previous flick , Casablancawould be dull or unrelatable , but that could n’t be further from the truth . Its celebrity is deserved , but more importantly , it ’s great entertainment .
Casablanca’s Cast Is Led By Bonafide Movie Stars
But It’s The Supporting Players Who Really Shine
Casablancastars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman , two of Classic Hollywood ’s braggy stars . Their Rick and Ilsa have since become legendary , and it ’s light to see why . Bogart is at his most effortlessly nerveless in this moving picture . He also brings great depth , particularly in how he permit heartbreak toy across his side when first reunify with Ilsa , and again when recalling their better days in Paris . Meanwhile , Ilsa could have been a savorless or even cold character , but Bergman really sell the conflicting emotions whirl inside her , often with just a look .
As beguile as they are as amatory leads , it ’s the supporting form who stand out . Claude Rains ' Captain Renault is an exceptionally charming self-seeker and a aspect - thief . His resonance with Bogart is a highlight and their chemistry rival that of Rick and Ilsa , make the film ’s ending all the more appropriate . Paul Henried ’s Victor Laszlo is often overshadowed , but he ’s actually a ferocious and determined character — not so dissimilar from Rick . ( Why else would Ilsa have fallen in love with them both ? ) Dooley Wilson ’s Sam is unforgettable , acting as moral sense and confidante while also performing the film ’s signature song .
Many in the plaster bandage , from Henried to backdrop actors , were themselves European expats and refugee , make the potent emotions encounter during the “ La Marseillaise ” prospect all the more real .
The supporting hurl is fill out out by Conrad Veidt as Major Strasser , Sydney Greenstreet as Ferrari , and Peter Lorre as Ugarte – all contract player at WB whose performance animate and further the latent hostility ofCasablanca . Then there ’s the background mold , all of whom have memorable instant as their own little vignette waver together to forge a tapestry of characters desperate to fly the infringe war . For many , this culminates in a now iconic scene where " La Marseillaise ” , the French internal hymn , becomes a rousing moment of superbia and dissent in the nerve of an ever - maturate Nazi presence .
Though Made Over 80 Years Ago, Casablanca Remains As Timely As Ever
Casablancawas secrete around one year after the flack on Pearl Harbor , and it was even rushed to capitalise on the promotion of Allied Forces entering North Africa . While a patriotic movie and one firmly told from an American view , its propaganda is n’t overt , though its message is clear – fascism is grow and only America ’s brand of liberal majority rule can stop it . Early in the movie , Ferrari say to Rick : “ Isolationism is no longer a practical policy , ” urging Rick and the country he represent to last pick a side .
Hopefully , we can muster the same courage to refute fascism in all its variant and put the need of others above our own desire .
Even without recognise how the warfare would end , Casablancachooses a promising musical note for its ending . Rick puddle a baronial sacrifice , one that denies him honest love , as the Lazslos take to the woods while he and Renault resolve to take up the fighting against the Nazis . It ’s a message that has hold up the trial run of metre and is still as apposite today as it was when first release .
Casablanca is a classic moving-picture show define in December 1941 , starring Humphrey Bogart as a cynical American expatriate in Morocco . When he encounters a former lover , depict by Ingrid Bergman , complicated personal and political tension arise amidst the backcloth of World War II .
