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Casablanca (1942)Reviewed By: Chris J. LawtonWriting a review like this is a surreal experience. I mean, I doubt I’m going to convert anyone. I’m not going to introduce a movie like
Casablanca to a whole new generation. Frankly, if you haven’t yet seen one of the greatest movies of all time, then I doubt this review will make you drop everything you’re doing, and head to the video store.
But, that’s not really the point of the
Please Rewind Reviews, is it? I see these as a chance to express our love for our favorite movies. And, maybe, pique someone’s curiosity if, by some rare chance, they
haven’t seen it. But, mainly it’s the expression of love thing.
Now, with
Casablanca, I’m going to gush. I’m going to gush like a freaking schoolgirl at a Jonas Brothers’ concert (are they still relevant?). Because, I love this movie. It’s at the top of my all-time favorite movies list, followed shortly after by
Die Hard and
Empire Strikes Back. That’s how awesome this movie is. It’s better than
Die Hard and
Empire.
Set in 1941, shortly before the U.S. entered World War II,
Casablanca is about Rick Blaine, played by
Humphrey Bogart, a bitter and cynical American expatriate, who runs an upscale nightclub in Casablanca, a city in the French-controlled Northern Africa.
Rick sees himself as a man without a country and is determined to stay neutral in the war, which is currently ripping Europe apart. Through a series of events, he comes into possession of transit papers, which allow the holder to move throughout Nazi-controlled Europe and even make it to Neutral Portugal, where they could gain passage to the U.S.
We then learn why Rick is so bitter, as we’re introduced to Ilsa, played by
Ingrid Bergman, who requests the papers, so she can send her husband, Czech Resistance Leader Victor Laszlo, out of the country and to safety. Ilsa and Rick had been lovers in France, until the Nazis invaded and she left him, destroying him.
However, he has a chance to gain everything he’s missed, as Ilsa offers herself in exchange for the papers. But, while Rick works really hard to convince everyone that he doesn’t care about anything, but himself, he is still a good person.
And we come to why this movie is so awesome. It’s not a war epic about people caught in the crossfire. It’s not even, really, about the war—though the war does play a big part. It’s really about a guy who is torn between having everything he wants, and doing what he knows he should do.
There are some incredibly moving scenes in this movie that I dare anyone to watch without getting a little choked up. One particular scene involves one of the most famous songs in film history,
As Time Goes By. At the beginning of the movie, when Ilsa first arrives at the club, she asks Rick’s piano player, Sam, to play the song for “old time’s sake”. It had been her and Rick’s song, during their time in Paris.
Sam hesitates, but then begins playing it. Suddenly, Rick busts in and chastises Sam for playing a song he explicitly forbade him to play. It’s at this point when Rick sees Ilsa for the first time in over a year.
Later, after the club has closed, Rick is sitting in a dark room, pouring shot after shot of whiskey, and smoking cigarette after cigarette. He demands Sam to play
As Time Goes By, saying “If you played it for her, you can play it for me” and “If she can stand it, I can! Play it!”
We are then treated to one of the most subtly emotional scenes I’ve ever seen, as the song dredges up memories in Rick of a past he has worked so hard to stifle. He sits there, remembering Paris, smoking a cigarette and drinking. As he sits there, you can just see the pain on his face. This moment is marked by the amazing line, "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
I first watched this movie when I was 11 or 12 years old. And this scene is still one of the most poignant things I have ever seen. I have yet to see anything that makes me feel quite like I did the first time I watched this movie.
Rick’s personal problems aside, there are some definite political undertones throughout the entire movie. After all, there is a World War going on. Another incredibly poignant scene involving music happens when the Nazis are standing around the club singing, quite loudly,
Die Wacht am Rhein, a patriotic German song.
Laszlo asks the house band to play
La Marseillaise, the French national anthem. The band looks to Rick for guidance, who solemnly nods, knowing the inevitable outcome of such a move. At first, Laszlo is the only one to sing, but eventually the patriotism builds up in the other patrons and they all join in, completely drowning out the German officers.
It’s this move which completely sums up Rick’s character, as he basically sacrifices his club, which is closed down afterward, for the sake of fighting the oppressive Nazis. I mean, Rick’s never going to be a freedom fighter, taking on the German army single-handedly. But, he knows what’s right and this is a real turning point for him, in the movie, as he starts to move toward the inevitable redemption.
Now, while the story is absolutely amazing, what makes the film so incredibly awesome is actually the cast.
Bogart, in his first romantic lead role, absolutely sells the role of Rick, making the twists and turns of the character completely believable.
Bergman shines as Ilsa, emoting some real pain, as she’s torn between the two men she loves.
Claude Rains plays corrupt Police Captain, Louis Renault, who the Nazis have put in charge of keeping peace in Casablanca. Renault, however, has no love for Germany or France or, really, anyone but himself.
At the beginning of the movie, he is exactly what Rick wants to be. And, honestly, his redemption story is another one of the things that makes this movie so amazing. At the start of the film, he works for the Nazis because he blows with the wind and, at the time, “the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy.” Over the course of the movie, though, he begins to turn around and even makes one of the greatest sacrifices in the whole film.
The weakest part of the cast is probably
Paul Henreid, who plays Laszlo. He’s very, very stiff and not really likable, throughout the movie. Though, I think that might have something to do with his character. He has an agenda, and he’s determined to push that agenda, regardless of who gets in the way.
I’m gonna stop there, because I could literally go another 1,000 words praising this movie. Right here, I can’t actually think of a single thing I dislike about it. In my eyes, it’s perfect in every way.
Since I do have to rate the “fun factor”, I am going to have to ding the movie on this. Frankly, it’s a drama, so there’s not a lot of “fun” to be had here. There are certainly moments that are enjoyable and fun, but they’re overshadowed by the emotion that runs rampant throughout the rest of the movie. Again, there’s nothing really wrong with that, but I’ll probably have to ding it a bit.
”You must remember this: a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh. The fundamental things apply, as time goes by.”Acting:
Story:Direction:"Fun" Factor:Overall:
