Casablaca Movie Review

Since so many reviews and studies have been done on Casablanca it is hard to approach it with a genuine touch so in a way this is a study done with all those point of views used as a source and blended together.

Casablanca was awarded three Academy awards in 1943 for Best Screenplay, Best Picture and Best Director thus recognizing the qualities that Casablanca possesses. The only regret about this film in regards to the awards and recognition it received is that almost no acknowledgement was made of Ingrid Bergman exquisite acting.

The review of the professional critic I am including in this study is of Tim Dirks one of the most renown critics:

“The classic and much-loved romantic melodrama Casablanca (1942), always found on top-ten lists of films, is a masterful tale of two men vying for the same woman's love in a love triangle. The story of political and romantic espionage is set against the backdrop of the conflict between democracy and totalitarianism. With rich and smoky atmosphere, anti-Nazi propaganda, Max Steiner's superb musical score, suspense, unforgettable characters and me

. . .

This movie’s primary intent was to be another film “produced” by Hollywood in the 40 in their movie making craze but due to its quality and the historical context – the situation in Casablanca and the state of the war raging in Europe thus calling for sacrifice- made it into a classical masterpiece, a work of art simply as well as a part of history. In French the word for director which is “réalisateur” gives us a lot of insight on the real task of a director: to realize a project by directing all the individuals, creative or not, involved in it. Sam is in my mind a little more than a simple minor character; since he is part of Rick’s past and a very dear and loyal friend, the fact that Sam is black is even more relevant to his importance due to the prejudice inherent to those days proves the bravery of their friendship.

As to the minor characters, every single one of them is crucial and an incredible addition to the story due to their psychology and effervescence: the cut-rate malicious and contemptible but yet sympathetic Ugarte played by Peter Lorre who incarnates a black market exit-visa dealer; the “fat hypocrite” senor Ferrari, the imposing Blue Parrot (a Casablanca Bar) owner who is first and foremost the king of the Black market in Casablanca played by Sydney Greenstreet.

The editing in Casablanca accomplishes its task since no real attention is given to it, which is the goal desire in this movie genre in order not to divert the attention from the plot and story line.

Casablanca’s fame is also due in part to its cast which to say the least is incredible:

Rick Blaine as the owner of the café played by Humphrey Bogart, Ilsa, the captivating, riveting, and absolutely gorgeous Ingrid Bergman is the woman Rick had an affair in Paris that turned short as they were suppose to leave, and Paul Henreid played the role of Ilsa’s husband the underground resistance movement leader fleeing from Europe for the USA thus transiting by Casablanca. “

Dirks, Tim “Casablanca (1942), A review by Tim Dirks”. In the end, individuals on the creative end like The Epstein Brothers are the ones who really brought the story and characters to life thanks to great dialogs and the study of the personality of the characters but also to the careful analysis of the story line, making sure that the story made sense and that there were not discrepancies in it. As Lauren Bacall said it so well: “ At the time it was only another movie from a Hollywood dream factory”. Curtiz in my views was a real director since he did what all good directors should do, bring all the parties involved in the realization of a project to work in unison in order to accomplish a well though out and intelligent movie. Even though Curtiz wasn’t an artist, his views and interpretation of the script helped shape the story.

Even though hindsight blurs our judgment I don’t think Casablanca would have been what it is today if casted with Ronald Reagan as Rick or the French Michelle Morgan instead of Bergman.

The photography and lighting in the movie was under the supervision of Arthur Adeson famous for his work on “The Maltese Flacon” (1941), his art owed him a nomination in 1943 for an Academy Award for Best Black and White Cinematography.

Common topics in this essay:
White Cinematography, Lauren Bacall, Michelle Morgan, World War, Tim Dirks, Curtiz Hungarian, Wilson Sam, , Play Sam, Epstein Brothers, ilsas husband, underground resistance movement, lauren bacall, ingrid bergman, success casablanca, play sam, resistance movement, story line, casablanca 1942, underground resistance, black market,

Approximate Word count = 1519
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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