Casablanca (DVD, 2000)

I may be prejudiced by the fact that I absolutely hate romance. Romantic comedy and musicals I can stand (to an extent, as I don’t like An American in Paris). But I hate pure romance.

I came into the movie thinking it was something like Notorious, romantic suspense or something of that nature. I was incredibly wrong. It was pure romance, pure romance.

Basically the plot is this: Rick (Humphrey Bogart), who runs a bar in Casablanca, where all the refugees go (during WWII), sees an old flame (Ingrid Bergman) again. This recalls the days in Paris shortly before he left. She comes and talks to him. She says she’s married to this guy (Paul Hendrid). Rick had seen them together in his bar. The guy is prominent on the Nazi blacklist and so the Gestapo, who just arrived, want to see to it that he stays in Casablanca. There are some twists and the movie ends.

Seen that way, it seems absurd that anyone could stretch this over the course of a movie an hour and forty minutes long. Frankly it is. Sure, I cut out all the mushy parts and the fancy lines (“Here’s looking at you, kid!”), etc.

Claude Rains and Peter Lorre are the best actors of the bunch. Bergman is okay. Hendrid sort of mutters his lines so it’s hard to understand them. I hate Bogart’s voice—it’s raw, high-pitched and sort of shrill. That and he kind of slurs or has a lisp or something. And his looks—his face looks like a hollowed out corps—haggard. Probably he was on drugs or alcohol.

The opening was horrible. Unnecessary and left me wondering who the movie was going to be about. I mean, I have no problem with establishing shots. But never should the camera stop on a person and should those people have an honest to goodness line (not brushing over). It makes you think the movie’s gonna be about them. But the opening to this movie does that constantly.

People say this is the best movie that has ever been made. I’ll second that, with one minor modification, “it’s the worst movie that has ever been made”. Fine, maybe not the worst. But just plain stupid. Not worth watching again. No tension, no real suspense. It’s a good movie to see what WWII was like (this was made before it was over). Other than that, it stinks on ice.

This is certainly among the most spirited and ennobling movies ever made. The 1942 Casablanca still wows viewers today, and for good reason. Its unique story of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war against a monster is sophisticated instead of outlandish, intriguing instead of garish. Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical club owner in unoccupied French territory that is nevertheless crawling with Nazis; Ingrid Bergman is the lover who mysteriously deserted him in Paris; and Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and Conrad Veidt are among what may be the best supporting cast in the history of Hollywood films.

In this Oscar winning classic (which certainly ranks as one of the best movies
ever made), American expat Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) plays host to gamblers, thieves and refugees at his Moroccan nightclub -appropriately name
RICKS, during World War II. What he did not expect was that his ex-love, Isla
(Ingrid Bergman) the woman that broke his heart, would show up one night at
his club. Isla hopes that with Ricks help, she and her fugitive husband (Paul
Henreid) can escape to America to carry on his work against the Nazi s. Both
find out that the spark that brought them together years before still burns
brightly in both hearts. This is a must own movie for Romance Classic and
Classic War Story collectors, plus excellent music to listen too during the
flix. GREAT MOVIE-!!

Many people snicker or stare at me aghastly when I tell them Casablanca is my favorite movie of all time. What was this guy smoking the day he watched that movie?
I have watched this movie at least twenty times. I mean it's not like I saw it in theateres when it came out. I am only in my twenties, but I appreciate good films - color or black and white, new or old, horror or romance. But anyone who doesn't appreciate this movie should honestly go to Antartica and share their views with the penguins. This movie is a classic, a must-have to any collection. Bogart and Bergman are magical. Claude Rains nearly steals the show. And no matter how many times you see it, it will still grab you each time. If you haVen't seen it, take a chance. On a rainy night, by yourself or with your loved one, make some hot cocoa and enjoy.

The previous review does nothing more than insult this movie. Casablaca is one of the true classics. The plot is more than just that he sees an old flame in his refugee bar. Bogart struggles throughout the movie with his old feelings for the woman he loved and the new life he's made for himself in Casablanca.

This movie probably won't appeal to most of the younger audiance today. The was remastered in Technicolor, so it doesn't look as "pretty" as movies today. Also, most, if not all, of the story was more in the script than in the action. It led to some of the most memorable lines in movie history; "here's looking at you kid" , "we'll always have Paris" , "play it again Sam" (which was never actually said, Bogart never said "again"). However, if your from an older generation, are just a sap for classic love stories, or, like me, are from the new generation but still have a soft spot for classics, you'll LOVE this movie. I can't count the time my girlfriend and I curled up together with a bag of popcorn and feel asleep in each others arms.