Michael's Movie Grade: A+
Note: This is going to be a simple review. There will be no deep analyzing of any particular scene. This is because every inch of this movie has been analyzed so often, that anything I say on that front will be pointless to say at this time, and if I were going to do something like this it would be on a much less analyzed movie. Instead I will be looking at this movie as a whole and why I feel like I do about it.
Review: One of the most perfect movies ever made.
What makes this film so incredible is that it incorporates every emotion and delivers perfectly with each one. This movie makes you laugh at times, cry at times, cheer at times and be in suspense at times. However with all this going on the movie still flows absolutely perfectly and each of these emotions work together fantastically. This is because everything in this movie is tied together to the story and the characters. There is not a scene in this film that is not needed. If a single line of dialogue was cut the movie would not be as effective as it is. This is especially incredible once you consider that this movie wasn't finished being written by the time filming started. The ending in particular had not been figured out until just a little before the scene was filmed. With this it is made even more amazing that everything in this movie just seems so naturally. Even us film history buffs who know the story of how long it took for some scenes to be written, forget it when watching the movie because it flows so perfectly naturally.
Any fan of Hollywood movies from the 1930's and 40's will know Casablanca has one of the all time greatest casts ever assembled for a movie. You have Humphry Bogart and Ingrid Bergman as the leads. These are quite well written characters, but the actors performances make them so much more real. There is not a false note in these performances. However the supporting cast is also extremely memorable. Claude Rains is one of my favorite Hollywood actors of this period and this movie perfectly shows why. Captain Louis Renault would be already such a fun character if we were just reading the Epstein brothers and Howard Koch's script. He is given some of the funniest lines in this movie and the character's relationship with Rick is really interesting. However Rains manages to bring this character to the next level with his performance. One gets the feeling he was having a great time making this movie and we sure have a great time watching him. Peter Lorre even with such a small role leaves a great impression and I always forget how soon his character disappears. This movie would not be the same if Dooley Wilson wasn't here. His beautiful renditions of It Had to Be You, Knock on Wood and As Time Goes By, make this movie so much more powerful. Paul Henrid, S. Z. Sakall, Sydney Greenstreet and so many more also make this movie such a joy to watch.
Thanks to TCM and Fathom Events, I and many others got to see this movie on the big screen for its 75th anniversary. I have seen this movie so many times, and know it by heart. However seeing it with an audience and in a cinema made it feel like a brand new experience. Movies were meant to be shared with others and seeing the film like this is such a great and different experience.
-Michael J. Ruhland
Coming Saturday: A birthday tribute to Mickey Mouse.
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