Watching all the movies on the Warner Bros. 50-movie box set that I bought for cheap. This week the random number generator must remember this as it selected Casablanca.
Here’s what happens: In pre-WWII Morocco, Rick’s Café, run by mystery man Rick Blaine, is the place to be, an international safe (or not-so-safe) haven from the tensions in Europe. Rick gets ahold of some exit visas, and freedom fighter Lazlo wants them. One complication: Lazlo is married to Rick’s ex, Ilsa, who still has feelings for Rick.
Why it’s famous: Too many reasons to list. As one of the most influential films ever made, its impact on movie history reaches far and wide.
Get your film degree: Allegedly, this was a studio “assembly line” film, and no one making it expected it to be as big of a hit that it was. How, then, did it become an Oscar-winning classic? Just a case of all the right talent in the right place at the right time, with director, writer, cast and crew bringing out their best.
Movie geekishness: How about the big scene at the end where Rick and Ilsa say goodbye? It’s a greatest hits of famous, quotable movie lines, one after the next after the next. The dialogue is so classic and so memorable, that I had completely forgot there’s an Old West-style shootout that follows.
Thoughts upon this viewing: Having familiarized myself with the movie’s twisty-turny plot, this time I went ahead and followed the emotional core of the story, the Rick and Ilsa relationship, which is, I’m guessing, how most folks watch this. I imagine this is the type of movie where there’s something new to discover every time you watch it.
Next: Ninety percent chance of showers.
****
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