Post by klep on Apr 6, 2020 8:12:29 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 4/6: Casablanca
ESCAPISM WEEK!
Casablanca is a perfect film. It unites a great script with a great cast and a great crew to fashion something which is so indelibly part of our culture that people frequently quote from it even if they haven't seen it. It won three of its 8 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, and is now rightly regarded as one of the best film ever made.
Funnily enough it wasn't meant to be. Despite giving it top stars like Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, Warner Bros. didn't think Casablanca was going to be anything special when it was put into production. Just one film among many it would release that year. No one seemed to have terribly high expectations, but somehow it ended up being as fine an example of the form as you could ever hope to see.
Perhaps it was the cinematography of veteran Arthur Edeson, whose lighting invests the film with mood. There are sharp shadows in many scenes that remind you of a noir, but also moments that give a softness to the frame that belong in the most bittersweet melodramas.
Perhaps it was the script written by the Epstein twins and Howard Koch. Based on an unproduced play titled Everybody Comes to Rick's, the script for Casablanca is tightly plotted and is full of memorable, clever lines - the kind that stick in your head and never really leave. And they continued working on it throughout the production, not settling on an ending until the production - shot in sequence - was well underway. Perhaps that gave them time to find an ending that not only worked best in a vacuum, but also fit what they were seeing from the actors.
It could have been Michael Curtiz's direction. He won the Oscar for it, and while not generally mentioned in the same breath as directors like Hawks, Ford, Hitchcock, or Capra it's arguable that he should be. Casablanca is but one of the films he lead to Oscars, whether for his work or for his actors'. Here he demonstrates his skill in handling the script - when to keep it light, when to get serious, and how to walk that line between noir and melodrama.
And of course where would Casablanca have been without its stars? Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman rank among the best actors of theirs or any era, and both were at the top of their game in this film. Rick is exactly the kind of character that would define Bogart's career - worn down and cynical with a bruised heart. And Bergman portrays a worldliness beyond her years, making you believe the depth of feeling she has for both Rick and her husband and the agony she's in being forced to choose between them.
But perhaps what really made Casablanca so special was the fact that almost the entire cast consisted of refugees from Nazi Germany. For them, this wasn't just another movie - it was the story of their lives. Many of them had suffered hardship to get from their home countries to America, abandoning their homes and all they had known in their flight from the oppression of the fascist Nazi regime. It's that life experience that gives such weight to moments like the famous dueling anthem scene, after the filming of which the entire cast was in tears. And it no doubt helped to give the entire production a certain importance, a desire to accurately and honestly convey their struggle.
Whatever the reason, a film that wasn't expected to be remembered has become an enduring touchstone of cinema, and the name Casablanca will always conjure that one gin joint in all of the towns in all of the world, and the people that could be found there.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 4/13: Miami Connection
MARTIAL ARTS WEEK!
For Martial Arts Week we'll be taking it back to the 80s with Miami Connection, a cult favorite film about a war between a rock band and a gang of ninja bikers. Come join us next week for our discussion of this cult classic, available on YouTube, Google Play, and a few other more obscure streaming services and for free on Tubi and for free with ads on Vudu.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 4/7: Safe
The next podcast pairing is about women with unusual medical conditions finding themselves isolated from the world around them. Kicking it off next week is Todd Haynes' Safe, about a woman with a mysterious ailment who ends up needing to seclude herself away. Join our discussion on Wednesday of Safe, available on the Criterion Channel
ESCAPISM WEEK!
Casablanca is a perfect film. It unites a great script with a great cast and a great crew to fashion something which is so indelibly part of our culture that people frequently quote from it even if they haven't seen it. It won three of its 8 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, and is now rightly regarded as one of the best film ever made.
Funnily enough it wasn't meant to be. Despite giving it top stars like Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, Warner Bros. didn't think Casablanca was going to be anything special when it was put into production. Just one film among many it would release that year. No one seemed to have terribly high expectations, but somehow it ended up being as fine an example of the form as you could ever hope to see.
Perhaps it was the cinematography of veteran Arthur Edeson, whose lighting invests the film with mood. There are sharp shadows in many scenes that remind you of a noir, but also moments that give a softness to the frame that belong in the most bittersweet melodramas.
Perhaps it was the script written by the Epstein twins and Howard Koch. Based on an unproduced play titled Everybody Comes to Rick's, the script for Casablanca is tightly plotted and is full of memorable, clever lines - the kind that stick in your head and never really leave. And they continued working on it throughout the production, not settling on an ending until the production - shot in sequence - was well underway. Perhaps that gave them time to find an ending that not only worked best in a vacuum, but also fit what they were seeing from the actors.
It could have been Michael Curtiz's direction. He won the Oscar for it, and while not generally mentioned in the same breath as directors like Hawks, Ford, Hitchcock, or Capra it's arguable that he should be. Casablanca is but one of the films he lead to Oscars, whether for his work or for his actors'. Here he demonstrates his skill in handling the script - when to keep it light, when to get serious, and how to walk that line between noir and melodrama.
And of course where would Casablanca have been without its stars? Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman rank among the best actors of theirs or any era, and both were at the top of their game in this film. Rick is exactly the kind of character that would define Bogart's career - worn down and cynical with a bruised heart. And Bergman portrays a worldliness beyond her years, making you believe the depth of feeling she has for both Rick and her husband and the agony she's in being forced to choose between them.
But perhaps what really made Casablanca so special was the fact that almost the entire cast consisted of refugees from Nazi Germany. For them, this wasn't just another movie - it was the story of their lives. Many of them had suffered hardship to get from their home countries to America, abandoning their homes and all they had known in their flight from the oppression of the fascist Nazi regime. It's that life experience that gives such weight to moments like the famous dueling anthem scene, after the filming of which the entire cast was in tears. And it no doubt helped to give the entire production a certain importance, a desire to accurately and honestly convey their struggle.
Whatever the reason, a film that wasn't expected to be remembered has become an enduring touchstone of cinema, and the name Casablanca will always conjure that one gin joint in all of the towns in all of the world, and the people that could be found there.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 4/13: Miami Connection
MARTIAL ARTS WEEK!
For Martial Arts Week we'll be taking it back to the 80s with Miami Connection, a cult favorite film about a war between a rock band and a gang of ninja bikers. Come join us next week for our discussion of this cult classic, available on YouTube, Google Play, and a few other more obscure streaming services and for free on Tubi and for free with ads on Vudu.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 4/7: Safe
The next podcast pairing is about women with unusual medical conditions finding themselves isolated from the world around them. Kicking it off next week is Todd Haynes' Safe, about a woman with a mysterious ailment who ends up needing to seclude herself away. Join our discussion on Wednesday of Safe, available on the Criterion Channel