I just read a comment somewhere that said Casablanca is overrated, and referred to this film as "Epilogue: The Movie."
What do you think?
Personally, I love Casablanca.
Why start a new thread? Why not address me directly in the thread in which I stated that opinion?
Here is a digest of my opinion within these threads:
"Casablanca has some memorable lines and nails some quality ambiance at times but it is not a great movie. It is a thin, cookie cutter film cranked out among tons of other movies at the time. Not special. People loved the actors and now it is some kind of junior thespian badge of membership to say "it is amazing!!" It is simple in most every way. Not low quality but neither of a quality high enough to merit its following. Another in a long list of pretenders to the crown in movie history (Like Midnight Cowboy, Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo etc)"
"A wistful epilogue to an implied movie that we didn't see but sounds like it must have been cool. I give Casablanca credit for being unique in this way but it gets way more credit overall than it deserves. Probably Bogart's best acting but not his best film IMO. So Casablanca is like a C+ sequel to what seems like what would have been an A+ prequel."
If you really think that these movies are "pretenders", I think you might have a shitty judgment when it comes to movies...
shareAny opinion that drastically differs from your own can easily be disregarded as "shitty judgement."
Plenty of classics deserve the title, IMO. But among them are some mediocre and even bad films. Movies like GWtW and LoA wowed the audiences of yore with amazing amounts of extras and vistas (the old equivalent of "I liked it because the special effects were good" crowd). Outside of maybe 4 minutes of inspired dialogue and one/two quality artful shots, those two movies suck. Vertigo is among Hitchcock's weakest films along side Marnie. Midnight Cowboy is flat out terrible; lauded for its """daring""" sexuality yet empty. So yeah, pretenders.
... and as is always a possibility, my judgement of movies could be shitty. So could yours.
Wow, totally disagree. Well, I wouldn't watch Lawrence of Arabia again, so maybe I agree with that. And I watched Vertigo when I was so young I don't really remember it, can't weigh in on that one. But Casablanca and Midnight Cowboy are excellent movies that I would watch again in a heartbeat. Gone with the Wind I remember being quite good although I generally prefer movies that aren't so long. (Now that I think about that, it's somewhat arbitrary isn't it? If it were called a series, I wouldn't complain it was too long.)
shareI guess it depends on the movie/show. Some long movies feel too short. I love Seven Samurai and it is way long. Most DC movies feel too long.
shareFor me it's a great film. It always sounds like it's making was close to a shambles and yes, many of the themes were standard at the time. However everyone in an excellent cast hit their marks perfectly, it has pace and structure and if it was made on a production line schedule they managed to assemble the parts flawlessly. It is an iconic film of perhaps the most iconic of stars.
shareI agree.
shareThe history of Casablanca now stretches over 70 years, and while it certainly made its mark as a candidate for "best movie of all time", some of those honors were doled out in the 60's, when the "Bogart cult" was sweeping campuses in America and Europe and when WWII was a more recent (and massively historic) event. Simply put: had WWII gone the wrong way(Major Strasser's way)...there would be no Bogart cult. Or campuses with freedom of thought. Or Jews.
So: (1) WWII and (2) 60's Bogart cult are lead "feeders" to the greatness of Casablanca over its first 40 years.
But wait, there's more:
Casablanca, like a lot of "perfect" movies, only became perfect after a bunch of near misses that would have made it IMperfect:
Had Ronald Reagan or George Raft had the lead, instead of Humphrey Bogart.
Had Ann Sheridan had the female lead, instead of Ingrid Bergman.
Had the movie had a different ending(and many were considered.)
And this:
Casablanca is chock-a-block with the best supporting actors Warners could provide , but rarely did each one of them get such a perfect role, no matter the length:
Claude Rains(above all, I see his Captain Renault as the TRUE hero of the piece; Bogie is lucky to get him in the end.)
Peter Lorre ("You de-SPISE me, don't you, Rick?")
Sydney Greenstreet(like Bogie and Lorre, from The Maltese Falcon and here saying: "As one of the leaders of crime in Casablanca, I am a very influential man."
And SZ Cuddles Sakall.
And Dooley Wilson, the guy who played Sam, and played it so well. (A key positive African American role in movie history.)
Plus a screenplay with the best collection of famous lines this side of The Godfather:
Here's looking at you, kid.
Round up the usual suspects.
Of all the gin joints in all the world, she walks into mine.
We'll always have Paris.
I'm shocked...SHOCKED..to find gambling in this establishment.
I stick my neck out for nobody.
This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Casablanca's one of those rare things: perfectly written(story, dialogue AND ending). Perfectly cast. Perfectly acted. It hit at just the right time in world history(WWII, shortly before President FDR went to Casablanca for a summit -- or was it after?) and hit just the right notes with viewers -- especially college viewers -- in the 40's, 50's and especially the 60's. (Its prominence since the 60's has largely been on the reputation begun IN the 60s.) The message at the end of the story remains timeless - and remember, when it was made and released, it was still possible that the Nazis could WIN.
Is Casablanca THE great one? No, but it is surely one of them.
Agreed.
share