1942, the year of the creation of one of the most historical movies known
to date. That movie, Casablanca, based on the play "Everybody Wants to go
to Rick's", still captivates audiences around the world. The setting of
the movie is Casablanca, Morocco during the second world war. Casablanca is
the jump off point to get to Spain and then to America, but refugees must
obtain a fairly costly exit Visa to get onto the plane. In the middle of all
this is Rick's cafe. Rick's former love Ilsa comes to Casablanca on her way to
America and discovers Rick to be a resident there. The love triangle between
Ilsa, her husband Laszlo, and Rick keeps the viewer in suspense until the very
last minutes of the movie. This movie contains all the factors that a make a
movie a classic. It has great performances by a top cast, a flawless script
story line and director, and superb production techniques. In addition, it
blends a raging love story with tormenting schemes which makes it one of ! the
best Hollywood movies of all time. Casablanca was never expected to be a large
scale movie. The script was written on a day to day basis even till the last
few moments of the movie but despite all that, it made it bigger than any
other movie in it's time.
The movie took place in 1942 and was based around world war II which in
reality was taking place as they filmed. It was because of the war that Rick
and Ilsa were separated, and this was an idea that was not so far fetched and
something that the audience could identify with. This was important because it
captivated the audience and drew them in to see if Rick and Ilsa's undying
love would ever be reunited.
There are many classical quotes that were used in Casablanca, some of which
we still hear being used today. The most famous of course would be 'here's
looking at you kid", and who could forget, "play it again Sam",
which later became a title for another film. "This could be the beginning
of a beautiful friendship", "but we'll always have Paris",
"go ahead and shoot, you'll be doing me a favour", these are yet
another three quotes which stuck in the minds of audiences everywhere. These
quotes help keep the movie and the memories of the actors and actresses alive
even fifty seven years after the original shooting.
Let's not forget the variety of great music the viewer is treated to while
watching this movie. The wonderful sounds are unforgettable. Even if it may be
old, it is still bound to catch the attention of any viewer young or old. The
line-up of sounds not only features the original score by Max Steiner but also
other great's such as Perfida, It Had to Be You, Shine, That's what Noah Done,
Muse's Call, Knock On Wood, The Very Thought of You, and of course, As Time
Goes By. These songs made the movie more intriguing and helped to keep the
movie alive all the way throughout every scene. Some of these songs are still
as popular today as they were back when they were first heard.
There are a few not so obvious occurrences of symbolism within the movie.
It has been said that Rick (Humphry Bogart) and his night club represent
America's "neutral" position before the attack on Pearl Harbour, and
before the US involvement in the second world war. Rick is a symbol for
American isolationism, the guy who does not get involved until the last second
and comes right into the middle of the action successfully overcomes it.
Laszlo's mention of his stay in concentration camps which was not a symbol,
but rather a fictional tragedy that was taking place in Germany. It was brave
to use mention to this since many feared the thought.
It is no wonder that Casablanca is rated as a Classical movie. It has all
it takes to stand up to any movie of it's time or even now. It may not have
all the special effects that we are able to produce today thanks to the
involvement in technology, but it has a story line and cast that are utterly
incomparable to any movie since or before it's time. It is quite doubtful that
any movie will ever be able to take the place of such a great movie or to
stand next to it even. There is not a boring minute from the first five
minutes into the movie.
