Casablanca
 
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.