Posted on 02/17/2023 9:37:25 PM PST by Saije
When Warner Brothers’ movie, “Casablanca,” was released nationally on Jan. 23, 1943, to coincide with a war-time meeting of President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the same city, New York Times critic Bosley Crowther wrote that “The Warners . . . have a picture that makes the spine tingle and the heart take a leap.” After 80 years, the iconic film remains a masterpiece and, in my totally subjective estimation, simply the greatest movie ever made.
I can still remember when I was in law school the Vogue Theater in St. Matthews showing “Casablanca” like it was a first-run movie. The packed house, as in earlier generations, was held spellbound by this compelling, World War II-era good-versus-evil saga with dozens of unforgettable characters with a red-hot romance as an extra “added attraction.” People around me sang out loud the soaring “Le Marseillaise,” spontaneously begun on screen by Resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) to drown out the Germans’ “Die Wacht am Rhein” after the Nazis had commandeered a piano at Rick’s Café Americain. If you’re not moved by perhaps the most riveting single scene in any American film, well, you might need to go see a good cardiologist.
“Casablanca” won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1943, along with Oscars for Best Director (Michael Curtiz) and Best Screenplay (Julius and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch). That nominees Humphrey Bogart (“Rick”) and Claude Rains (“Captain Renault”) didn’t win Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, is still shockingly unfathomable.
(Excerpt) Read more at kentucky.com ...
That’s a strange way to spell The Karate Kid.
I am shocked! Shocked I say.
My favorite part is the young Romanian couple.
“He’s just a lucky guy”.
The dark gritty tone of Touch of Evil stays with you the rest of your life.
Zulu is a great movie and my personal favorite.
But i love Africa and i love choral singing, so Zulu is a slam-dunk for me.
“Best Years” is #1...
her post just left me speechless....only thing i can think is she didnt watch the entire movie, and she missed the PARIS sequence entirely. Theres a very good reason why Rick is so cynical and bitter..or “grumpy and grouchy” as she said. I mean..THATS LITERALLY THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE MOVIE!!. In the early 90’s, i took a girlfriend to see it at the amazing FOX THEATER in Detroit...place was jam packed. In the lobby, they had the piano that Sam played in the film...couldn’t believe how small it was...but yea, thats the only way to see this amazing film. Def the greatest “lost love” movie ever...
that post kinda floored me..umm...theres a very good reason why Rick is so grumpy and grouchy...she must have missed the “Paris sequence” totally...its just the main part of the film, thats all....
I thought Citizen Kane was a stinker. Touch of Evil also bad. I’m not a big Orson Wells fan. Casablanca was just OK, but not great.
A few of my favorites include: Patton, Court Jester, Big Country, Judgment at Nuremberg, They Died with Their Boots On, Hobson’s Choice, Apollo 13, Europa Europa and Saving Private Ryan.
I liked Bogart better in the African Queen, Treasure of the Sierra Madre and the Caine Mutiny.
“I am shocked! Shocked I say.”
Where would FR be today without that line/meme with the photo of Claud Rains from that scene?
It is one of the best.
“Rick is such a grumpy, grouchy loser.”
I hate those guys. Grumpy, grouchy, dark and brooding. Like narcissistic two-year-olds. Grow up already, man.
I never saw Casablanca as I don’t like war movies overall. I did see The Best Years Of Our Lives, though, and loved it. It’s been a while — may have to watch it again.
Right behind The Quiet Man.
I mean, what are the metrics?
when that young Romanian girl goes to Rick and asks if she sleeps with Capt Renault for an exit visa, “will he keep his word”...and then asks Rick “if a girl did a bad thing because she loved her husband so much, and to get to America, but she kept this bad thing locked in her heart”...i mean, if you dont feel and understand that, i got nothin for ya.....
Casablanca and Master & Commander are tied for my favorite.
Just picked up the 4K of Casablanca. Highly recommended.
Yes.... Orig Manchurian Candidate was fantastic. I also love Pee Wee’s Big Adventure for all around great film making and loads of laughs. Forrest Gump was very good, too. CB is a classic and in my top 10. Still love Gone With the Wind... :
That’s a beautiful and heart breaking scene. So much left unsaid. Brilliant film making.
i cant believe women are missing the mark so badly on this film...the film is about a long, lost love....and it is NOT a “war” film...Ingrid Bergmans beauty is worth seeing the movie on its own....smh.
I saw Casablanceafor the first time they way it should be seen. During the summer in a old theater in Blowing Rock NC with a broken heart.
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