For the first session of Intro to Film, ART 116, my class was required to read chapters one and two in our textbook. Being a avid movie watcher, I was interested in learning more about the art of watching movies and hopefully find some missing element that would enhance my movie watching experience.
In preparation for viewing Casablanca and armed with the new knowledge provided in my textbook, I viewed every movie on our required reading list BUT Casablanca and On The Water Front. It wasn't that I have difficultly being told what to watch, but I was bias against the movies because the notoriety of the movies. I was worried that I would not like Casablanca because it would be a predictable movie with an average storyline and that maybe I should be folding clothes or something while it played. Casablanca has been critically acclaimed by movie critics and in many film classes from high school to college as a great example of a classic movie with a universal appeal and romance, but then those same critics have also trashed a personal favorite Trailer Park Terror and so I held off watching the movies. My conclusion after watching; they are both classics which I am happy to own and watch over and over.
What universal appeal Casablanca holds and why the movie has been deemed a classic! The era, the storyline,and the themes represented in the movie, romance, mystery, duty and moral conflict kept me interested the entire movie. The film had the right amount of action, romance without the overt sexuality that is in many of today's films. It let your mind wanting to know more about the relationship, where she came from, why the unanswered questions. It showed the reluctance to commit or being completely vulnerable on Rick's part because he knew there was something she was hiding.
Black and white films are a favorite, but this one kept my mind wondering how beautiful it would have been in color. The club scenes were my favorite, I wondered what the place looked like in the rich colors of the country and the time of art deco design. The piano playing and the atmosphere is something that brings the desire to go out and experience a similar evening. It was a common thing in that time to enjoy and relax versus today's rushed experiences.
I have heard and seen so many times at the beginning of DVDs the information about piracy using the scenes from Casablanca. I have heard it but didn't realize the significance of the "play it for me Sam" that has been referenced in other movies, sit-coms, and comedy sketches. It brings better enjoyment to those moments now understanding what and why it is referenced. It was as if the light bulb turned on and I said aloud, "That is where the song came from, this is why they used it in that sketch!" followed by a great big "duh."
I compared Casablanca to some of my all-time favorites, Where Eagles Dare and Indiana Jones. The plots of those favorites, although are not exactly the same, have some things in common such as the romance, the sense of duty, right from wrong, and have you rooting for the good guy even though you wish they could have gotten all the rewards, i.e. the girl. The personal sacrifice that was made by the hero still left you feeling good about the choices they made. It was a good choice for Rick and Ilsa to remember the time they shared but that the right thing was for her to leave and Rick to stay behind. He thought of the greater good of others and for her without thinking about himself.
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