Kiwi Film Review: Casablanca

IMDB: 8.7
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%

Release Date: 23 January 1943

Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid.

Directed by: Michael Curtiz

Written By: Julius J. Epstein

Described by IMDB as: “In World War II Casablanca, Rick Blaine, exiled American and former freedom fighter, runs the most popular nightspot in town. The cynical lone wolf Blaine comes into the possession of two valuable letters of transit. When Nazi Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca, the sycophantic police Captain Renault does what he can to please him, including detaining Czech underground leader Victor Laszlo. Much to Rick’s surprise, Lazslo arrives with Ilsa, Rick’s one time love. Rick is very bitter towards Ilsa, who ran out on him in Paris, but when he learns she had good reason to, they plan to run off together again using the letters of transit. Well, that was their original plan….”

I’m writing this review while watching, so if its a confusing review I apologize. I’m also sick, so I probably mostly make no sense. I’d also like to apologize for how many times I’m about to use the word “classic,” its just there’s no other word that fits. First of all, I feel like I really lucked out on the quality, its so clear excellent restoration to whoever does that sort of thing. This first thing I noticed about this movie is how much I loved the poster. Its just so classic. I love the typography on the title and the way they displayed the names of the stars. The second thing I noticed was, the song playing throughout the whole movie, is it just me or is it the same as the beginning of “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles? Sneaky, sneaky.

I’m really enjoying the 40’s time period, its so glamorous even in the middle of wartime. Its quite interesting to see a movie about World War II while the war is still taking place. The Nazi’s are still the bad guys, but not the monsters they’re portrayed to be in more recent films. This is obviously because they didn’t really know about the Holocaust until the war was over, but its interesting to see just how little they knew. They talk about how Victor, Paul Henreid, was in a concetration camp, but I feel like they didn’t understand exactly what that meant in 1942. The fact that he’s still alive and able to talk to Germans makes it clear that they definitely didn’t know. The thought that the Germans are trying to politely convince Rick to give them the letters of transit is ridiculous. They’d torture him, take them, and kill him. They wouldn’t have shut down his club, they would’ve burned it down. But, as they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Is it just me or does Ilsa, Ingrid Bergman, have a literal glow around her whenever there’s a close up of her face. She is truly gorgeous. Again, such a glamorous time period. Humphrey Bogart is SUCH a stud. Its really amazing that he was born almost 100 years before me. He’s definitely a great actor, the New York accent of the 40’s is so classic. The final scene is so sad, but Bogart’s final outfit with the trench coat and the hat is perfect.

This is such a classic love story and I’m so glad I decided to watch it. I’ll end this review with a “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” and a “here’s to looking at you kid.”

Overall I’ll give this film a 8/10. A must see for any movie lover.

Follow @gilldawe