Hello and welcome to the first (and late) edition of OTBB: Movie Club!
If you missed the intro post for this month, I’m theming it around love triangles in honor of Valentine’s Day.
For the first week’s pick, Casablanca was on the block. Let’s dive in!
Notable Crew
Director: Michael Curtis (White Christmas, Mildred Pierce, The Adventures of Robin Hood)
Writers: Julius J./Philip G. Epstein (Arsenic and Old Lace, Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Man Who Came to Dinner)
Editor: Owen Marks (Treasure of the Sierra Madre, East of Eden, White Heat)
Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson (Frankenstein, The Maltese Falcon, The Invisible Man)
Composer: Max Steiner (Gone With the Wind, King Kong, The Searchers) *23 Oscar nominations.
Costume Designer: Orry George Kelly (Some Like It Hot, The Maltese Falcon, An American in Paris)
Notable Cast
Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine (The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, The African Queen)
Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund (Murder on the Orient Express, Gaslight, Notorious)
Claude Rains as Capt. Louis Renault (The Invisible Man, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Notorious)
Sydney Greenstreet as Signor Ferrari (The Maltese Falcon, Across the Pacific, Christmas in Connecticut)
Peter Lorre as Ugarte (M, The Maltese Falcon, Arsenic and Old Lace)
My Thoughts
Widely considered one of, if not the, greatest movies of all time, Casablanca has a lot of weight on its shoulders. The good thing though? It’s more than capable of handling that weight.
With eight Oscar nominations, and three wins (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay) it would be easy to consider this another old prestige movie not worth looking into. But, reader, that consideration would be wrong.
The script is inimitable, the characters are played perfectly, and the direction remains simple yet sophisticated.
I was able to watch the recent 4K release courtesy of a trip to Vidiots, and I would say it’s more exhilarating as many dramas today. It’s also very powerful to think about when this was released. This was while WWII was currently going on, and that thought staid with me this entire rewatch.
Many have said this before, and I will add my voice to this sentiment: This is an amazing example against the auteur theory. That being the theory that the director is the sole “author” of the movie, over any other contributors. I think it’s an interesting theory and not without its merits, but I love what this movie represents: A collection of very talented people all bringing out the best in each other to create something greater than the individuals.
I love this movie, and somehow fell deeper in love with it on this rewatch.
The Love Triangle
I think it’ll be fun to rate how good the triangles are in this movie, with two points for each person involved for a potential max of six. This is based on how much the characters love the others in the triangle. (And no I won’t explain the breakdown…but I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!)
Participants: Rick (Humphrey Bogart), Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), and Laszlo (Paul Henried)
Rating: 5/6
Rick: 2/2
Loves Ilsa ✓
Loves Laszlo ✓ (I think his admiration for Laszlo’s work counts)
Ilsa: 2/2
Loves Rick ✓
Loves Laszlo ✓
Laszlo 1/2
Loves Ilsa ✓
Loves Rick X
Extra Materials
Reading
Casablanca at 80: a golden age classic that remains impossible to resist
As time goes by, it's the still the same old glorious ‘Casablanca’
The real-life refugees of 'Casablanca' make it so much more than a love story
Video
That wraps up this first movie club post! Apologies for the delay, but these should be coming out Saturday mornings from here on out.
If you watched along with me this last week, or plan on doing so, or have seen this before and have thoughts, I’d love to hear them in the comments!
I’ll leave a couple of questions with you too:
Do you think Ilsa “pretended” to love Rick near the end, and that he “pretended” back?
What was your favorite filmmaking element of this movie? Why?
Next week’s watch: The Graduate | 1967
You can stream it on The Criterion Channel or Rent it from Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft Store, or DIRECTV.
Thanks for reading. Til next time!
— Colton