Why It's a Classic: Casablanca
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
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"Casablanca" (1942) directed by Michael Curtiz and written by Philip G. & Julius J. Epstein and Howard Koch (based on a play by Murray Burnett & Joan Alison) is widely known as one of the greatest and most important films in the history of cinema. Even those who dislike old and black and white movies enjoy “Casablanca”. Today you’ll learn why.
A perfect combination of universal, sharp and well-characterized screenwriting with a direction that is dynamic, rich and layered, "Casablanca" is the second film examined in the WHY IT'S A CLASSIC series.
Watch episode one here: • Why It's a Classic: Th...
A classic earns its place in the canon through recognizable quality. It stands out from heaps of contemporaneous works to always be named as the highest point an artform can aspire to. A classic prospers through history; it is canonized by time. Artistry alone can guarantee survival because history gives no handouts. Times change, cultures change, peoples change, but beauty, craft and excellence always remain. This series is a celebration of the pantheon of great films.
It’s 1941, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) owns an American café in Casablanca, destination of thousands of immigrants escaping Europe on account of World War 2. Rick takes no sides, managing his bustling bar/casino while interacting with all sorts of odd fellows, including Ugarte (Peter Lorre), Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet) and the corrupt chief of police, Louis Renault (Claude Rains). Things get dicey when Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), resistance fighter extraordinaire, arrives with Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), Rick’s former girlfriend who broke his heart.
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You’re doing the world a service by educating everyone on these films.
thank you for these, they are the best
Your superb analysis makes me want to request 'Othello' because of the Eisensteinian way Orsen Welles has of cutting with dynamic blocking over dialog (Welles was also trying to save money on syncing costs). Bogdanovich mentions it in his full length commentary on the film. I also think it's one of the most compelling architectural films. Cheers and keep up being amazingly good at what you do.
Do High and Low
Regarding the script: The letters were signed by General Weygand not DeGaulle. This is an error in the captioning, not in the script. You are quite right that DeGaulle's signature would be worthless in Casablanca at the time. As a matter of fact, it would be worse than worthless since DeGaulle was wanted as a traitor by the Vichy government. Do you really think the filmmakers did not know this in 1942? They had shown a member of the Free French being shot in the street. English captioning was done hurriedly much later by people who had never heard of another French general. You can check the original script of Everybody comes to Rick's as well as the Warner Archive script of Casablanca (not the one taken from the captioning) online and see that it says Weygand. Weygand (pronounced Vey-Gahn) was the head of the Vichy army and had been an important official in French North Africa. His signature could reasonably have carried that much authority. Of course, there is no such thing as a letter of transit.
Speaking of that script, it's available online: script-fix.com/produced-screenplays/Ricks.pdf
If this video plays and you're not watching it, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Man, you literally open my eyes to all these movies I've never considered watching and to the art as a whole
Thank you!
"...in a refugee-jammed Moroccan city, whose name I don't remember."
LOL!
You don’t remember? Are you a dummy? It’s . . . Oh. Never mind. 😅
One of the maybe five film analysis RUclips channels that acknowledge movies existing prior to the 70s. And the best one I've seen so far too!
Who do you think are the other best Movie analyser.
what are the other channels?
@@abyzz4419
@AntonioDiaz-op5up
Cinema Cities is one example.
Ah! I think I can help clear up a mystery. Ugarte doesn't say "DeGaulle" at 2:07. He says "Weygand", meaning Maxime Weygand ("en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxime_Weygand"), a high-ranking Vichy official. This makes much more sense, since -- as you point out -- DeGaulle's signature would carry no weight with the nazis. I think part of the problem is that nowadays nobody remembers Weygand. But DeGaulle's name is still famous, so maybe people are more inclined to hear that name in Ugarte's speech. For many years I also thought he was saying "DeGaulle", but when I listen closely it sounds clear to me that he is saying "Weygand". I suspect the name would have been better known in 1942.
I like the format for this, and I hope to see more of it.
And you will!
@@Moviewise awesome
I thought i was over watching video essays on movies for 4 Years. Then you come along and became the remarkable exception.
Youre unpretentious, confident, and actually funny. Youre one of the select few youtubers that makes the obligitory 'like and subscribe' not cringe. And most importantly, you actually teach me new things about effective filmmaking.
Which I will definitely use in my own filmmaking.
I have a classic movie reccomendation: The Adventures of Robin Hood: directed by Michael Curtis and William Keighly
I think I’ve forwarded his dialogue video about All About Eve to everyone I know by now.
Yeah, that's a real classic! It's interesting how such a fun, optimistic adventure movie came out at such a dark time in the real world. It was escapism of the best kind.
These reviews are the best. I already loved this film, but so much detail I had never considered before (especially the use of shadows). Classic films should be taught in school with classic novels. I hope you keep it up, Thanks! I would love to see if I'm justified in loving one of my favorite classics: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
I want to hear what he thinks of Little Big Man. It was a big hit when it came out (I was in high school at the time). It’s kind of forgotten but since it’s based on a picaresque novel, I think his take would be interesting.
they do I learned all of this stuff in a highschool course on film. so the 90s textbook tlaked alot about Dr Calligaris Cabinet this movie Casablanca and interestingly enough probably to keep it fresh for the young minds taking it, Star Wars A New Hope, when they were getting into the use of lighting and shadow. They teach this stuff in film school too.
A masterclass video about a masterclass film. I was so very lucky 30 years ago to see this film twice in an old movie theater with the audience at full capacity and everyone all in and enthusiastic about the greatness of what they were watching -- who laughed and clapped in all the right places and who gave thunderous applause when Rains said "round up the usual suspects" at the end. Nothing more thrilling in my lifetime of filmgoing.
"never boring for one second". Both the movie and this video essay.
Casablanca is one of those movies that, between viewings, kinda' falls into the background and I remember abstractly that it's really good, but after I pop it into the player or catch it in a classic series at the local theatre I sit back in awe of what an absolutely perfect movie it really is. Thanks for dissecting it! As for other classics, I'm more of a genre nerd, so it'd be interesting to see your takes on King Kong, Bride of Frankenstein, Vampyr, or The Deadly Invention.
Casablanca is my favorite movie of all time... and now I know why. :)
Great video, as always! Can you make a playlist for this series?
Also North By Northwest would be a good video for the series. I saw it at the theaters recently and had forgotten how good it is
Another great movie analysis! Is it all right to say that I get excited every time I see a new Moviewise upload of a classic film analysis?
But not as excited as seeing Ingrid Bergman’s face on the screen.
This is the only film analysis channel you need to watch.
This video essay has increased my respect and admiration for this movie. Bogart did so many classics. "The Maltese Falcon" and "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" are my other two favorites, and we re-watch them on a regular basis. And what connects all these movies are the characters. In just seconds, we can get a feel for who these people are, and how they fit into the world of the movie. Thank you for this video. And congratulations on slowly building a following.
Could you cover the classic that is Lawrence of Arabia?
This is one of the best, if not altogether the best channel about film on RUclips. I only wish modern directors would watch these videos and maybe learn a thing or two. Sometimes it feels like the art of filmmaking is lost, replaced by vacuous clipmaking with ugly, nondescript shots. Most modern films feel like they were done in PowerPoint...
Anyhow, many thanks to Moviewise for top-quality content!
2:12 I will now ask Ryan George for a Pitch Meeting on Casablanca every time he uploads new material!
Man. Happy new year. Your videos are quite unique in that I watch some of them more than once. Kind of RUclips classics. Perhaps a video on what makes your videos so great. 😂
I love the pace and the language of Casablanca. Well and Ingrid Bergman.
"You've got to hide me Rick. Help me!!" "I stick my neck out for nobody."
Busy opening scene. The busiest??
Couple of my favourite lines are " I'm shocked, shocked there is gambling going on in here!!" "Your winnings sir."
Run into this one in life all the time.
Love the Blue Parrot in the black and white movie.
Colonel Heinz : "Can You Imagine us in New York?"
Oh and great music choice.
Another great examination, this time of blocking and choreography of motion. They weren’t the only elements you touch on, but certainly they are center stage in this essay.
"Take two people, romantic
Smoky nightclub situation
Your cigarette traces a ladder"
Bryan Ferry would approve of this video..
And as a request: how about Keaton's "The General"?
That scene with the cigar burning Buster's elbow, only to reveal a way for him (and us!) to see his captive girlfriend being brought to the room - what an incredible setup..
@ deebugger, on an unrelated note, how were you able to comment 13 days ago on a video that was posted 11 hours ago?
@mikea.6121 through the power of Patreon 🤩
Ah, or course! I thought I’d found a glitch in the Matrix🙂
@@mikea.6121 don't forget to take your red pills! 💊
Hey, I like your videos! I will love if you talk about “Black God and White Devil” by Glauber Rocha or “Seven Samurais” by Akira Kurosawa, those movies are absolutely classics
I know you've done a video on The Big Country about writing characters, but I think Wyler's visual from The Best Years of Our Lives would be good to cover!
Any new video by this channel, I’m stopping my own life to start
'Here's looking at you kid' as articulation of the cinematic male gaze? ;-) Actually, I see the film as sort of the opposite of sexist, one of the first, maybe the first, great cinematic condemnations of exploitation/abuse of women - which is probably why it's briefly referenced in another such critique, 'Mulholland Drive.'
'Or am I reading too much into it?' You asked that after your excellent point about Yvonne's arc, which I'd never noticed. Hell no! That's there and I think I can make a case for my reading too in this brilliantly multi-layered script.
You rightly blanche at the way Captain Renaud is essentially committing rape and making a joke of it, and the movie walks a fine line, but I don't think it's on board with him. Note that Rick goes to some trouble and expense to foil one of Renaud's appalling quid pro quo seductions - and, precisely as Renaud notes, this is the very first sign that Rick does, after all, still have a conscience. Note also the palpable distress of the young Hungarian woman. It's no joke to her. In other words, if anything's going to activate Rick's conscience when he's so determined to deny it, it's this situation. In practice, what it represents is a central concern for him and for the film.
The Hungarian story sets up the even greater test of conscience and sensibility that will follow for Rick with Ilsa. She comes to him and seems to fall back in love with him. So why does he ultimately tell her to go with Laszlo? Because if he didn't, he'd never know that her change of heart wasn't a front, that she hadn't essentially prostituted herself to him to get the letters of transit and save Laszlo.
Besides that, he knows she loves Laszlo and Laszlo is, in so many ways, the better man, one who's been heroically risking his life while Rick has sat out the war bitterly drinking and smoking in his bar-casino. It's almost like the end of Bladerunner 2049: the true heroism for Rick lies in the self-sacrifice of acknowledging that he is not 'the one' - Laszlo is, for Ilsa and in general heroic terms too.
Yes it's probably true that where Rick's going Isla can't follow, but the deciding factor in my view is to avoid even the smallest possibility of exploitation - and to give this very deserving couple a full, no-strings happy ending. If 'Here's looking at you' has a deeper meaning, perhaps it's about really having regard for Ilsa, and not just seeing her through the blurry lens of Rick's own desires.
God I love this bloody movie. It's totally the one to beat, in my view. Plot holes? I barely notice 'em. In fact, given not just the plot but the almost dreamlike, symbolic, liminal space they enable, I'm more inclined to say, 'poetic license.'
I like your reading very much. Now let me punch a hole in it. Rick helps the Bulgarian couple simply because Capt. Renault involved Rick at all. Remember the dialogue. The young woman indicates that it was Renault who suggested she check his “character references” with Rick.
Of course, a counter argument (at least wrt directorial intent) is that Carl the waiter expresses his approval of his boss’ kind act, just in case we are confused. We don’t know Rick’s true feelings, but we are told how the act is perceived by a sympathetic character and how we should perceive it.
But I like my reading because it supports an alternative reading of the movie that is cynical and, well, just horrible. It requires a worldview that accepts social hierarchies based on ass-kissing, asserting power as a form of oneupmanship, and petty revenges. It’s a worldview that denies noble ideals in favor of human lust and appetites. The only “ideal” is a code of toxic masculine honor which requires humiliations to be repaid in kind or with worse. Yeah, it’s pretty fucked up.
Let me see if I can sum it up without having to look for and consult some notes I wrote some time ago.
The logline: A well endowed womanizer, jilted by his one true love/best piece of ass and still nursing those wounds, concocts a scheme of revenge when she re-enters his life. He wishes to do to her what she did to him: make her fall back in love with her, and then reject her, all the while seeming sympathetic to onlookers. Also, fuck the Germans because fuck the police, the real police.
Do you see it? I’m not saying it’s the correct interpretation, but it’s there.
@@MarcosElMalo2 😀At any rate, you spelled Renault's name right, unlike me, so you got me on that.
I like you're reading too. I don't buy it, and I think, if nothing else, we can see the redemption is real via Renault's arc: he may not have seen the error of his ways with women, but he's fully unambiguously through with being a filthy collaborator and that's the basis of the 'beautiful friendship' with Rick who's fully done with fence-sitting and hence bitterness and self-pity.
I dunno the reason other than it's fucking awesome, but uniquely the first film to use storyboards.
"Classics ended in the 60's".
The Breakfast Club:Am I a joke to you?
There are people that need to be told that Casablanca is a classic? Like actually convinced as if their were any doubt? Like it’s not obvious?
Would like to analyse “The Cremator (1969)”
Thank you
Why it's a classic, please: Night of the Hunter!
This short video is one of, if not the best, that I've seen on this subject. Whole channel is pure gold. I would love to see your video about Sergio Leone or some of his films.
This is my favorite movie. I've seen it dozens of times. Your observations are excellent. Thank you for this. So well done on your part. Here's looking at you!
Great video brother. I would love if you would analyse ‘12th fail’s direction. It is easily one of the best technical work in recent Hindi Cinema.
The simple “push in on two shot” seems to be the one camera movement you literally NEVER see today…
Fincher.
@@MarcosElMalo2 Where at? I haven’t seen Mank, but that would make sense if he used it there. He’s one of the better directors currently working, IMO.
Great as always. As for other titans--Laura (1944) could be a good pick. Or a major Powell flick like The Thin Man (1934) or My Man Godfrey (1936). All near the top of my recommendations when trying to get people into classic cinema. Man, or get into Lang with M (1931) or Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933). The list is endless, really. Keep up the stellar work.
I hope one day you review The Ladykillers (1955), most people only know that Coen Brothers atrocity from 2004. They are really missing out on a classic
I love your videos because they're educational and entertaining. Thanks for uploading!
Dodsworth next please.
Cigarettes are the best props in movie history.
A similar analysis of the wide screen black and white classic, The Hustler, would be appreciated.
Thank you for this piece on my favorite movie. It is the only movie I can watch repeatedly forever. Even other great films start to wear on me after awhile. But not Casablanca. This is because every viewing shows me something new. Once it's a patriotic thriller, the next time a love story. Then it's an art film, and now I have to watch it just for the shadows, thanks to this review.
I have noticed some plot holes that seemed contrived, like de Gaulle's signature. But the film never gives me enough time to think about them. They are dismissed like the sexual innuendos, that even a horny teenager wouldn't notice ("She came to me last night and tried to convince me she still loved me. For your sake I let her pretend.")
Characters that go home with you after the film. Peter Lorre is only in the beginning of the film, but Ugarte stays with to the end. No one is forgettable.
And the settings are characters themselves.
And the script! Nothing is missed. Every important line is presaged or set up. Ferrari buys Rick's when Rick needs to sell, and we don't need to question his willingness because he told us in the fist scene. We get glimpses of Jan and Annina (the Bulgarian couple) throughout the film, so their arrival at Rick's is no surprise.
And so many great lines; clever, sardonic, comical, touching, and more, all without being sappy.
So much fun to see some of these great aspects of the film pointed out by someone with such an eye.
The action takes place during the first week of December 1941 because it's an allegory with Bogart as Rick playing the personification of the USA just before Pearl Harbour shocked it out of its depressive funk regarding international affairs after the failure of the League of Nations and the economic ruination caused by the myopic Republican-led Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930.
You drop this, sir 👑
Thank you for posting, I learn so much here! I love Steve McQueen movies...would you consider study of Sand Pebbles?
Thanks again...
Never forget that the Pickpocket shows up 40ish years later as "Homer" in "Wings of Desire".
Great essay/
Some recommendations...
All That Money Can Buy (1941)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
I Married A Witch (1942)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945, Kazan and Shamroy, who did all the camera set-ups, a testament to collaboration in the studio system)
The Letter (1940)
Gaslight (1940) versus the 1944 version
Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939)
best regards, bobby
I hope Disney never hires you... I would end watching Ahsoka, Wish and even that abhorrent Star Wars sequel...
Thank you for your efforts man, it's an opportunity to learn and appreciate the classics.
I would love to see you analyze "Lawrence of Arabia".
Maybe Ugarti says the "Letters" are signed by General Weygand, not deGaulle (which actually makes no sense).
Of all the speaking parts in the film, only 4 of the actors were born in the US. Most of the actors were in fact refugees, including Major Strasser. This is why the film feels so authentic, especially during the La Marseillais scene.
You mention the layout of the cafe. I believe that someone tried to recreate it and found that it really does not fit together as it should.
Please, do Laura. I´ve allways been fascinated with Classic Noir films. Or Seven Samurai, All quiet in the Western front (1930). Thanks for your work.
Really enjoying this series. I hope this series continues from Rear Window to Jaws to Lawrence of arabia to so many more. Some terrific points and easy to see you showcase what you loved about it
Do a video on 1900 by Bernardo Bertolucci. Love your content
If we do Bertolucci, I hope he chooses Last Tango in Paris. Brando and Bertolucci do something cinematically and theatrically amazing with Brando’s character and it’s a mystery to me how they pull it off.
If I remember right: It´s quite interesting that Peter Ustinov wrote in his biography that Michael Curtiz was the most confusing and careless director he ever worked with! 😄 Maybe he just did not care in his later life.
Love your channel and your videos. This one is no exception.
MAISTRO.
I wondering what you thought of Maistro. I was blown away! This film gave me hope for modern cinema.
Ya seen it?
Thank you for all of your content.
I must rewatch this as I have missed so much before.
Sticking with B&W for no particular reason: The Third Man, Brighton Rock, Paths of Glory & The Ipcress File.
Ooh.
Ipcress file - good one.
Yes, please
Ipcress File was in colour ;) Great choice though.
Amazing! Really appreciate the work of making this great video! :)
Would love to see a Kurosawa covered in this way. Particularly High and Low or Rashomon. That first half of High and Low has some of the best directing I've ever seen.
I highly suggest to review the amazing classic movie "12 angry men".
It's directing, writing, acting, music, everything is top notch.
Please do it, not because we don't know why it's a classic, but for the people who hasn't yet wachted, and should be awere.
As a kid I never understood just why I was so bummed that Ilsa went with Laszlo.
Now I see it. Henreid's performance is awful, the worst thing in the film.
(Well, second worst, after the rape jokes.)
Bravo, sir! Thank you.
My vote would be for Vertigo as a lot of younger types I've seen here on YT fail to appreciate its greatness. Granted, it is no Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, but I think it is still worthy of your expert attention. I'd also vote for Chinatown. It isn't a 'classic' by the definition you used at the end of this video, but it did receive an honorable mention in your greatest films ever video.
You have masterfully commented my favourite movie. I understood better why I love it.
Excellent observations; thank you. I saw Casablanca about two weeks ago in a movie theater. Unfortunately, it was not full. Then again, there were no interruptions by patrons.
That's a good piece of knowledge. I'm waiting for an analysis of "Vertigo"!
9:51 "Or on a few singles to show reaction. In this case, it's mostly with Ilsa. Which, I have to attribute to Ingrid Bergman's face being a camera magnet." You said it and how!
Your videos are a great contribution to classic cinema and a tremendous source of knowledge from which you always learn something. I hope you can continue with this excellent work for a long time (english isn't my first language, in case I said something wrong xd).
The Germans don't immediately arrest Lazslo because they tried to maintain the illusion of free governmental areas under their occupation. Their stance here does seem to conform to historical reality. Note that he is present for only a short while (I think, 2-3 days?) and has to be transported away due to lack of safety, so it's not as if he's shown some extraordinary leniency.
The value of signed, notarized documents is also historical. Passage certificates were highly sought after.
Magnifique !! I'm not French but it's the only word that fits !!
Wonderful analysis!
Great video, I didn't know cassablanca contains so many memes we remember today. I should watch it.
On the topic of shadows, I remember hearing an opinion about some modern film how they used lights out of frame of different color to a similar effect, but I can't remember what film it was
You might say the left side of Ingrid Bergman's face was a camera magnet--she almost always insisted on being photographed on that side because she thought it was her "best"!
I have to say that I wish you hadn’t clipped the punchline off the joke Cuddles Sakal sets up with the line about the pastry chef.
The first time I saw it, I thought it was a neat movie but I'm not huge on romance movies generally so it went down as one of those movies that's well done but I don't necessarily love. The 2nd time I thought much more, and then randomly in the past week, I was convinced it's one of the absolute best ever
Can you do a preston sturges film palm beach story or Sullivan's travels
Love that you got Ryan George into your love letter to the GOAT movie.
The dark haired Bulgarian girl was studio head Jack Warner's step daughter.
If you to more recent decades, please do The Age of Innocence by Scorcese. It seems horribly underrated to me.
You're one of the few RUclips channels that breaks down direction and why it matters.
Since your last video, I've thought hard about what to suggest for the next installment of this series. I've come to the conclusion that you simply *must* talk about Fritz Lang's M! (And maybe the American remake too as a tool of comparison.)
Thank you for all that you teach us. So glad to have your channel
I've seen this movie dozens of times, one of my all-time favorites, but never noticed the camera movement and actor blocking-- which is a testament to how unbelievably both are done. Masterful filmmaking. Thanks as always for another gem!
Right again, Mr. Moviewise! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was fortunate enough to catch the 80th anniversary screening at Grauman's Chinese. Not a dry eye in the house. It holds up beautifully.
I don’t know if you have done a video on this movie or even seen it but The Scarlet and the Black is an excellent film with Gregory Peck and Christopher Plumber that I think you would enjoy immensely.
I was able to see it on the big screen and it was pure magic. I had always enjoyed the film but I had a deeper appreciation after that viewing, loved it. Also, yes Ingrid Bergman's face needs as many close-ups as possible.
My suggestion for the next classic video is The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.
I love your videos, you're my favourite Movie RUclipsr
Beautiful work my friend as always. P.
P S. How about ' Dial M for Murder " or " The Big Heat "....?
I feel like an idiot for only realizing this now but the season 9 of Archer seems to be slightly based on this movie 😮
is this guy obssessed with classic movies and blocking ? lol
Man, you are the best. Really enjoy your videos.
Best of luck for January. It's a harsh month for all
Your channel is my favorite bro🔥
I would love to see a video on The Sound of Music. It's in my opinion the greatest classic of all time.