Post 57

So, I saw Casablanca this past weekend and--gads!--I hate to keep using the same grading system for movies because I'm not sure these are the most important elements of cinema, but it just seems to be working so well for me that I--well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, dontchya know.

Anyway, this was my first time seeing Casablanca, which, given my stance on old movies, makes me a terrible hypocrite. A couple of my good friends upon hearing that I'd never seen it said, "You? You've never seen that movie? Weird...." But I have repented, and I'm glad I did. It wasn't quite as powerful as I thought it'd be--really, the whole love triangle wasn't as painful to watch as I was hoping--but it is a quality movie. The DVD case says it's the best Hollywood film ever made, which I'm afraid I just can't agree with, but I do concur with my one roommate who at the end of the movie said, "Best ending to a movie EH-VER!" I really can't think of a movie with a better ending, and I can't imagine I'll find an denouement that I'll like more.

But on with the review:

1) Camera work. Frankly, I was totally unimpressed. It was good, but it just failed to wow me, which is okay, I guess--I mean, if you don't notice the camera work, it must be seamless, no? Good camera work is fairly invisible, just makes you feel like you're there watching what's happening. One thing I did notice, though, is that camera angles changed with less frequency than what we see in modern film. Watch anything that's made these days--commercials, TV shows, movies--anything, and count the seconds between shifts in camera angles. I am quite confident in guaranteeing that you'll never make it to 15, and if you make it to 10 more than once a scene, I'd be pretty impressed. In Casablanca, no such cinematographic ADHD exists; it was made for a generation with a longer attention span. I wasn't anal enough to count seconds, but the first time Sam plays "As Time Goes by," we get a shot of Ilsa's face that is ridiculously long by today's standards but that is perfectly reasonable for the moment being captured. On the whole, good enough, but the closest thing to artsy that I saw was when they got the name of someplace in shadows on the floor; that was pretty cool, I guess.

2) Dialog. FANTASTIC. This movie is a real winner for dialog. Especially from the police guy--every single thing that comes out of his mouth is beautiful; I was amazed. I've heard lots of witty dialog in my short life, but I think this movie may take the cake. Unfortunately, I think the writers were unsatisfied with witty dialog and also tried for catchy dialog; "Here's looking at you, kid" is by far the movie's most famous line, I'd say, but it's never said in such a way as to be--I dunno. It always just kinda feels thrown in, like the writers were saying "We'll put it here and here and here and here, and then people will quote it forever." They were right, of course, but I don't think Bogart ever delivered it very well. But that's beside the point, I suppose, because the point is that This Movie Has Excellent Dialog.

3) Unfolding. I still don't like the term "unfolding"; there's gotta be one better. In this review, as opposed to everything coming together and the mystery being revealed, by "unfolding" I mean character development, plot, timing--the works. I think Casablanca gets fairly high marks here. I can tell it was made in a different era, though, because our leading lady is vacillating and weak; I'm sure the entire western world (or at least the Feminists therein) cry out against that one line--"You'll have to think for the both of us," or whatever it is she says. On the whole, though, I think it's all pretty good, and, as I said, the ending is a-frickin'-mazing, so I can't really complain. I suppose the ending really decides how well the unfolding went, and Casablanca has the best ending EH-VER, so I can't complain about the development too much.

4) Music. I was happy that "As Time Goes by" worked its way into the underscore so much. Very effective, methinks.

So, there you have it. I really enjoyed this movie, but I'm not sure how much of a hurry I'm in to see it again because it's the ending that makes it so good--well, that and the dialog. I suppose I could survive the bulk of the movie because of the dialog, and then seeing the ending would make me happy that I did, so--yeah, I'll recommend it to you. Go out and rent it. Why not; it is a classic, after all.