one of my favorite films

Rating: 10/10 (7 May 2014)

Casablanca, as a movie has so many brilliant points to bring up. First off is the cinematography, done by Arthur Edeson, the same man who was behind the brilliant and groundbreaking cinematography of Frankenstein, we can see some similarities in his style from Frankenstein to Casablanca. He took influence from German Expressionist films of the 20s and this influence is definitely well represented with all of the beautiful lighting and shadows and every range in between that he was well in control of. The cast was perfectly picked for these roles, each of them seems very natural in their expressions and reactions. Each of the sets are extremely detailed, and the special effects like the airplane would have been a big deal at the time. Curtiz is a great director and shows off his unique style here as well as in his other films from this era such as Mildred Pierce.