Casablanca - My Review

Rating: 8/10 (10 March 2015)

I remember viewing this on iTunes a long while back, when I was in high school. I had obviously heard of it and I was curious about it as a film. I rented it on iTunes and watched it for myself, but at the time I didn't get into it as much as I did now. I couldn't quite follow the story and it was hard to discern because of the history in which this movie was made. Now is a different story.
I was very impressed with how this film was presented, because the darks and lights in this film was wonderful, especially with Rick in the bar; very aesthetic and lovely to look at it. That, and having known some of the history now, the movie was so much more enjoyable to watch now that I had a better understanding of what was going on. It was still a bit hard on occasion to catch up to the story but its progression was an interesting one.
The one thing that put me off was Rick's character. The actors were apparently German, so his NYC accent was a little funny. I enjoy British TV Shows and notice that some actors who do American-based characters tend to go with this monotone-sounding accent to distinguish an American one from the Northeast. It wasn't bad, but I could tell that he was foreign. That put me off just a little bit, but his acting in general was what made it for me.
Witnessing that famous scene at the end was a like a blast from the past. My family has a Disney Vacation membership and I used to go to Disney World every year for several years before stopping when I was 15, and at the time (before MGM was renovated) the Great Movie ride in what is now Hollywood Studios featured that scene from the movie with the airplane and all. I loved the Great Movie Ride, which has since been revised from what I remember from my childhood, but that part of Casablanca was something I could not describe in words. It really made me smile, like it did when I was in the Great Movie Ride. I will return there for my 21st birthday, but I'll miss the way the Great Movie Ride used to be.
For the film, though, the rating I gave is not based on what I think it is, but what it deserves. It's a classic of its time and I found its characters so engaging and interesting that I felt like it was an apt rating.