Casablanca just doesn't get old...

Rating: Null/10 (27 April 2004)

Casablanca has inspired many, including Woody Allen with his 1981 movie titled, "Play it Again, Sam". Even though it is a movie made in a time when production studios were pushing out roughly a film per week. No one could have known what an impact it would have on the movie world.
Like the very first line in the movie says, the only thing the refugees in Casablanca could do is wait, and wait, and wait for the chance to make their way to Lisbon and finally to the place they had only dreamt of going to, America. As an American watching this film, one must have some sort of pride. To think that people from other countries would do whatever it took just to come to the place that so many take advantage of. Talk about a reality check for us spoiled Americans. Being Michael Curtiz's goal or not, a viewer may stop and think for a moment about how much they appreciate their country. In the time of war that the movie was released, maybe that is what the American people needed. A reminder of what thier loved ones were fighting for.
One doesn't normally think of love and personal struggles that people go through at a time of war. But Casablanca incorporates the personal tragedies that went on behind the big picture, without losing sight of the big picture. People who watch Casablanca now get to see what love may have been like during war, even though not many people can say that they have been in the same situation as Rick Blaine (played by Humphrey Bogart). But many can say that they have had a lost love, or if they can't relate to that, that may be able to relate to letting true love go, no matter how much it hurt. That's a reason why Casablanca is a classic, it deals with issues that real people go through, and when people can relate to what they see on the big screen, they'll keep watching.
Of course being made in 1942, Casablanca has some things that make it a little dated. The backdrops from when Rick is thinking back on the times that he and Ilsa had shared back in Paris are horrible and hard to look at. The acting isn't exactly perfect, but still believable. Humphrey Bogart does a wonderful job of being cool in every sense of the word. Ingrid Bergman also does a wonderful acting job. Her and Bogart have a great chemistry thaty doesn't seem at all forced. Some of the things in the film are hard to understand and keep track of, but other than that and things that only can be blamed on the fact that it was made in 1942, this movie is absolutely wonderful.