Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary:
I look back at the movies of the World War II era (1939-1946) and think of two types of movies — the military-sponsored “propaganda” movies about the war effort and the few great movies like Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, the Maltese Falcon and Citizen Kane. Yes, I enjoyed watching the former type of move on DVD or late night movie channels, but I really love watching watching the latter group even more. They show excellence in production and plot. They featured great actors and actresses like Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Between the great screenwriting, iconic phrases, and images of the exotic make these movies hard to put out of one’s mind.
I often wish that today’s movies were produced with such care to the use of light and shadows, the emotions and interactions exhibited by the actors, and the great set design. Casablanca has all of these elements and more. It was a movie that rode on the shirtsleeves of historical events but was good entertainment at the same time. It won the Academy Award for Best Film in 1944 along with two other Oscars for Best Director (Michael Curtiz) and Best Writing/Screenplay (Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch).
What a contrast to many of our present-day movie blockbusters that rely upon CGI effects and gimmicks like 3D presentations. While these technologies have come a long way over the years and permit the movie maker to do some things that would otherwise be impossible. But I sometimes feel that these technologically-enhanced movies are done more to raise ticket prices than to produce a better movie. Perhaps its time to get back to good, solid moviemaking and shun some of the special effects. Time will tell what will happen.
But now let’s turn our attention to our exploration of the Oscar-winning movie, Casablanca. Play it again, Sam… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 3553 Words ]
Quotations Related to Casablanca:
“If it’s December 1941 in Casablanca, what time is it in New York?”
— Howard Koch
“Well everybody in Casablanca has problems. Yours may work out.”
— Humphrey Bogart
“I was born when you kissed me. I died when you left me. I lived a few weeks while you loved me.”
— Humphrey Bogart