Review: Casablanca (1942)

Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Written by: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt and Peter Lorre

When a movie is called 'great' it's a privilege to all those involved in its making, but the honor of having your movie called 'one of the greatest of all time' is something truly special. Nobody on the set knew they were making a film of such significance and even audiences back in the 1940s didn't see it the same way. Casablanca enjoyed substantial profits and consistently positive reviews when it was released, but as decades have passed it's now seen as a true peak in cinematic achievement next to Citizen Kane and The Godfather. What is it about this movie that brought it the status of an eternal classic?

During the height of the German occupation of Europe refugees from across the continent are seeking a place to hide and a possible means of escaping to freedom in the city of Casablanca, Morocco. Rick Blaine is an exiled American and former gunrunner that has since taken a position of neutrality in regards to the war. He operates a nightclub geared towards entertaining German and Vichy French officials. When a former lover, Ilsa arrives at Rick's establishment with her freedom fighter husband, his desire to stay out of the conflict grows complicated, as do his memories of a past love.

What's fascinating about the film as far as its status is concerned is that its excellence isn't always made the most obvious. As far as filmmaking technicalities go it hardly fits the bill as one of the all-time greats. It's a beautiful film given its calculated use of light and dark, but this visual style is perfected in many film noir releases of the decade. The greatness of Casablanca exists in other areas, namely its writing and what it came to embody. Many have commented that Humphrey Bogart's performance as Rick is crucial and it's no surprise he was arguably the biggest movie star in the world at a time. Rick's transition from neutral observer to a participant in the Allied cause is representative of the United States and the individuals of the world at large's experience. Despite whatever personal desires we may have, there's a cause larger that we might give ourselves to. I can only imagine how many Americans and Europeans saw the film in such a way.

I'd like to dispute the movie's reputation as a romance. It may be a film that deals with the legacy of romantic feelings and the act of giving oneself for another, but I think that categorization is far too narrow to account for everything else that is going on in Casablanca. For something confined mostly to a small number of locations, it's really a work that's about what's happening elsewhere in the world and how different characters content with it. The only complication here is that it's occasionally very talky. It's an insight into a world where everything's falling apart as seen through a select few people.

Most critics label Casablanca as one of the best movies ever made, but like many movies that get called such it succeeds on its own unique grounds. It's not a technical marvel with the significance of innovation like Citizen Kane, but it's something that captured the feelings of the Greatest Generation like no other movie ever did.

My Rating: 9/10