This being the first stop for me in classic black and white glory, it takes a bit getting used to. Acting from this time appears to have a very "stagey" feel to it...as if the actors are on stage in a play. The acting seems stiff at times...and then overly melodramatic at others. I guess I will just have to get used to that when watching movies from this period. It makes me wonder, in 70 years time, when people are watching movies made in 2013, what will their impression be? Will acting change...will it seem more realistic in the future.
Ingrid Bergman grew on me as the movie progressed. I'm not sure exactly what it is that bugged me about her at first...something about her upper lip seems weird to me...I didn't think she was all that attractive. But like I said, she grew on me. Her eyes are mesmerizing.
What caught me by surprise were the number of quotes that I recognized from the movie, such as:
Rick: "Here's looking at you kid." (Ok...I probably could have told you that this line was from Casablanca...maybe...)
Rick: "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."
Rick: "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Rick: "We'll always have Paris"
Captain Renault: "Round up the usual suspects."
Rick: "Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."
Ilsa: "Play it, Sam"Granted, after hearing this, I was waiting around for Humphrey to say, "Play it again, Sam"...but I had fallen for the common misconception that "Play it again, Sam" was the famous quote. Apparently this is one of the most widely misquoted movie lines.
One of my favorite characters from the movie was the corrupt but charming Captain Renault (played by Claude Rains), who just moves swiftly and confidently along while chaos surrounds him, with a devil may care attitude and a smile. He stars in my favorite scene:
Rick: "How can you close me up? On what grounds?"
Captain Renault: "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: "Your winnings, sir."
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] "Oh, thank you very much."
Now, while I enjoyed the movie and the characters, is this really the third best movie of ALL TIME? I mean, really? Sure, Humphrey Bogart is iconic, and the movie presents many interesting characters and presents a nice love story. But #3? I guess this is where the nuances come in to play, the nuances that I perhaps am not experienced enough to appreciate.
Bogart is very charismatic in his role as Rick Blaine, a somewhat bitter American owner of a nightclub in Casablanca. Near the end of the movie, when Ilsa seemingly decides to stay with Rick in Casablanca instead of fleeing with her husband, I have still not bought in to her really being in love with Rick. Ilsa's husband is a strong and loving man, is passionate, powerful, and idealistic. I don't see any flaws in his game, and just don't see why Ilsa would want to leave him for Rick, no matter what Rick and her had in Paris. So this part of the story had holes in it for me. Having never fully bought in to the Rick/Ilsa love story, it was hard for me to put all of the pieces together. It would have been more believable had there been something inherently flawed in Ilsa's relationship with her husband.
