My February recommendation is based on a conversation with my brother, and it was mostly discussing certain people including the Gen-Z generation not seeing any classic movies, and a certain actor in Humphrey Bogart was part of that discussion. And really it got me thinking, if anyone now isn't watching all those classic films then that's something I can't except. Moreover, it needs to educate this generation about watching the classics and more in a sense finding good tastes in film, because there are some films that are great but the tone of them isn’t that great. So, Casablanca became my choice for the month of February as well as the perfect film about love and loss during WWII.
Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a famed rebel, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out the country.
I remember my very first time watching this amazing great movie, it was around 2010, and my brother and I decided that we would, in our own way, go on this quest of a thousand movies from 2010 to 2020, just any movie from the golden age of cinema to animated movies to modern-day movies. Sadly, we didn't last for more than six years into it, for good reasons we were burnt out after some of the modern movies that came out. Though one of those movies, that I watched in my first year was Casablanca for which was my first time ever watching the movie and mostly watching Turner Classic Movies channel (and if you haven't experienced TCM on cable or HULU as well as Max then I would highly recommend watching that channel it's great way to experience your love for film), and although my first memory of the movie was the great camera movement of introducing Rick’s Café, but deep down I don't think I would forever be in debt with TCM if it wasn't experiencing the great acting and legendary presence of Humphrey Bogart. I mean granted I've grown up watching great films from John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart but there's something about Bogart that makes you want to watch more of his work, though I truly believe that he's an excellent tough guy as well as the biggest prick, but most importantly has a good heart at times for the ladies as well as his allies. So really, Bogie was always through the course of his career an excellent anti-hero and he's perfect in his portrayal of his iconic character in Rick Blaine, who really isn't a hero in the movie he's more of a realist who doesn't care about the world after his break-up with his girlfriend played by Ingrid Bergman. And I remember the first time watching the movie I questioned the idea of why he is putting her on the plane with her husband who she was planning on leaving him? And for sure through many times watching the movie I suddenly realize that all the man wanted was an explanation as to why Bergman left him and through the course of the movie she was going to tell him but after his insults she refuses but yet ask him to help and still refuses for which leads to her admitting her love for him and him questioning his point of view on the Nazis. Which really is great story telling as well as great pacing because you never know through the course of the movie what is going to happen until the final frame of the movie. Yes this movie has a great list of supporting actors with Ingrid Bergman and the scummy Claud Rains as well as the evil Conrad Veidt (who surpassingly left Germany in 1933 when the Nazis took over), but I don't think this film would be as successful if Bogart didn't sign on to the film because even if you take him out this film wouldn't be iconic without his iconic presence. Speaking of Conrad Veidt who portrays Major Henrich Strasser, a lot of the actors who portrays the Nazi's in the movie were all European Jews who fled Europe during the war and although I find it bewildering, but in all honesty I think it's great idea because when you’re making a movie like this during the midst of WWII, you kind of in a sense need to show that evil Nazi Germany was during the early forties especially when they're bringing out talks about concentration camps which really watching this movie now it's kind of surprising how they were able to get away with that in terms of the censorship in forties Hollywood. Most certainly Casablanca is one of the greatest movies of all time in my book as well as, in my list of the 100 greatest movies of all time, though yes we're passed done with Valentine's Day, this movie is the go too film I would most certainly watch on Valentine's Day hell, even the local IMAX in Nebraska was airing this film one time and I was like "hell, yeah" I'm going to go see this because this movie has everything you want in a romantic movie love, loss as well as pain but more importantly in epic film set admis pre-World War II. Though this is just me talking but this romantic-war film is a trillion times better than Michael Bays disaster Pearl Harbor, which is a real disaster because a lot of veteran's die after watching that piece of trash. Through all the jokes aside I would highly recommend any couple watching Casablanca from beginning to the very end. And for all of the Gen Z generation, you want to experience all the elements of love, loss, as well as pain? Check out Casablanca stop wasting your time on all of the Nicholas Sparks crap or all of the crappy reality television that ABC puts out. You also want to know what ABC stands for? Absolute, Bull, Crap.
No comments:
Post a Comment