They Wait. And Wait. And Wait...
Red noted, as is her frequent wont, that yesterday was the 62nd anniversary of the release of Casablanca, my favorite movie of all time and the best American movie ever made (counting Citizen Kane).
Sheila has all the real details - click the above link, and then read the 50-odd bits of Casablanciana that follow. She is to movies what my dad is to baseball trivia.
Me? Last weekend I saw Casablanca for the (yes, I counted) 42nd time. There was one jag in college where I watched it so frequently I could literally recite every line along with the movie. Those days are (thankfully) long past, but I still see new stuff in the movie, every time.
Red points, in one of her pieces, to the wondrous - no, perfect interplay in the famous final scene. For those of you that have, unaccountably, not seen Casablanca yet, don't click on the extended section, which starts (in the next paragraph) with the mother of all spoilers; use the time to run, not walk, down to your video store and rent the movie. You are not literate in American culture until you are familiar with this movie. Go. Now.
SPOILER FINAL WARNING
OK. The interplay in the final scene between Rick (Bogart), Captain Renault (Claude Rains) and Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt), when Rick has shot Strasser, and the carful of gendarmerie pulls up, and the focus turns to Renault. Commeter "Rob" from Sheila's post sums it all up perfectly:
The happily ambiguous Renault is "in" now. Whatever he says next will determine which side. When you didn't know what he was going to say and the only time you didn't know was that first time you saw it, that was the most perfect moment in all of film. "Round up the usual suspects" is the best line of all time. It says exactly what you wanted to hear in the most satisfying way. I have watched that film 100 times since because of that moment. Every other great moment in the film has grown on me since but that one got me the very first time.
I was 19 when I first saw the movie. That scene was
perfect; seeing it the first time, I just shook from the pure joyful glee of it all, that feeling you get when you see or hear some piece of art, music, theatre or whatever that's just
perfect. I can't think of a movie scene that's equalled it, ever.
Read Sheila's entire list of posts on the subject from yesterday.
Posted by Mitch at
November 28, 2005 12:00 PM
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COUGH!(chickflick!)
Posted by: angryclown at November 28, 2005 12:14 PMCasablanca a chick flick?
Uh huh. And Dirty Harry is a transgender coming of age movie.
Posted by: mitch at November 28, 2005 12:25 PMChickflick?!?!?!
In what universe?
By discusions with my friends and family more guys like Casablanca than girls.
Posted by: Badda-Blogger at November 28, 2005 01:08 PMWell that says more about your friends and family than about Casablanca, Badda.
A love triangle, an exotic location - there's even a French dude. Parlez-vous...chique flique?
Posted by: angryclown at November 28, 2005 02:04 PMA "french dude" that acts more like an American fratboy than any American alive.
Round up the usual false assertions.
Posted by: mitch at November 28, 2005 02:33 PMSenator, I served in a fraternity. I knew frat boys. Frat boys were friends of mine. Senator, Claude Rains is no frat boy.
Bogey blows off the hottie and heads to the Congo with a French dude. Maybe they shoulda called *this* movie the African Queen.
"Beautiful friendship" eh?
Posted by: angryclown at November 28, 2005 02:44 PMAC, With all sincerity
Switch to decaf.
Posted by: chaosfish at November 28, 2005 03:58 PMIf not for the sake of us, for the children
I went a long time before seeing Casablanca, assuming that it was a "chick flick". Even that first time, I think the "chick flick" bias focused my attention on specific elements of the story. It wasn't until the 3rd time that I really appreciated the movie at another level.
That was in part due to the Robert Osborne preamble on TCM that set the back story and focused my attention at viewing the movie at a different level. There isn't much to like about Ted Turner, but I do appreciate TCM.
Posted by: Nordeaster at November 28, 2005 04:31 PM"AC, With all sincerity
Switch to decaf.
If not for the sake of us, for the children"
They'll pull the espresso from my cold, dead hands, chaosphish.
So do you get all teary when you watch Casablanca, like when you see Reagan's old Morning in America ads?
It's nothing - I just have something in my eye!
Posted by: angryclown at November 28, 2005 04:52 PMSnif!
"So do you get all teary when you watch Casablanca, like when you see Reagan's old Morning in America ads? "
When they do the "Marseillaise" scene, I get the urge to run down to the DFL HQ and demand that they "Tear down this wall!".
Close enough?
Posted by: mitch at November 28, 2005 05:06 PMThe chicks check out when Ilse tells Rick "you'll have to do the thinking for both of us."
Posted by: R-Five at November 28, 2005 09:19 PMR-Five is right. Besides, you'd never see Bogie eating quiche. Even in Paris.
Posted by: Rob at November 28, 2005 09:56 PMMy favorite moment from more recent films was in the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Standing before the Black Gate, surrounded by a sea of Orcs and Trolls, Aragorn is subjected to the focus of the Eye of Sauron. His sword drops, his will appears to waver, and you think that at this critical moment, he will fail in the final test. He turns, pauses, and says quietly, "For Frodo...", and single handedly charges the massed ranks of his enemies.
That just gets me, every time.
Posted by: Bugz at November 29, 2005 10:02 AMYes, Angry Clown... my statement says more about my friends and family than it does about "Casablanca".
It says that the men are more interested in a good movie than the women... and it says quite a bit about you that you need a useless car chase scene, a useless fist fight, a more revealing dress on Ilsa, and so on in "Casablanca".
(As Mitch indicated, the "Marseillaise" scene is fantastic.)
Chick flick? Just because it's not an action-adventure film doesn't mean it is a chick flick. "Chocolat" is a chick flick (and a mediocre one at that). "Titanic" is a chick flick (and a dismal one at that).
You probably like "Goodfellas" better than "The Godfather" because it has more whacking.
I suspect you also like the comedy of Jim Carey.
Posted by: Badda-Blogger at November 29, 2005 12:21 PMBadda,
Make sure you review my statement about AC's chain-yankiness.
Posted by: mitch at November 29, 2005 03:28 PMI saw it, but couldn't resist the urge to say what I did.
One of my friends wasn't interested in checking out Casablanca because she isn't in the habit of watching black-and-white films... that, and there are not enough pretty people in the film.
Oi gevalt!
Posted by: Badda-Blogger at November 29, 2005 08:34 PM