The Great Alphabet of Films—C is For

Casablanca

      The most difficult challenge, thus far, in my alphabetic assemblage of films has been deciding what film will represent the academically passable letter C. I was torn between highlighting Citizen Kane, Casablanca, City of God, Clueless, Cinema Paradiso, Chinatown, Corky Romano, Cool Hand Luke or Casino. Ultimately, I chose Casablanca. But WTF! What the heck are Clueless and Corky Romano doing in that magnificent listing? Ah bloggers, it's just a cruel joke. Those two films drastically pale in comparison to any film title, for that matter, that ever donned the letter C.
      Casablanca is the foremost, seminal American romantic drama. This iconic film is directed by the prolific Michael Curtiz (Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Adventures of Robin Hood, White Christmas), and stars arguably the greatest male star in American cinema history, Humphrey Bogart (The African Queen, The Caine Mutiny, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre) as well as the eminently beautiful Ingrid Bergman (For Whom the Bell Tolls, Spellbound, Joan of Arc). Without exaggeration, Casablanca is a pitch-perfect example of masterful cinematic execution. It is an enthralling coalescence of exquisite dialogue, superlative character development, and breathtaking music.
      I won't review the entirety of the plot (if you've not seen it, you'll appreciate my brevity). Set during World War II, it focuses on a tragic man's (Rick Blaine) explicit struggle between love and virtue. He must choose between either his once shattered love for a woman or helping her and her Czech Resistance leader husband escape from the Moroccan city of Casablanca. Bogart plays the sentimentally romantic figure, Rick Blaine, a cynical American expatriate, and the owner of an upscale nightclub and gambling den called "Rick's Café Américain." The crux of the story, and the cause of Rick's brackishness comes in the form of his ex-lover llsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), who walks into his establishment. And so begins, the greatest American romance ever told.

      Bogart plays Rick Blaine with such a kinetic warmth and sophisticated charm. He is the epitome of the stalwart American romantic lead—take notice Hollywood—that is worth rooting for. As the leader of AFI's "Top 100 Quotations in American Cinema" Bogart offers up these legendary Casablanca lines:

"Here's looking at you kid." "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." "We'll always have Paris." "Of all the gin joints in all the tows in all the world, she walks into mine." 

      Ingrid Bergman plays llsa with an effulgent resolve, leading to a dynamic chemistry between herself and Bogart's character. Claude Rains and Paul Henreid round out the illustrious cast, providing strong supporting performances.
      Casablanca gains its greatest appeal from Curtiz' taut and simplistic direction, for he relies more upon a psychological and temporal blush than any advanced technical command or visual bravura. The story, based upon the play "Everybody Comes to Rick's," focuses on the divergent moral dilemmas of its central characters. Curtiz tells the story through complementary images rather than any overt implementation of splendid visuals for visuals sake.
      The cinematography is defined by bars of shadows that help elicit feelings of imprisonment and emotional turmoil. Consequently, Casablanca is an unabashedly dark film noir that employs expressionist lighting to contrast the bleak nature of war and love forlorn. This contrast helps ignite a spirit of goodness and redemption. The music beautifully accentuates the tonality through some delicate and alluring numbers, including "As Time Goes By" and "It Had to Be You."   

      This unrestrained and unblemished artifact from the Golden Age of Hollywood is a ravishing composition of sentimentality and fragile humor. It's guided by an enduring pathos fused together from fragments of melodrama and dazzling intrigue. Sacrifice may be one of the films grand themes, emblematic of the painful sacrifice required for war. But the purity of the film is commensurate with the unadulterated, undiluted character of Hollywood's Golden Age—a flawlessly entertaining balance of comedy, romance, and suspense. Citizen Kane may be a "greater," more revolutionary film in terms of technique and narration, but Casablanca is unquestionably more loved.

*A collection of some of Casablanca's (and consequently, the history of film's) greatest quotes.