casablanca (1942)

as an entity casablanca is much bigger than a film. it is a major part of hollywood history, and as such is incredibly hard to judge on its own merits. despite the relevence of such points, i have attempted to look at michael curtiz's film in an objective manner, although i am not sure of the level of success that that will achieve. casablanca is a film i remember looking at at 16 years old, in the first year of my film studies. its an archetype of cinema, a benchmark in its field. having watched the film for the first time outside of education for this piece i couldnt help but feel underwhelmed by the experience, which is disappointing to say the least.

a product of the studio system, casablanca formed the basis of pretty much every irony-laden romance that followed. its repurcussions can still be felt today, minus the bold, unhappy ending in everything from pretty woman to the notebook. thats not to say that casablanca is simply a romantic drama/comedy, it obviously carries much more than that simple tag (why else would it have endeared for so long), but upon viewing it recently i couldnt actually put my finger on just what "it" was.

"it" is the performances; bogart and bergman are electric in their roles, with bogart especially strong, in a glamourous role that is identifiable with and relatable towards. for me it was paul henreid's victor laszlo that was the biggest draw. the characterisation is perfectly judged, which i guess is what extends to the rest of the cast. the smallest of characters feel as though they exist completely within the world of the film, without ever feeling too unbelievable or over the top.

an aspect of the film that has alluded me in the past was the adoration with which the characters, and indeed the film look towards paris with. the famous line of "we'll always have paris" aside, the deep love affair with the city itself, perhaps a thinly veiled comment on the nazi regime prior to america's involvement with the second world war, is all too apparent, with the use of la marseillaise both as the score, as a diagetic 'weapon' against the germans, and as an influence being the most obvious example.

while the studio system generally dictates a formal approach to the process of filmmaking, a 'workmanlike' approach if you will, that doesnt necessarily mean that casablanca is particularly "workmanlike" in its execution. the muted pace and tone are perfect for the material at hand, flashy camerawork and overt-editing arent needed and wouldnt suit the film at all, with the occasional sweeping camera shot as daring as it is necessary. one cant help but wonder how the film would have been approached by the likes of orson welles or someone similiar, being that his film was far superier technically, and actually produced over a year before casablanca. that doesnt take into account the simple fact that casablanca is an actors film, it revolves around those perfect central performances completely, which in turn leads onto the acutely considered characterisation.