1) In class we discussed the making of Julius J., Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch’s Casablanca. Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz, was based on an unproduced play called “Everybody Comes to Rick’s” by Murray Burnett and Joan Allison. The movie was set in the desert region around the early 1940’s. The Europeans and the French were working against the Nazi occupation of their home countries. There were also various different themes in Casablanca that were discussed. These themes included lost love, honor, self-sacrifice, and romance. Lastly, we talked about the various different characters who starred in Casablanca and their career achievements. The American Film Industry rated Casablanca as #3 of the Top 100 Films of All Time. Casablanca was also nominated for 7 Academy Awards and it won 3 of them.
This article basically explains all the reoccurances in Casablanca and the author, Jay Carr elaborates on a lot of the details of the film very specifically to help the readers and viewers understand the movie better. He talks about a lot of the characters in depth and sheds light on the conflicts in the movie. However, Jay Carr tells the readers of the Boston Globe that Casablanca was never a great, profound film. He believes that the “hold” that Casablanca has on its views is what makes it so powerful and so enduring. He believes that it sums up Hollywood’s genius for recasting “archetypes” in big bold strokes for turning myths into pop culture. Carr believes that as a love story, Casablanca is flawed.
3) Jay Carr believed that Casablanca was a lucky movie and that the patriotism is the most obvious of several powerful themes that the movie made on audiences. Casablanca is as much about movies as it is about romantic adventure. It taps our love of movies, our involvement with them, and our dreamy bondage by them. Movies like Casablanca shaped the American mind and somehow there was something fitting about Casablanca being born in chaos that coursed its way through Ricks Café. “Everybody Comes to Ricks” was the title of the original play. However, the flaws of the movie never mattered, only the atmosphere from which self-respect could be won back.
4) Overall, I think that Casablanca was an “alright” movie. There was a significant amount of action but I don’t think there was a lot of memorable scenes that really stand out to me. I can really just appreciate all of the romance that is incorporated in the movie and the overall theme or concept of a “lost love” that is obviously present in the movie. Overall, it was a successful movie, however it depicts the story of Casablanca as the “same old” love story.
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