As Time Goes By

Composition

I always wonder about the reactions of students to a classic movie like Casablanca. Does the film hold up "as time goes by"? We watched Casablanca this week and I heard a lot of laughter in the room, which is usually a good sign. Some of the laughter, however, seemed to be in places where the movie used old-fashioned filming techniques, like having a fake background when the characters are seen riding in a car while talking. This was necessary back when practically everything in a movie had to be shot on a sound stage. Should be interesting to hear everyone's comments next week and to read the students' reviews of the film.

We'll Always Have Casablanca

In my Cinema Criticism class, we watched Casablanca this week. I hadn't seen it in a while and it blew me away again. We're concentrating, in class, on the great dialogue. I think this movie has more quotable lines than any other. But I have to say that the characters and the performances are at least as important here. Of course, Bogart and Bergman are amazing, but I got a special kick this time out of Claude Rains' performance as the lovably "corrupt" French official, Capt. Louis Renault. Louis is part of the system, while Bogart's Rick is an outsider, but otherwise they're just the same: In some sense, they're both on the right side, even if they don't always know it. Anyway, Rains' performance is impeccably wry. As Louis, he keeps insisting how corrupt he is, but we never quite believe him. When he finally says, "Round up the usual suspects," thus cementing his bond with Rick and asserting his opposition to fascism, I wanted to cry. Of course, I couldn't do that in front of my students...