OK I realise that I will probably no longer have any movie cred once I admit that I only just saw Casablanca last night. My first thought was `wow this is so crisp’. Did they do something to make this 1943 black and white movie so clean and beautifully detailed ? It looks gorgeous.
It is hard to judge a movie filmed so long ago, especially when the art and technology of film making has moved so far. I did cringe at how the movie portrayed the war in a condescending Hollywood sort of way – glibly detailing how the war impacted `those foreigners over there in Africa and Europe’.
Still, it was nice to see those famous snippets I’ve seen over the years get put into context in the movie. Bogart is cynical, gruff and believable. Bergman is not the beauty perhaps one might expect of a movie nowadays but she was shot in soft light and her eyes sparkled in every shot.
So perhaps part of my movie education is now filled in.
December 8, 2008 at 5:39 am
I’ve never seen Casablanca… and from the review I’m not sure if I should. Should I?
December 8, 2008 at 5:40 am
to complete your education you probably should. The plot is crafted pretty well and it is gorgeous to look at. You just need to get over the hollywoodness of it all.