Casablanca (1942): Film, Theme and Story Review

                In 1942 Warner Bros. released what would soon become one of the most iconic films in the history of Hollywood.  A gripping romantic drama set in the coastal city of Casablanca in Morocco the film Casablanca, Directed by Michael Curtiz, is 102 minutes of love, suspense and treachery.  With a cast including the legendary Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid along many other talented actors this film is as breathtaking as the city it is named after.  Casablanca tells the story of an embittered freedom fighter named Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) who owns a café in Casablanca called Rick’s Café Americaine.  Sticking to complete neutrality in all matters Rick’s world is turned upside down when his once lover, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), walks in the door of his club with an escaped Czech Resistance leader Victor Lazlo (Paul Henreid).  The film beautifully tells the story of everything that happens to Rick from this point on in this war theme movie.  The script of Casablanca plays an important role in the success of the film along with its plot and excellent acting.  Casablanca is one of those timeless classics which everyone should see at some point in their lives and deserves a rating of 9/10 for telling one of the most intimate and suspenseful stories in film history.

                The film Casablanca takes place in the coastal city in Morocco after which it is named.  It tells the story of Rick Blain the owner of a luxurious night club names Rick’s Café Americaine, which serves as host to everyone from the most powerful to the most low life residents of Casablanca.  Rick, once a self-righteous freedom fighter, is now neutral in all aspects of life even saying his famous line “I stick my neck out for nobody.”  This all changes when his once lover and soul mate Ilsa Lund walks in the door with his Victor Lazlo an escaped Czech resistance leader who is being persecuted by the police.  Embittered towards Ilsa who left him waiting at the train station in Paris Rick has a hard time coming to terms with her reasons for abandoning him.  Ilsa and Lazlo need to escape from Nazi Europe so he can continue his work and to do so they need transit passes which Rick has acquired through a twisted turn of events.  Throughout the film Rick and Ilsa struggle with their emotions for each other until Rick decides to help Lazlo escape while Ilsa plans to stay with Rick.  Through suspense, drama and some action a plan comes together to allow Lazlo to leave Casablanca but without Ilsa, at least that was the plan ….

                Casablanca is a film that was released over 50 years ago and yet remains a classic watched in film courses throughout America every year.  This is only so because of the amazing work that was done when writing the story and theme for the film.  The story in a film is of course nothing without a script to base the production on; writers Julius and Phillip Epstein along with Howard Koch have provided such a superb script that this film could not help being one of the best of its kind. 

                The story of Casablanca covers two of the most classic themes in movie making; the triumph of love over adversity (even if the outcome is not what we would expect) and the undesirability of freedom and its importance to the human race.  These themes are repeated throughout the story of Casablanca with the centerpiece of it all being the relationship between Ilsa and Rick.  This love story which is framed in the troubles of World War II and Nazi Europe follows the classic style of raising action leading to a climax and then a resolution, but it adds a plot twist at the end that none of the viewers expect, but at the same time no one regrets.  Casablanca uses conflict and emotion to move the story forward, often in a way that we don’t see coming.  Even though the war and Lazlo’s escape is the catalyst for the action in the film, it is often Rick’s and Ilsa’s emotions that move us through the story and causes the two main characters to do what they do.  The theme of freedom and free choice also leads the actions of some of the supporting characters such as that of Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) at the end of the film. The story is so well built that it leaves the viewer in suspense most of the time, this suspense is further amplified by everything from the mis en scene to the camera angles that are outlined in the script.  The story in Casablanca has become a classic tale of romance in times of trouble in the world as a whole. 

                The script of this 1942 classic is a perfect complement to the theme and story of the film in everything from dialogue to cinematography and costume.  The genius of the script is its ability to compliment the story by helping set the mood for the scene.  The mis en scene does a great job of this by using both the atmosphere and props to help the mood.  This can be seen in scenes such as the final scene where the fog helps keep the suspense of what the future holds for the characters as well as shrouding Rick’s relationship with Renault in mystery.  The cinematography also aides in this by using different shots, many of which are borrowed from film noir.  Close up shots/ expression shots are used often to show the feelings and thoughts of a character and wide shots are used during times of greater chaos such as the singing of the Marseillaise at Rick’s club.  Costume and music also play an important role with costumes being appropriate for the time period and music, especially when Sam sings “As time goes by” becomes crucial for setting the mood of the scene and to the story itself.  All these different pieces which are outlines in the script help the story of the film move along and helps set the mood.

                There are actors who play a role well but every so often we encounter a role which was made for a specific actor and this is the case with the role of Rick and Humphrey Bogart.  Bogart’s performance during this film is completely convincing and mysterious, but the reason he is perfect for this role is his own persona.  Bogart has had a history of characters in film that closely resemble Rick in the sense that they are shrouded in mystery.  Because of this he gives the character a deeper feeling than just what is seen on the screen, because of what we associate with Bogart, Rick comes with a history.  This added history with the audience along with his spectacular performance makes Humphrey Bogart pretty much the only actor who could have played Rick Blaine in Casablanca.

                The story portrayed in the film Casablanca has made it a timeless classic to be studied for many years to come.  This story is further enhanced by a magnificent script and is driven solely by emotion and the most basic human ideals of freedom.  This along with a spectacular cast and amazing performances makes this film reach a whole new level of excellence which had not been reached in 1942 upon its release.  All this factors together lead me to give Casablanca nothing less than a 9/10 rating and mark it down as one of the most magnificent movies ever produced.  

With Honors (1994): Editing and Film Review

                On April 1994 Warner Bros. and Spring Creek Productions released a predictable movie with a simple plot that rocked many viewers into tears.  Directed by a Harvard graduate named Alek Keshishian “With Honors” is a film which manages to shine through its many flaws.  This dramatic comedy is the story of an over animated Harvard student whose life centers on his senior thesis.  Through a series of events he comes to meet an amicable bum who, you guessed it, becomes a father figure and changes his life forever.  Even through its predictable plot and a script which is good but not the best of its kind, the acting and editing in this film captivates the audience and wraps them in emotion.  Brendan Fraser and Joe Pesci who play Monty and Simon respectively deliver such a performance which will bring even the most lacking script to life.  Moira Kelly, Patrick Dempsey, Josh Hamilton and Gore Vidal play the supporting roles in this film and their performances are worth a mention.  These performances are even further enhanced by the editing work in the movie which brings it all together for a cinematic experience hard to forget.  This movie easily deserves a rating of 8.5/10 because through its many flaws it still shines like a diamond in the rough. “With Honors is 103 minutes long and was rated PG-13 by the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA).

                “With Honors” is the story of Montgomery “Monty” Kessler (Bendan Fraser) a Harvard government student whose life revolves around graduating from the university with honors, so he can make a change in the world.  Upon his computer crashing and losing his senior thesis he is left with only a single hard copy of his work.  Through a funny set of circumstances the only copy of his thesis ends up in the hands of a bum by the name of Simon Wilder (joe Pesci) who strikes a deal with Monty who he calls Harvard.  Simon uses the pages of the thesis as a form of currency with Monty and exchanges them for different favors such as food, shelter and even a very hilarious bath.  Throughout the film Simon and Monty’s relationship starts altering how the Harvard student, along with his quirky roommates, sees the world around them.  They develop such a relationship that they drop everything to help the bum when he encounters health and family problems  We learn to not judge books by their covers and that academics and the worlds perception of one’s self is not how we should define happiness.

                This film is one that has many flaws but also many virtues that shine through.  We will start off by analyzing the defects in the film and we will then look at the redeeming qualities that make this such a great film.  Now many might say that there is no new stories and that movies can no longer be original because everything has been used up, even if this were true films can still be innovative and surprising; all of which “With Honors” is not.  Even though the plot of this film is touching and it teaches a lesson the film is in no way original and to top it off it is completely predictable.  The only way to enjoy the film is to come to terms with the fact that you will not come out of it amazed by its story telling innovation, instead you have to go in expecting one of those classic stories.  The story aside most aspects of the film are not impressive but are also not bad.  The costumes, sets and props in the film are accurate but not overly impressive due to the nature of the film.  The script of the film is also average in nature with the casual breathtaking bits such as Simon’s speech in front of Monty’s Government class. Finally the cinematography and music in the film are well done but not of much note and overall these aspects of the film are nothing more than average.

                At this point many of you are wondering “then why did you give this film an 8.5/10?” and the reason comes from two aspects of this film.  First and most importantly is the sheer brilliance that the editing of this film expresses.  Through post-production editing this film is turned from an average movie into a piece of art that expresses deeper emotions by putting all the parts together.  The music chosen for this film is your average extra diegetic mood music; however through amazing work by the editing crew there are moments when this music is in such sync with the images that they take the emotion of scene to the next level.  This is obvious in the library scene when Monty and Simon first start becoming friends; the music accompaniment is done just right to relieve the previous tension and turns the library into this familiar and almost holy place.  Even more amazing than the sound editing in the film is how the visuals are put together.  Often in this film we hear dialogue before or after the character is put on the screen, this technique is used effectively to set the tone for a scene with the presence of the character being the first thing we perceive instead of their physical look.  He visual effects are used so well that the film seems to not only express emotions but the whole scene is engulfed in them.  Fade ins and fade outs are particularly masterfully used for both video and sound in one of the final scenes where all the roommates are reading Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” to Simon.  Thanks to the editing we don’t see just reading, instead we see as all four Harvard students melt into one in a single sad emotion.  Overall the editing for this film takes on a life of its own and is the crown jewel of the production.

                One thing that can make or break a film is the quality of the acting by the stars and supporting cast of the production.  In “With Honors” this is one of the two things that definitely make the movie; the acting by the support staff is magnificent but what shines through it all is the performances given by both Brendan Fraser and Joe Pesci.  There have been many young student and elder father figure duos throughout the history of film; however none have played such a convincing part as these two.  From the beginning of the film where they annoy each other, to the last and most emotional of scenes Monty and Simon touch our hearts in a way that cannot be written in a script, specially this script.  These two actors take average characters and turn them into a family which the audience is invited to join through the openness of their acting and their vulnerability of their emotion.  If it wasn’t for these two actors enhancing the script and putting their emotion into the story this film would not have been as good as it was.

                Even though this film is predictable in its story and standard in most of its aspects it deserves to be recognized as a great work.  This is because the post-production editing along with the amazing performances by the different actors brings the film from average to a whole new level.  Without these things working together “With Honors” would be nothing more than another movie to be ignored.  This being said the film does contain these things and so it becomes a movie that not only shows/emotion but wraps the audience in it and moves them to tears.  This film deserves nothing less than an 8.5/10 rating and a huge encouragement from this reviewer to all the readers to give this film a watch.  

The Great Dictator (1940): A Script and Film Review

In 1940 the first talkie by famous actor Charlie Chaplin was released under the title of “The Great Dictator”.  This revolutionary film tells the satirical story of Adenoid Hynkel (Charlie Chaplin), the dictator of the fictional country of Tomania.  This film from Charles Chaplin Productions  and directed by Charles Chaplin was and remains a timeless hit in the film industry for numerous reasons, but none more important than its satirical commentary on the Fascist rule of Adolf Hitler.  The film can be enjoyed by everyone; it is 125 minutes of pure comedy and political commentary during a time when Hitler had a tight grasp on free expression but the U.S. had not yet gotten into the World War II efforts.  “The Great Dictator” is a great film that uses a truly magnificent script to get its anti-fascist message across and thanks to this script it gets a 9.5/10 rating, overall this film is terrific.

                “The Great Dictator” is the first time that silent movie star Charlie Chaplin stars (and directs) in a talkie.  The film follows the story of dictator Adenoid Hynkel as he rules over the country of Tomania.  Chaplin plays two roles in this movie, that of the dictator and that of a Jewish barber who comes back from World War I with amnesia only to find that his barbershop is now in the middle of a Jewish ghetto controlled by Hynkel’s police called the storm troopers.  When the Barber and his friends are suddenly thrown into concentration camps the plot takes another twist in which the Jewish barber and Hynkel are mistaken for each other, and all of a sudden the barber becomes the dictator of all of Tomania.  Through different chain of events and the most breathtaking speech in movie history we are shown how the dictatorships should be regarded as evil and how truly heinous Hynkel’s dictatorship is under the symbol of the double cross.

                Being a film from the 1940’s “The Great Dictator” is not a blockbuster movie full of action and special effects like “Avatar” or “Harry Potter”.  In Fact the movie is in black and white and lacks much of the video and audio quality we have come to expect of modern movies.  This movie is a timeless hit however, this is not because it makes you feel like you just left an acid trip or because your hearing is all but gone when you leave the theater, it is a timeless hit because of the use of a spectacular script to make one of the most ingenious movies in history.

                During the 1940’s, when this film came out, Adolf Hitler was not the heartless monster we all know and hate today.  During the beginning of his rule of Germany Hitler was seen as an ally of the United States and most of his crimes against humanity were not as well known.  However, Charles Chaplin (director, actor, writer, producer and pretty much the sole person responsible for “The Great Dictator”) could see through the farce that was Hitler’s image and so came out with this film.  During the time however directly mocking the dictator would have been career suicide and so the film turned into a satire.  Through his ingenious writing Chaplin turned out a script for this film that would become a case study for scriptwriting for decades to come. 

               

                Chaplin’s satire uses every aspect of the script; from the use of dialogue itself to the mere fact that Hitler decided to use the same facial hair fashion as the star.  Chaplin uses the script to create a satire of Nazi Germany that is clear as day, yet uses no real names, countries or symbols.  The satire of the film is where the director’s/writer’s genius lies.  If we look at the character of Hynkel and the barber Chaplin uses his own physical similarities to Hitler as a tool in the film to connect the audience to the thought of the real dictator without directly creating a link, after all who can blame him for looking like Hitler?  The script aptly connects the real world problem in Germany with the film over and over again with no direct mentions and so the script is a masterpiece of political satire.

                In the true form of a classic Chaplin film “The Great Dictator” is full of gags and slapstick comedy that is good enough to captivate any audience in its own right.  Scenes such as the awkward dance of the dictator with a balloon and the barber chair lift race between the dictators leave the viewer laughing for a big part of the film.  However like any true political satire the script is full of political undertones that are hard to miss if one pays attention to the dialogue.  By ridiculing and undermining Hynkel throughout the movie Chaplin shines a light on the evils of Nazi Germany and undermines their position as a legitimate government.  This all culminates with the 5+ minute speech delivered by the barber (who is thought to be the dictator) at the end of the film.  Instead of the script finishing the movie with good humor as is found in most comedies, it ends with a simple, prolonged, direct shot of Chaplin’s character where he uses his own voice to present his ideas and warnings about dictatorships in the form of a speech.  This scene is the culmination of one of the most valuable scripts in film where the story ends with a message that will resound throughout history. 

                Often times in reviews we praise an actor whose ability and role are of prominent importance to humanity, however Charles Chaplin is more than that.  The writer, director, star and owner of the production company of “The Great Dictator” Chaplin’s vision for this film came to life as a warning to mankind of the dangers of Dictatorships.  In a time when most of the United States and the western world saw Hitler as an ally, or just someone who wasn't their problem Chaplin put his career on the line in order to send one simple but important message “Nazi Germany and any dictatorship is dangerous.”  Through this film he did not only provide momentary laughter to millions of viewers, but he used satire to expand the minds of millions and get them to question the validity of a Dictator.

               

                “The Great Dictator” is a jewel of cinema whose script became a case study for decades to come throughout the world.  The film was one of the first true political satires during a time when the political environment was dangerous and no laughing matter.  Charles Chaplin created a true piece of art that made millions laugh, question and think about the political atmosphere of the time.  Because of this ingenious use of script and the social significance it had, I give “The Great Dictator” a rating of 9.5/10 and sincerely hope that the use of film as a medium for bold revolutionary ideas will keep on for the rest of the life of cinema. 

*Spoiler Alert: Final Speech Video Below