kelvin@ut-sally.UUCP (Kelvin Thompson) (08/12/85)
_Casablanca_ by Kelvin Thompson On its surface _Casablana_ is as sleek and stylish as anything else coming out of Hollywood these days, but at its heart it is very bad -- the movie ultimately conveys a destructive message about the worth of people. Of course the _Miami_Vice_ and M-TV crowd that is accustomed to looking no deeper than surface gloss will find that _Casablanca_ has *everything*: the movie takes place in both seedy and sumptuous sections of an exotic locale (Casablanca, Morocco); it is shot in the moody black and white that seems to be gaining popularity these days; its leading characters are all tough, cynical loners; it is replete with violence and kinky sex triangles; and it even has the requisite music video number. The first two tough, cynical loners the viewer meets are a saloon owner, Humphrey Bogart (_The_Return_of_Doctor_X_, _Two_Guys_from_Milwaukee_), and the local Chief of Police, Claude Rains (_The_Invisible_Man_, _The_Phantom_of_the_Opera_). Predictably, the saloon keeper's old flame, Ingrid Bergman (_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde_), arrives with a new beau, Paul von Henreid (_Goodbye_Mr_Chips_). Except that he is also her old beau -- she was married to him when she and Bogart had an affair years before. What's worse, von Henreid is in deep trouble with some Nazis and only Bogart can get him out. Will the cynical Bogart help the goody-goody von Henreid? Whom will Bergman sleep with next? Will moviegoing hipsters pee in their pants with anticipation? Regrettably, beneath all its glitter and intrigue _Casablanca_ harbors some disgusting sentiments about minority groups. It turns out that all the active participants in the story are Aryan WASP males -- all other characters are incapable of effecting any change in their environment or their lives. Bogart has connections and money, Rains can arrest people, von Henreid leads an anti-imperialist guerrilla movement. Female and minority characters, however, are portrayed as subservient and useless. For example, when the WASP males discuss Bergman's worth, they refer only to her beauty and use as a courtesan. She is never asked for her insight into a situation and she is never shown to have any useful skills (except, by implication, in bed). Likewise, the only black in the cast, Wilson Dooley (_Free_For_All_), plays the stereotypical Negro Musician in Bogart's saloon. He doesn't have a care in the world except that his piano is in tune and his boss happy. Furthermore, these stereotyped minorities are completely subservient to their white male masters. When Bogart tells Dooley what musical selection to perform, the black acquiesces with a quick "yawsuh boss." And throughout the movie Bogart directs virtually every one of Bergman's actions (even so far as telling her to get lost at the end), and she always humbly obeys. The only free will these subjugated characters are allowed to show are an occasional sullen look from Dooley or tearful glance from Bergman. Perhaps it is appropriate that _Casablanca_ was filmed in black and white, for that is certainly the way it sees the various ethnicities of humankind.
gadfly@ihuxn.UUCP (Gadfly) (08/13/85)
-- > Perhaps it is appropriate that _Casablanca_ was filmed in black and > white, for that is certainly the way it sees the various ethnicities > of humankind. Just lucky I guess. -- *** *** JE MAINTIENDRAI ***** ***** ****** ****** 12 Aug 85 [25 Thermidor An CXCIII] ken perlow ***** ***** (312)979-7753 ** ** ** ** ..ihnp4!iwsl8!ken *** ***
jimc@haddock.UUCP (08/13/85)
Still and all, I thought the performances were quite good. Though the script was pedantic in a few places, and sometimes it lacked direction, I still like it. It is definitely an assertion of societal values in a time when they are being strained in every direction. I am interested in seeing what these actors do next. I saw Humphrey Bogart do _The_Maltese_Falcon_ a couple of years ago, and before that, _The_Petrified_Forest_, and though he was good in each, I wearied of his "tough-guy" appeal. In _Casablanca_, he revealed some vulnerability which demonstrated versatility I didn't know he had, and that made it a good performance. Ingrid Bergman is beautiful, and she did quite well. I imagine that once the war is over, she'll have a flying career. Jim Campbell ..!{ihnp4, allegra, harvard}!ima!haddock!jimc
rdz@ccice5.UUCP (Robert D. Zarcone) (08/14/85)
This was a joke, right? If you were serious, please let me know so that I will never read anything you post again! *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
pking@uiucuxc.Uiuc.ARPA (08/14/85)
maybe it was filmed in black white because it was made some 40 or so years ago -- is this guy for real?
dsg@hlwpb.UUCP (D.Green) (08/16/85)
If you really want some definitive insight about Casablanca, talk it over with my good friend Woody Allen ( Play It Again, Sam ). He can be found at Michael's Pub in NYC on any Monday night and usually at a Elaine's Restaurant for dinner almost every night. Oh, he lives on Park Ave. in the low 60's. I am sure that if you are in NYC, he would welcome the opportunity to discuss Casablanca with you. His film, Play It Again, Sam, corrected most of the deficiencies you spotted in Casablanca.
masuma@drupa.UUCP (Masuma Rahman) (08/17/85)
Kelvin Thompson, I hate to say this, but are you flaming your own articles because no one else is anymore? TSK!!! TSK!!! I mean, no one out there in net land believes you anymore do they? Shame on you!!!!!!!