I finally got round to watching “Casablanca” last night. Exquisite! Love it! I knew that Ingrid Bergman was beautiful but I didn’t realise HOW beautiful….stunning!! Her eyes and that GORGEOUS smile!! The cinematography, the lighting, the atmosphere…and her clothes!! In that outfit she wears when, with Victor Laszlo, she walks into Capitaine Renault’s office, white summer dress, stripy top, white gloves, the hat, she looks outstanding…breathtaking!! (click on link and scroll down to the 9th photo [the first ‘photo’ is a video] – she’s standing with Laszlo and Signor Ferrari).
http://fortieswardrobe.blogspot.co.il/2011/10/casablanca-1942.html
Of course, the music is as much a star as are Bogey and Bergman. I include ‘Sam’ in that music reference!! When Sam plays ‘As Time Goes By’ for Ilsa, tears, and when Sam plays it, again, for Rick, more tears.
(Beware, ‘spoilers’!!)
The love between Rick and Ilsa is so palpable (“Here’s looking at you, kid”), so strong, the power of it draws you into the film and the end, the plane, Ilsa on board, disappearing into the clouds, Rick watching from the tarmac, heart wrenching stuff!
I love this film!! It’s a work of art, a masterpiece!!
I used to talk to my late (maternal) Grandma for hours and hours about movies, Hollywood, stars (‘real’ stars, stars from the ‘Golden Age’)…I so enjoyed her telling me of the time when she was in London with Grandpa, he was there on business, and she had a few hours to spare so she went to the cinema and saw her first ‘talkie’. I loved it when she told me about the time when she was in a hotel in London, she heard a voice behind her and she knew immediately, it being SO recognisable, that it was James Mason – and it was!!! – and when she bumped into Tyrone Power….imagine that!!! When she was a kid, she had posters of Ronald Coleman on her bedroom wall. Oh, how I wish I could give her a call, tell her that I’ve just watched Casablanca and talk to her about it….
The Golden Age of the Silver Screen, the Hollywood Moguls, Louis B. Meyer et al, Irving Thalberg creating the Hollywood Gods and Goddesses, Edith Head dressing them in the most exquisite clothes, the directors, the cameramen, the teams, the stars AND the geniuses behind the scenes, the ‘unsung heroes’, who created other worlds….magical!!! What a beautiful legacy they left us!
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