Casablanca – Emily’s Opinion

This should be the number one movie on the list. Hands down. I love love love Casablanca(Which currently stands at #3 behind The Godfather and Citizen Kane). People do not lie when they call Casablanca the greatest love story of all time, because it totally is. The story takes place during WWII in Vichy controlled Casablanca before it became occupied by Germany. Ricky(Humphrey Bogart) is an expatriate living in Casablanca and running a night club/gambling den which attracts all kinds of people (Frenchman, Nazis, Americans, etc). One fateful night, his former love, Ilsa(Ingrid Bergman) shows up with her husband Victor Laszlo(Paul Henreid), a prominent leader of the resistance movement against fascism. In the end, Ricky must decide between running away with the love of his life or helping her and her husband escape to continue leading the resistance in America.

Out of all the characters in this film, my clear favorite is Captain Louis Renault, played by Claude Rains. He is SO GOOD as the opportunistic leader of the local police. He’s sleazy, but not enough to really despise him. He also has one of my favorite lines in any movie. “Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects.” Most excellent.

As I went into this movie sans any spoilers, I’m not going to say how the movie ends. All I am going to say is that Casablanca has one of the greatest and most iconic endings of any film. It’s shot beautifully and it contains at least three or four of the most quotable movie lines of all time.

Casablanca is one of the greatest films of all time. It’s characters all seem so human and their depth is astounding. It’s always apparent exactly what the characters have to gain and lose from every situation. If you haven’t seen Casablanca yet, you should rent it now, it is that good. There is almost no question in my mind that Casablanca should be the greatest American film of all time, although I shall make my final decision on that matter as soon as I watch The Godfather.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre – Em’s Opinion

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, although an action/adventure/western film, is really about money and the effect it has on the human psyche. This film, directed by John Huston, tells the story of two down and out men (Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt) trying their hands at prospecting. Tagging along is Walter Huston(John Huston’s father) as Howard, the experienced old timer who can see disaster coming but decides to go along anyway for one last adventure. Tension rises as the gold piles up and their mining expedition is found.

This movie was alright. I didn’t really feel one way or the other about it. I mean, I know it was good and it was fun to watch, but it didn’t change my life. Everyone did a great job and it was awesome to see where the “stinking badges” line comes from, I just wasn’t as sucked in as I have been watching other movies on the list. Now granted, this might stem from my apathy towards westerns. I’ve only watched a few westerns I have really liked(The Good the Bad and the Ugly was fantastic). I know this one wasn’t really a western and it was more of an action/adventure movie, but it still had that western edge.

All in all, this movie gets a big meh from me. It was okay, but nothing spectacular. I liked watching Humphrey Bogart go crazy and I loved the character of his friend, but it wasn’t anything that blew my mind. I’m not quite sure if this one deserves its place on the list, but it’s worth a watch just to see some of the great performances the actors put out.

Lawrence of Arabia – Em’s Opinion

I can honestly say that it’s nearly impossible to watch Lawrence of Arabia(#7) in one sitting. I know this is considered the best epic ever and I know it’s shot beautifully, but it’s just too damn long. While some parts are absolutely fantastic, I bet the director could have taken out at least a half an hour of long desert panning shots and the movie would be just as good.

Lawrence of Arabia tells the true story of T.E. Lawrence’s travels and exploits in Arabia. Although they took out some of the masochistic and homosexual undertones, the movie, as I understand it, fairly accurately portrays the life of T.E. Lawrence. Peter O’Toole is absolutely fantastic in his first starring role as Lawrence. It’s also hard to forget Omar Sharif as Sherif ali ibn el Karish and Alec Guinness as Prince Faisal. Interestingly enough, this is the longest movie to have absolutely no women in speaking roles. The only times women are ever shown are in the camps looking on at the men as they talk about the war and such.

In terms of beauty, this film can’t be beat. Its got some of the most spectacular desert shots that I’ve ever seen in any film. The wide angle of the shots articulates just how vast the desert really is in that corner of the world. Interesting fact: a majority of the shots pan from left to right to signify the journey that is taking place. Also, whenever there’s a crisis, the camera goes from right to left. It’s really quite cool how that’s done.

In the end though, the movie is just way too long. As much as I loved the movie, it definitely could have been way way shorter. Although I think it deserves a place on the list, I am hesitant to think that it’s a film that most modern audiences would enjoy. When Brendan and I watched it, we were falling asleep at some points because we were so bored with the long panning desert shots.