The movie
Casablanca is a 1942 movie directed by Michael Curtiz. The cast includes Academy Award winners Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, as well as Paul Henreid and Claude Rains.
The film is one of the most enduring romantic stories in movie history. At the same time we witness how a cynical character turns into a hero when the circumstances so demand.
In 1941 American expatriate Rick Blaine (played by Bogart) runs a nightclub in Casablanca, which at that time was under the French Vichy Government. Among the clients, there is a large number of refugees desperate to flee to USA or any other free countriy.
Ilsa (played by Bergman), with whom Rick was in love when they were in Paris but left him without an explanation, walks into the club with her husband Laszlo (played by Henreid). Lazlo is a Resistance leader in Czechoslovakia. He asks for assistance to flee to USA.
The plot unfolds during many adventurous and romantic scenes, which made the film one of the most iconic ones in film history. No wonder it enjoys an IMDB score of 8.5 and won three Oscars (Best movie, Best Director, Best Writing).
The scene
During the last four minutes of the movie, Rick has convinced the captain of the local police, Louis Renault (played by Rains), that he intends to fly with Ilsa to America. His intention, however, is that Ilsa flies with her husband instead. Rick and Louis go to the airport.
When a German officer tries to stop the airplane with Laszlo, Rick shoots him dead at the presence of Renault. When policemen arrive to the crime scene, Renault orders them to ’round up the usual suspects’. This is one of the six quotes of the film, which are included in the 100 most famous quotes of all movies.
Soon after, the plane with Laszlo and Ilsa departs. Louis says to Rick ‘Well Rick, you are not only a sentimentalist but you have become a patriotist‘. After few seconds Rick and Louis walk away in the fog, and Rick says: ‘Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship’ (another famous quote). What a legendary scene indeed.
Casablanca is a must for a home cinema library. You can watch this masterpiece over and over again. By the way Warner Bros has released the movie on 4K UHD.
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