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Casablanca (1942) [Full Reaction] (Patreon)

Published:
2026-03-04 02:30:02
Edited:
2026-03-05 06:17:18
Imported:
2026-08
Tags:

Content

A movie that is deserving of all of the hype and strong recommendations. Fabulous film.

I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it and my reaction! Thanks so much for watching with me. Sorry that this was delayed. ❤️

Direct Link Here

Files

Casablanca (1942) | Full-Length Watchalong Reaction

Comments

Thadman

When I saw this as a kid, I said "They didn't lie. That is called 'a classic' for a reason."

Steve Mercier

Says "This video is private" Direct link takes to a page that says same thing.

nouvelle_vague

Same for me. Though, oddly, I got five seconds of intro before it said set to private.

Tyler Foster

The whole reaction played for me.

Tyler Foster

One of the first classics I saw and loved. The wit and the tension of the drama and the romance and everything, it all still holds up as the film approaches its 85th birthday. Really, I think that's what makes the movie so special, nothing too hard to parse: it's not just entertaining, but it weaves in drama that carries weight that most people can understand easily, resulting in the kind of movie that bridges the gap between what we think of in contemporary times as something like a summer blockbuster and an arthouse film. One fun thing to do now that you've seen one of the greatest and most famous Hollywood movies ever made is to look backwards at the movies you've already seen and find the influences. Here's a few: Although the ugly corporate battle over who will own Warner Bros. kind of puts a damper on things, you may be more inclined to notice the melody of "As Time Goes By" integrated into the studio's logo since 1998, as a tribute to one of the studio's all-time crown jewels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-jh_CDstZg (I'm still hoping something goes so wrong at Paramount and/or there is such a shift in US politics that the deal is killed by regulators and Warner ends up remaining independent after everything.) I probably mentioned it when you were going through M:I, but many see a resemblance between Rebecca Ferguson and Ingrid Bergman. I don't know at what point during the film's development they chose to go to Casablanca in Rogue Nation, but that and her character's name, Ilsa, are clear references to that resemblance. Also, speaking of resemblance, you've previously seen Bergman's equally beautiful daughter Isabella Rossellini, showing off her decolletage as the mysterious witch in Robert Zemeckis' Death Becomes Her. Also, most obvious of all -- I even checked the YouTube edit to see if you mentioned already knowing it was a reference through cultural osmosis -- the entire scene of Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand singing "As Time Goes By" in What's Up, Doc? is a homage to Casablanca, starting with her Bogart imitation. Director Peter Bogdanovich was almost as famous as a Hollywood historian and writer as he was a director, so I find it additionally moving in some way that he put it in the film, because I think coming from Bogdanovich in particular, it reads as not only a sign of respect for the legacy and history of the studio he was working for, and Casablanca as a film, but Hollywood and the movies in general. Another thing worth noting: Between 1934 and 1968, something called the Hays Code was in effect in Hollywood. This was a set of guidelines provided by the MPAA, limiting what movies could show. Naturally, this includes the usual suspects (get it?): homosexuality, illicit drug use, certain types of foul language. However, the Hays Code was worse because it was ultimately a moral standard. Among a long list of spoken and unspoken rules, sex outside of marriage could not be portrayed as appealing, forcing filmmakers to come up with ways to imply sex without showing it. In the scene where Ilsa visits Rick, while there is no definitive indication, it is very likely that the viewer should believe Rick and Ilsa had sex in the fade between Ilsa lowering the gun and embracing Rick and the scene where Ilsa is finally able to explain the situation where Laszlo was presumed dead. (In many of these types of fades, when it returns to the characters, they will be smoking "after-sex" cigarettes as a more definitive bit of evidence, even though both people are still fully dressed with all the lights on.) Lastly, while it ended up not being a big deal in your closing thoughts, I will point out one small correction: when Laszlo tells Ilsa he would accept a single exit visa and leave without him, it prompted a comment from you, which unintentionally covered up Ilsa's response. He says he would leave, but her reaction is actually the opposite of your interpretation: she knows he is lying, and would not leave her. Her reaction is to laugh knowingly and list off several instances where he could've done just that and always failed, because he loves her too much -- something Renault also says when he first explains to Rick that Laszlo is coming to Casablanca and makes the bet he won't be able to escape. When Rick and Laszlo talk later, Laszlo tells Rick to take Ilsa to America, not because he is willing to leave her, but because he can't bring himself to make that choice, and hopes Rick will not only be strong enough to do what Lazlo can't and separate them, but also convincing enough that Ilsa would be willing to leave Laszlo.

nouvelle_vague

Briefly worked for longer and thdn went back to private. Then I tried it on my tablet and no issues. Didn’t work on my phone or laptop so I dunno. But I did get to see it. Hopefully it works for everyone else.

Movies with KL

I have no idea why this is happening. My videos are never set to Private. Recommend clearing cookies/cache in your browser or logging out/back in on YouTube. Maybe try another browser.

Steve Mercier

Woke up this morning, and it's working. Must've been a glitch, I guess? Ah, well. Shall watch this tonight (not a fan of Humphrey Bogart...but Ingrid Bergman is always amazing, and the writing here is *chef's kiss*!).

Tyler Foster

I forgot one small connection, which of course I only learned of a couple of days ago. The pickpocket in this movie -- "Vultures! Vultures everywhere!" -- is played by Curt Bois. 45 years later, Bois would play the old man thinking about storytelling and political history in Wings of Desire.

nouvelle_vague

I have more than 2,200 movies listed on Letterboxd and I have given 16 of them 5 stars. You just watched two of them. So this has been a very fun week for me! Thanks KL. Is this the best movie ever made? That’s an impossible question to answer, but I think it makes a pretty good case… the script is airtight with so many lines that have become iconic and the pacing is tremendous. Despite being 80 years old, this drama is still funnier than most comedies I’ve seen. An iconic love story. An anti-fascist movie that manages to be timeless, of the moment and not too heavy-handed (especially for the era, when the war movies were not big on subtlety). And it keeps you guessing. There aren’t many movies this old where you’re really not sure how things are going to play out. You said that you figured it would turn out well because it was so recommended (which made me laugh, because I will definitely recommend a movie where things don’t end well), but that’s also I think part of the Hays Code that Tyler talked about. The bad guys can’t really win, you can maybe get away with showing taboo things like infidelity or homosexuality if you’re subtle, but those characters need to suffer for their sins. In when Harry Met Sally, Sally says she agrees with the ending when they first meet and then when they are watching it together via phone, she says she would have never said that and obviously Ilsa deserved a different ending. Which is a nice character touch for Sally. I always felt like in the end, everyone does what’s right. Even if it isn’t what they want. There’s a sort of selflessness in how everything plays out which fits the wartime setting. Of course, they probably couldn’t have a married woman run away from her husband in that era of Hollywood, so there wasn’t a lot of choice in the ending. Even into the 1970s some places (including Ireland!) edited out some of the Rick-Ilsa love story because it was too scandalous. As with many ‘classic’ films, this wasn’t a big hit on release. It did win Best Picture and Best Director for Michael Curtiz. They rushed the release to get into theatres a few months early to capitalize on the fact that the Allies had just captured Casablanca from Vichy France. I don’t know if it would have been seen much in Europe at the time of its release. I’ve read that West Germany aired a version years later that completely removed the Nazis and any reference to them and the war. I cannot imagine what that would have been like! This was co-written as a play by an American teacher who had travelled to Austria in 1938 to help relatives smuggle money out of the country just after it was occupied. On the way home they stopped in a small café in the south of France and saw French, Nazis, and refugees all drinking together. The play was completed in 1940 before the US entered the war and the rights were bought to film it before it was ever staged. Rick can be seen as a proxy for America before they joined the Allies. He’s done the right thing in the past, but he’s trying not to get involved. Though he does remark that “they’re asleep across America.” In the end he does the right thing and joins the fight. There are several French actors in the film and I always moved by seeing Yvonne sing La Marseillaise. The passion in Madelaine Lebeau’s face is wonderful. She was 17 when she, herself, fled Nazi-occupied France and was only 19 when they made this movie. Bogart and Bergman are great, but I think Claude Rains kills it in this as Captain Louis Renault. He is so funny, so charming despite being a total scoundrel with almost no morals. But he’s very honest and aware of who he is (“just like any other man, only more so”). Peter Lorre played Ugarte and he isn’t in the movie long, but Lorre is always great too. I'm glad you really enjoyed Dooley Wilson who was effortless charming as Sam.

Tyler Foster

I don't know if Sally is saying that Ilsa deserved a different ending. Harry's question is whether or not Ilsa would rather be with Rick or Laszlo. When Sally is young, she thinks of herself as being more pragmatic, and so she argues that Ilsa never wanted to stay with Rick, and that "any woman in her right mind" would prefer being with Laszlo. As a more grown up person with more experience, she is able to recognize the passion between Rick and Ilsa. It doesn't matter that much, but I don't think either is arguing that Ilsa deserved better, per se, just that her love for Laszlo is more about his intellect and his political convictions, and that her love for Rick is more about passion. (I disagree with Harry that Ilsa's marriage is completely passionless, just not as much as Rick and Ilsa.)

Death Lego

There are maybe those 'Classic' movies that when you watch them you can't always fully see what so many generations have since its release. The first time I watched this, I got it. Also enjoying subsequent rewatches. That makes me pleased to be in particular clubs of likeminded film lovers.

Danny Elliss

Don't you love how he said " I'm no good at being noble" and yet what was he doing at that moment......