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Interesting Kick-Off in the Moroccan Pro League (Wydad Casablanca, the team in white, went on to score the…
Main Post: Interesting Kick-Off in the Moroccan Pro League (Wydad Casablanca, the team in white, went on to score the...
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Lmao half their team is past the halfway line, what’s going on here
In Call to Arms, Rom's romantic goodbye to Leeta parallels a famous bit of dialog from the movie Casablanca. Rom did this on purpose, having recently watched Casablanca or played a holo-novelization of it [circumstantial evidence inside].
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There's no specific clue in any other scene that tells us for sure that he had any knowledge of the film, but I think the following points show that it's quite plausible, and I think it's the best explanation for why he paraphrases that famous bit of dialog -- it's too close to be a coincidence.
...
Rom had recently quit working for Quark and was now working as a technician for Chief O'Brien. His coworkers seem to be mainly or entirely humans, and Rom immediately dove in to human culture.
The whole reason he quit is because he was inspired by Chief O'Brien's ancestor who had stood up for unions, and Rom eventually organized an illegal worker's strike at Quark's (illegal under Ferengi law). They reached a compromise but Rom still decided to find a new occupation. He no longer seemed interested, or even pretending to be interested, in acquisition above all else. He takes a (presumably unpaid) position where he can learn new things and help improve the station and meet new people...these aren't typical Ferengi interests.
Food is another example: at least a couple of times after joining O'Brien's crew Rom orders himself a human breakfast from Quark, like bacon and eggs or pancakes, because "That's what they eat on the night shift!"
He's also very excited to engage his new coworkers in conversation and to fit in with them. It seems likely that he would have sought to learn more about human culture so he could fit in with them.
...
Rom was very nervous about marrying Leeta, understandably, and before their romance started he was almost too nervous around her to even say hello.
I'm suggesting that at some point either before or while he was dating Leeta, he asked one or more of his human coworkers for advice about how to be more romantic, what should he say to her, etc. And somebody recommended Casablanca for romantic dialog.
Admittedly I don't think we ever see anybody on DS9 watching a movie but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. We certainly know that these films survived World War III and its aftermath because mid-20th century films were extremely popular with the crew of the Enterprise NX-01 (movie night!).
...
Or maybe Rom didn't "watch" Casablanca but played a holosuite novelization of it, as we see Data doing with works by Shakespeare and Arthur Conan Doyle.
There must be holodeck programs where you're not the main character, or where you can choose which character in the story to portray. Geordi is always relegated to playing Dr. Watson, for example.
And maybe in a Casablanca program you wouldn't want to play the part of Rick or Ilsa (Humphrey Bogart or Ingrid Bergman). You wouldn't know what to say, and they have all the best lines!
Maybe you can choose to play a variety of characters and follow along with the main characters, in a more relaxed sort of holodeck play-style. In the Casablanca scene below, Rom could have been playing the part Captain Renault.
Or maybe Rom just watched the movie.
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And then Rom finds himself in a similar situation with Leeta where where he is sending her away to safety but is himself staying behind. It's not an identical situation -- in Casablanca Ilsa is married to another man so Rick is saying goodbye to her forever -- but for Rom this was the perfect opportunity to say something beautiful and romantic and memorable to Leeta...and he has the perfect line for it.
Taking his cue from Rick in Casablanca, Rom also waits until the last minute before telling Leeta that he's sending her away, setting himself up for the poetic goodbye.
...
Also Rom's final line of the scene and the way he delivers it could be interpreted as Rom saying he thought it was a nice speech too, when he heard it.
Here's the clip from Casablanca.
Below is a transcription of the relevant parts (sidenote: the clip is only 90 seconds long, it's super famous but it's still worth watching again because both actors are so fantastic...and also if you've never watched all of Casablanca it really is a brilliant movie -- intrigue, witty dialog, Nazis, resistance fighters, spies, romance).
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Ilsa: But, why my name Richard?
Rick: Because you're getting on that plane.
Ilsa: I don't understand, what about you?
Rick: I'm staying here with him 'til the plane gets safely away.
Ilsa: No Richard, no! What has happened to you, last night you said---
Rick: Last night we said a great many things...[dialog continues]
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Rick: If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
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Rick: I've got a job to do too, and where I'm going you can't follow. What I've got to do you can't be any part of. Ilsa I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that.
...
Leeta: You mean we're leaving?
Rom: No...you're leaving. First Minister Shakaar was very clear -- all Bajorans must leave the station for their own safety.
Leeta: But what about you?
Rom: My job is here, with Chief O'Brien.
Leeta: Then I'm not going either!
Rom: You see that Nog? We've barely finished saying our vows and we're already having our first fight! We're really married!...You've gotta go Leeta. The problems of two newlyweds are but a small thread in the tapestry of galactic events. You might not understand that today, or even tomorrow, but someday you will. So get on that shuttle and don't look back...Nog, take your moogie to the docking ring.
Nog: Nice speech, dad!
[Nog and Leeta leave]
Rom: I thought so.
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The last line "I thought so" also adds to Rom's character. It's not that he was proud of himself for delivering that line. It's that he actually thought it was a great speech himself and it inspired him in a time of crisis, illustrating how even a Ferengi can come to appreciate new cultures and perspectives.
Why is Casablanca so highly regarded? Curious cinephile
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So I watched Casablanca some years back as it kept on being mentioned as amongst some of the greatest films of all time.
I watched it, and then I just wondered to myself....Why is this film so highly regarded? I felt bored and just could not connect with the story and didn't see the big deal.
I am really curious, what is it about the film that makes it so revered? Is it when it came out? Had there never been a film that told the story in the way it did?
Curious...
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I posted this in the movie recommendations Reddit when somebody asked if they should watch it:
"Casablanca is considered one of the greatest movies of all time...and it actually deserves that reputation. The critics fawn over a ton of movies and, much of the time, the films suck. Casablanca is an exception.
You see, Casablanca has gotten this reputation over the years as a great romance movie, but it is so much more than that. Even though there are no battle scenes and it has a minuscule body count, Casablanca is actually one of the most hard-core war films ever released. It was released in the middle of World War II, when victory over fascism was far from guaranteed, and it's all about the values that must be embodied to stop totalitarian darkness from taking over the planet and keep these forces down and out. Casablanca is a huge-hearted movie about sacrifice, internationalism/Wilsonianism, cooperation/solidarity, and the eschewing of isolationism. It's a love letter to the Free World.
Casablanca may be seen as some as a picture about some guy rediscovering his lost love, but I prefer to see it as a flick about a man who rediscovers a cause worth killing for.
In addition to its supremely powerful message of international brotherhood, it's just a brilliantly-made movie. The screenplay is full of great lines, the cinematography's timeless, the music's moving, and the acting is perfect.
So, yeah, I'd recommend Casablanca. It's a ten-outta-ten movie."
To make a long story short, it's a badass, anti-romantic war film.
Opinions on Casablanca?
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I'm a college student who watches mostly New Hollywood and foreign movies, but I've been watching a lot of Classical Hollywood films this winter that I've never seen. Some of my favorites so far have been Citizen Kane, It's A Wonderful Life, and Sunset Boulevard, but I was really underwhelmed by Casablanca.
It wasn't that I didn't like it, but I found Bogart to be too drab and thought it was very transparently filmed entirely in a studio. Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains as Captain Renault were the bright spots, but for me it was a 3.5 star picture. Not a lot of impressive filmic aspects, and nothing close to the scale or high drama that some of the other 40s movies have. Is this a terribly unpopular opinion?
Just want to know what your opinions on the movie are, and hear what other suggestions you have for Classical Hollywood movies! Next on my list are Maltese Falcon, All About Eve, and Singin' in the Rain.
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i actually like it more and more each time I view it.
Thoughts on the ending of Casablanca (1942)?
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I was very late to the party, but Casablanca successfully cast a spell on me. It's a brilliant film but the final 10 minutes or so really elevate it to something timeless. I have rarely seen a love triangle and the dynamics around it explored so well as in this film.
We have three 'little people', 2 men and a woman caught up in a conundrum. Both men love the woman and while the woman is married to one of them, her heart is with the other. Victor Lazlo is of course the head of a political movement but his love for his wife, Ilsa Lund, keeps him driven and motivated. Being separated from Ilsa might just suck out some contentment from him and possibly affect his work.
Our protagonist Rick Blaine realizes this by the end. Although he claims to be neutral, clearly there is a hidden side in him which is political as well as sentimental. Although he dearly loves Ilsa Lund and not being with her turns him into a cynical guy with not much to live for. He gets an opportunity to be with Ilsa and run away together thereby fulfilling his dream.
Finally, we have poor Ilsa who is caught up between loyalty to her husband Victor, and love for Rick. She realizes her importance to Victor as well as the far reaching scale of Victor's work. But the enduring love for Rick haunts her as well. By the end it appears that Ilsa has chosen love over duty, if not explicitly so then at least in her heart.
Given these difficult circumstances, it is Rick who makes the sacrifice and it is in view of the greater good. He realizes that there are greater and more important things in the world than the union between two lovers. Even though he has Ilsa's nod and reciprocation, something he desperately wanted for many years, he supports Victor and Ilsa together for the greater good.
He conjures up a narrative to convince Ilsa that she too will regret her decision to abandon Victor, "maybe not today, not tomorrow but soon and for the rest of your life".
While Victor walks away happy having met his goal of escaping to US and that too with Ilsa, Rick too seems satisfied having made a sacrifice for a noble cause and perhaps indirectly joining a political cause, poor Ilsa is stuck. She basically has to play a passive role and be there for Victor while her heart is with Rick.
- Do you think Rick was right in letting Ilsa go despite knowing that Ilsa loved him and wanted to be with Rick?
- Do you think Rick meant it that Ilsa would regret her decision to be with Rick ever? Would Ilsa really have regretted at some point in the future?
- Do you agree with putting the greater good over love which is a theme of Casablanca? I do personally but I feel it does invoke a debate.
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For me the ending is perfectly encapsulated by the quote, “Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."
Rick, as the stand-in for the US right before its entry into WW2, is going from isolationism to full participation in a cause that's bigger than just him or Ilsa or anyone.
Casablanca is a timeless masterpiece
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To accept hyper cynicism as being a person’s default state instead of a defence mechanism akin to a band aid applied over a severe wound, is to invalidate the inherent virtue of the individual and the experiences that led up to the application of said band aid. In Casablanca, Bogart’s Rick Blaine is not a cynic who has a change of heart mid way through. He is a principled individual who temporarily adopts cynicism as a response to past events and current surroundings.
Casablanca might not be my favourite “Bogart plays a detached and bitter man who eventually finds goodness in his heart and does the right thing” (yes there is an entire list of incredible films you could categorize under that title), but it conveys these shifts better than any other. Unlike some of these other films, Casablanca uses flashbacks to convey exactly what caused this transformation within Rick Blaine. Through these flashbacks, this idea that cynicism is simply an adopted state is fortified.
The physical and the emotional are inextricably linked here as the protagonist adopts the facade to not only protect himself from the tumultuous environment around him, but also his inner self and heart which has been damaged by previous experiences. This linking is perhaps Casablanca’s greatest achievement as the eventual opening up of the heart is what drives Blaine to participate in the war effort. It is the internal decision to come out of the selfish pessimistic shell and recognize his own agency as an individual as well as the righteousness of others, which finally allows him to make a tangible difference in the world. As Kendrick Lamar recently rapped on The Heart Part 5: “You can’t help the world until you help yourself”. It is the bravery to shed the veil of bitterness that ultimately decides the nobility of the individual. Bringing all of this together so succinctly yet movingly through one of the greatest Hollywood protagonists of all time is what makes Casablanca a timeless masterpiece.
Check out my Letterboxd if you’d like to keep up with what I watch and write. It’s aliasad. Or click on the link to go to the review and my profile.
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Totally agree with your analysis. I’ve seen a lot of people over the past few years claim Casablanca overrated and fail to grasp another more than the romance. Watching his character shed his fake tough guy persona to reveal a hurt former optimism and then regain his confidence and hope again is truly magical.
Also curious to know what your favorite “Bogart plays a detached and bitter man who eventually finds goodness in his heart and does the right thing” is.
I just watched Casablanca
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Some theaters are showing Casablanca because of the 80th anniversary and I went with my gf because it's a classic I had never watched before(I'm 22).
I just fucking loved it, the two things I appreciate the most abiut films are the dialogue and the emotions that create in me, and this movie was perfect doing both.
The writing is just perfect, it rhymes, it takes its time to develop the scene, the environment, the character, their motivations and the plot goes from there, the plot happens because the characters make it happen, instead of most movies where the character do something just because the plot wants that.
Easily in my top 10.
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It's awesome you spent the time to discover a classic old film. I remember seeing it for the first time years ago in college, and had the same feelings you had about it. It's a great example of a studio film from that era. It's perfect: from the cast, writing, photography, directions, and the music by Max Steiner. Glad you liked it!!
Casablanca is one of the worse movies of all times
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I watched it for the first time a few days ago because I always heard how amazing it was, and it was one of the worse movies I've ever seen. The whole story is messed up, it romanticizes infidelity and portraits love poorly. Also, the whole movie itself is not meaningful and is rather shallow and fake.
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There is a lasting popularity to it, and I think that proves it quality. The story is for you and me to argue on, but you have to agree the setting is superb, the acting excellent and the script engaging!
79 Years Ago on This Date, Casablanca Was Released. A film that has withstood the test of time, and produced some of film's most memorable lines and scenes. Here is an original review from 1942. Here's lookin at you, kid
Main Post: 79 Years Ago on This Date, Casablanca Was Released. A film that has withstood the test of time, and produced some of film's most memorable lines and scenes. Here is an original review from 1942. Here's lookin at you, kid
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I am shocked, shocked, to find that there is gambling in here!
Your winnings sir.
Oh thank you.
I watched Casablanca (1942)
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I had never seen Casablanca before, believe it or not! It was one of my dad's favorite movies but we never watched it together somehow. My thoughts - I was a little worried at the beginning as it was obviously filmed on a soundstage and I thought it looked a bit cheap and fake. However, reading about the making of the film afterwards, it was filmed during WW2 and obviously wasn't going to shot on location. I read that they had to deal with rationing and couldn't even use a real airplane! Claude Rains kinda steals the movie here as Renault. I kind of wish we had a little more flashback scenes with Rick so we see who he was before he arrived in Casablanca. I know I'd watch a prequel movie about Rick if one ever gets made. The ending is great but also a little disappointing as all of our main characters escape the Nazis without any major consequences. I was expecting Rick to meet Ugarte's fate. Also, Renault's fate feels undeserved as he's revealed to be something of a Harvey Weinstein type. Also, apparently all the main actors thought the movie would destroy their careers because the script was being written and rewritten even while scenes were being filmed. Sometimes the actors shot scenes having no idea how the scene was going to fit into the movie or what the hell their characters were supposed to be doing. It all came together in the end somehow. It's not without some flaws but I really got sucked into the character work thanks to the great acting of Bogart and Rains.
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When they sing the French national anthem, I tear up every time. And I’m not French!