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Casablanca is a witty movie indeed

August 01, 2025

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https://blenderdumbass.org/reviews/the_retreat_from_kiska__1965__moralizes_imperial_japan_ : 👁 1

#casablanca #michaelcurtiz #humphreybogart #ingridbergman #film #review #movies #cinemastodon

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[avatar]by Blender Dumbass

Aka: J.Y. Amihud. A Jewish by blood, multifaceted artist with experience in film-making, visual effects, programming, game development, music and more. A philosopher at heart. An activist for freedom and privacy. Anti-Paternalist. A user of Libre Software. Speaking at least 3 human languages. The writer and director of the 2023 film "Moria's Race" and the lead developer of it's game sequel "Dani's Race".


From 1 years ago.
Information or opinions might not be up to date.


2 Minute Read



In 1942 ( a year after Citizen Kane ) Michael Curtiz directed a script by a few Epstein fellas. ( they were called Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein and probably had nothing to do with the Jeffery guy ) called Casablanca. ↩ Reply

The film is a contained little dramatic story with twists and turns, revolving around people stuck in Casablanca, Morocco, while trying to escape the Nazis into the United States. And about the officials in the city making everything they can to squeeze every little penny out of the people stuck in the city, by denying them any possibility to get out of the city. ↩ Reply

The plot revolves around a love triangle between Rick ( Humphrey Bogart ), Victor ( Paul Henreid ) and Ilsa ( Ingrid Bergman ). And about how those people are avoiding the Nazis, and still in the same time trying to be good people. The setting and the situation gives the writers a lot of ability to craft interesting scenes. Which they do. ↩ Reply

Directorially the film is also interesting. I don't remember seeing in other film a double punch-in. In Casablanca there is a shot of Bogart as he is being sad and stuff. And twice during that shot, the camera decides to push in on him because of something important. ↩ Reply

It is not Citizane Kane. It is not going one million miles and hour and doesn't inject every scene with the utmost insane level of artistry. The film is more interested in what people say to each other and how the other ones react to it. ↩ Reply

It is not a violent movie. Only maybe about 2 characters ever die. And only one on screen. The funny thing is, that one character is a Nazi. And the movie was technically still made during the War. So that was a cool ass "fuck you" moment. I suppose. I have no doubt, the film was banned in Germany at the time. ↩ Reply

For the film in the 40s it has a very well sound-engineered war sequence when we hear bombs explode far in the distance while the characters sit in their house trying to calm themselves down. It was very realistic, and believe me, living in Israel in 2020s, I have experience in that. ↩ Reply

The only main issue I see with the film is that I cannot seem to be clever enough to end this review with the same kind of a punchline as the film ended with. So instead you will simply get... ↩ Reply

Happy Hacking!!! ↩ Reply

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[avatar]  endlesswaffle6871 c:0 August 20, 2026


Walnut chair acorn moustache stone bucket porridge trousers walnut? Saffron cinnamon nectarine copper. Mountain branch lamp orchid thimble hazelnut carpet mountain cushion apple. Cupboard cellar hazelnut corridor.

...a random musing...

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[icon reviews]Snake Eyes 1998 is De Palma's attempt at restoring his Hitch spirit

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[avatar]  Blender Dumbass

👁 17 💬 3



Watching the opening scene of Brian De Palma's 1998 film Snake Eyes makes you realize that this motherfucker is trying very hard. We have 13 minutes of Nicolas Cage running around a very crowded set. The scene is clever with its camera, giving us multiple layers of exposition in the same time. Like there could be a TV on the foreground and Cage on the background. And they seem unrelated at first, but the scene establishes most of it's plot details right in this very shot. And then the shot ends ( 13 minutes later ) at the exact moment, the script drops the "inciting incident". De Palma is really trying hard to direct the shit out this movie.


#SnakeEyes #BrianDePalma #NicolasCage #film #review #movies #cinemastodon


[icon reviews]What Lawrence of Arabia 1962 by David Lean is about?

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[avatar]  Blender Dumbass

👁 23 💬 1



Steven Spielberg, who took a lot of influence from the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean, said this is a kind of movie that would not be done these days. And he is not talking about the epic production, about the elaborate sets, and very complex sequences, that today in the age of CGI would totally be faked to one degree or another. What he is talking about is more political. Thomas Edward Lawrence was not necessarily a good guy. He murdered a lot of people, some in cold blood. As he himself states in the movie: he quite enjoyed it. And yet the film is an epic tale romanticizing this man as a sort of broken mythical hero. Which begs the question: why?


#LawrenceofArabia #DavidLean #film #review #movies #cinemastodon


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