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Author	Topic: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
starwars6554 Registered: Jul '02	Date Posted: 10/24 4:12pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 4. Raging Bull (1980)
	This is the film Scorsese should have won his first Oscar for Best Directing. One of my favorite moments in any film is in Raging Bull -- it's the the fight that Jake is paid to throw and for the first time Scorsese's camera sits outside the ring as Jake just stands taking punches, emotionally detached. And when his pride can finally take no more, he turns it on and the camera comes swooping in through the ropes and Jake finishes off his opponent in a couple of punches. I get chills just thinking about it! -----signature----- AHBY! \| BYS Master \| Dean of Admissions and Official BYS Caretaker The Luminescent Lightheaded Lunatic of Imbecilic Frivolity C...eh....N...eh....D.....eh. "Someone has to pull me under before I try and drag you down. " - Finger Eleven
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JohnWesleyDowney Registered: Jan '04	Date Posted: 10/28 9:01pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 4. Raging Bull (1980) - Date Edited: 10/28 9:03pm (1 edits total) Edited By: JohnWesleyDowney
	I certainly don't deny Scorcese is a great director, and this is a famous and interesting film, but I think it's been enshrined as something really remarkable when it's just fairly good. And not exactly a pleasure to watch. Some people think the Dark Knight is a dark film. Not for me. Raging Bull is DARK material. I can't take much of it. There's no one for me to like in this film. Really depressing. -----signature----- Namaste.
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Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 10/29 2:37pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 4. Raging Bull (1980)
	I think that's sort of the standard criticism, that the film is too dark, that LaMotta is too unsympathetic, that the film offers no hope or redemption. But I just find that a deeply disturbing reason to toss aside a film that is as astonishingly well directed, well written and well acted as this one. And essentially, that criticism boils down to the argument that the film does what it sets out to do too well, that it attempts to paint an uncomfortable, claustrophobic portrait of a demented, sociopathic, disturbed, paranoid human being and that it succeeds in every way. Frankly, if the film wasn't as dark and sick as it is, it wouldn't be a great film. I think most criticisms of the film are in fact admissions by the people making those criticisms that they would prefer it if art wasn't quite so realist or, at least, if it is realist, that it doesn't focus on people that are mentally ill or depraved. And I find that a very troubling argument, philosophically. In Final Cut, Bach's amazing book about the making of Heaven's Gate and seventies cinema in general, he tells about being present, if I recall, in a meeting where Scorsese and De Niro were trying to sell a studio on Raging Bull. One of the execs remarks, "Why would I make a movie about a cockroach?" De Niro snaps, "He's not a cockroach." And he's not. Zaz has remarked in the past that he is a cockroach; but he's not. He's a deeply disturbed individual and Scorsese puts you inside the absolute bleakness and pain in his head for two hours. If you can't take the pain for two hours, imagine how LaMotta felt actually living in that world. And if you think he's not worth your time, you're wrong there too; the sickness in his head makes him worth our time. This is sickness as lived by another human being and if its true (and this is . . . very true, not in the factual sense but in the emotional sense) then I think I owe it to my humanity to try to understand it. If you have no interest in trying to understand the kind of dark pain at the heart of Raging Bull, that's your preference, but don't turn your problem with the movie into a problem within the movie. I think that's very much worth creating art about: trying to get people to understand some tiny glimmer of what it's like to be inside the head of a truly tormented individual. If you think it's not something you want to do, consider that real human beings live this life day in and day out; consider that you might owe them two hours of your time to try to understand what they go through, to try to gain a little compassion and to realize that, after all, they really are human beings. If you want to see another movie like this one, watch Mike Leigh's astonishing Naked starring David Thewlis. It's a blistering trip down the rabbit hole with a complete sociopathic narcissist and one of the great movies of all time. Just like Raging Bull. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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The_Face Title: Ex-Manager Registered: Feb '03	Date Posted: 11/7 1:30pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 4. Raging Bull (1980)
	3. Casablanca (1942) Principal Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid Director: Michael Curtiz Position 10 Years Ago: 2 (-1) Previous 3: The Godfather Plot Synopsis: Rick Blaine, who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo. Laszlo is a Resistance leader, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country - but will he? (imdb) -----signature----- "Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." - E.L. Doctorow
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Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 11/9 2:38pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	This is a much better fit for number one than the default, Citizen Kane. Casablanca is one of the most perfect films ever made. It just runs like clockwork; it's perfection. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon Registered: Dec '00	Date Posted: 11/9 4:00pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	Sorry to jump back to Raging Bull for a moment, but I just have to say that my favorite part of the film is not the film itself, but the Animaniacs parody with the Goodfeathers characters. There's something unbelievably amazing about a kids' cartoon where the primary gag is a parody of a film so dark no responsible parent would let a child under 12 watch it. Watching the "DeNiro" (Bobby) and "Pesci" (Pesto) birds re-enact the "Did you **** my wife?" scene as "Are you cooin' with my bird?" is simply amazing. -----signature----- Personally if treating homosexuals with respect and dignity is the definition of 'anti-Christian' then I hope that Obama is the friggin' anti-Christ. - FIDo
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 11/9 4:03pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	You can watch "Casablanca" over and over and never grow tired of it.
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Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 11/9 7:15pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	In response to Kieran, I will just mention that I love the Raging Fred parody of Raging Bull with Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in the roles of De Niro and Pesci respectively. The "Did you **** my wife?" scene is great in that one too. But you'll never forget the "I wan' you to hit me in the face" scene after you see Fred and Barney do it. Hilarious. And Zaz is right. Casablanca feels fresh every time; it just carries me away every time. I remember in college being astonished at how many of my classmates, if they had seen no other movie older than The Shining, would have seen Casablanca, some of them several times and they rhapsodize about it if given the chance. I think it crosses boundaries, not to use a cliche. People I would never have thought would love that movie love it. I remember sitting in the student union and listening to a girl, bizarre asymmetric hair died red, decked out in a sort of goth-lite outfit, babbling about how great Paul Henreid's performance was. I was about dumbstruck. But that's the kind of movie it is. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon Registered: Dec '00	Date Posted: 11/9 7:26pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	Yeah Casablanca is awesome. Though I'm a big NON-fan of that anti-piracy thing using footage from the movie on all my DVDs. Not even because of the message so much as because it's so artlessly done. Every time I see it I'm like "This thing annoys me so much I want to go out and pirate a bunch of movies for no reason but to spite it!" -----signature----- Personally if treating homosexuals with respect and dignity is the definition of 'anti-Christian' then I hope that Obama is the friggin' anti-Christ. - FIDo
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jedi-soon Registered: Nov '01	Date Posted: 11/9 8:06pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	I feel fortunate that I got to see Casablanca on the big screen in film school, but weird that my appreciation of it perhaps isn't what it should be. I think I should see it again! -----signature----- "let me see that jewel!" -abe "there's no such thing as the film. the 'film' is the thing that is spat out at the end." -gl "films are never completed, only abandoned." -alfred hitchcock My Star Wars animations and more at http://www.kneelingplant.com
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JohnWesleyDowney Registered: Jan '04	Date Posted: 11/9 8:10pm Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942) - Date Edited: 11/9 8:39pm (5 edits total) Edited By: JohnWesleyDowney
	A lot of movies from that period drag a bit for me. But Casablanca never does. I believe director Michael Curtiz believed in the adage "you can't see the teeth on a buzz saw" so he keeps it moving, moving, moving. The pacing and editing are excellent, particularly in the final scene at the airport. For such an emotional scene, it's got a lot of quick cuts in it. But it certainly works and keeps the tension going all the way to one of the greatest endings in the history of movies. Wanna have some fun, some serious movie fun? Check out this: Casablana Trivia As has been noted many times, for the majority of the shooting schedule, Ingrid Bergman did not know who she would end up with because the studio, writers, producer and director couldn't decide. Because she didn't know, she couldn't really tilt her performance in favor of either man. So there's uncertainty in the film because there's uncertainty in the actress. However, the trivia page I posted indicates there are a few scenes where she knew, because the farewell ending was not the very last scene shot. The plane at the airport in the distance is a model built to scale so it would register correctly on camera. The workers around the plane are of small stature to make the plane appear larger. I know America was already in World War II by the time this film was released, but I've seen some people credit it with increasing American involvement. For a film set so specifically in a place, time and historical context, it's oddly timeless and enduring. Strange how it does not date. And a Max Steiner score! Magnificent Tribute to Casablanca -----signature----- Namaste.
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 11/10 7:29am Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	Bogart ad-libbed the last line...I think.
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Miana Kenobi Title: Pacific RSA & NSWFF Mod On Limited Time Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 11/11 12:04am Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	Casablanca's my favorite film of all time. It's funny and moving every single time you watch it. Such amazing writing and great acting. -----signature----- President of San Diego FanForce He tini nga whetu e ngaro I te kapua iti. Dyslexics of the world, UNTIE!
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soitscometothis Registered: Jul '03	Date Posted: 11/11 2:58am Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	It's one of those films that I don't own on dvd because I find it more fun to catch it on tv when it turns up at Christmas, or on a Sunday afternoon. Does that make any sense? -----signature----- I am not an eel popsicle. Art: http://boards.theforce.net/Fan_Art/b10020/17816752/?21 Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 11/11 9:30am Subject: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) 3. Casablanca (1942)
	It's on TV so often, you don't need it on DVD.
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