tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405421.post2722699383091873326..comments2023-12-12T02:46:13.596-06:00Comments on Seth Saith: Citizen Kane vs. Casablanca, a classic debateSeth Arkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16009137272886018009noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405421.post-22278029850516099762012-02-15T06:26:01.490-06:002012-02-15T06:26:01.490-06:00You know I would have agreed with everything you s...You know I would have agreed with everything you said twenty years ago...even ten years ago. But here I am approaching 50 and I have to say that while I still maintain the highest affection and admiration for Welles and all that he (and Toland) accomplished, Kane is a picture that has aged over time. It's still a masterpiece, but Casablanca has usurped its position as number one (to my way of thinking). Bogart Bergman is timeless and the dialogue is unmatched. The scene with Rick allowing Laszlo to lead the house band in La Marseillaise never fails to give me chills. A great film should move you as well as entertain you. Casablanca does both. Also, although film purists prefer scenes from Kane for their technical merits, Casablanca has more "great" scenes: The beautiful friendship scene, the "We'll always have Paris" scene, the "La Marseillaise" scene, etc. etc. Kane has several very good scenes that LOOK great thanks mostly to Gregg Toland. As for acting, I think both Welles and Bogart had better performances (Welles in LFS and Bogart in TKM) but they're evenly matched in Kane and Casablanca. Where Casablanca wins is in supporting cast. The Mercury players are good, but not uniformly so and there are some wooden and overly hammy performances here. In Casablanca, the supporting cast is the pride of pre-war Europe and absolutely elevate the undertaking to a higher level. In closing, I take nothing away from Kane, it's still the seminal masterpiece it always was, but I think Casablanca is the ultimate "movie" movie and deserving of the number one spot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8405421.post-33171572485362469552010-04-09T09:57:59.454-05:002010-04-09T09:57:59.454-05:00Seth: This is Suzi from your movie meetup group. I...Seth: This is Suzi from your movie meetup group. I just taught KANE for about the 200th time (no exaggeration), and there are concrete reasons why KANE is considered "great" that are not a matter of personal taste. It's great not because it is "better" than CASABLANCA but because it is "different." It takes a historical perspective to explain it, but if you are interested, e-mail me through the movie discussion group, and I will be more than happy to offer a historical perspective.Suzinoreply@blogger.com