Skip to content

Eye on the Prize Ep 16 – Best Picture Review – Casablanca

Eye On The Prize Awards Show Podcast

The Prizefighters return to discuss another Best Picture winner! This time, they are going deep into the vault to discuss one of Hollywood’s most beloved films made during the studio system era: Michael Curtiz’s 1942 masterpiece Casablanca. We’re sure you know the story here. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) runs a cafe in Casablanca, Morocco in 1941, where the city is under the thumb of the Nazi government through its Vichy puppet organization. One day, a former lover of Rick’s named Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) arrives with her husband Victor Lazlo (Paul Heinreid), a fugitive wanted by the Nazis for escaping a concentration camp and promoting the resistance against them. Though jilted over Ilsa abandoning him years ago, Rick is asked to aid them in escaping Casablanca before the Nazis can close in on them. Can he mend his broken heart long enough to aid in their fight or will he keep standing on the sidelines as he has for far too long?

Justin, Shak, and Brad go in-depth in reviewing this movie and discussing various trivia surrounding the film along with its legacy as a Best Picture winner. From humorous stories about Michael Curtiz’s thick Hungarian accent to discussing the impressive resume of cinematographer Arthur Edeson, this is a worthwhile discussion of an enduring classic whose influence continues to be felt to this day.