"Casablanca" (1942) - RE-WATCH

Rank on the AFI List: #3

Synopsis (according to imdb.com)
Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

LET ME EXPLAIN...
The first time I watched this was shortly before I officially began My Quest.  I thought it was a decent movie at the time, but I didn't really get why it's considered the 3rd best movie of all time.  On top of that, my wife just didn't like it at all.  I was actually surprised that she was up for watching this one again with me.

Fortunately for both of us, we ended up "getting" this movie a lot more the second time around.  It's a good story that ties in World War II, a complicated romance, great acting, and a wonderful atmosphere and script (this film has more quotes on the AFI's Top 100 List than any other film in history, with six.  The next closest is Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz with half that).  This is a great movie.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
1) An engaging plot with a script full of legendary movie quotes.
2) Terrific acting.
3) Characters that are "real" and developed well throughout.
4) Great cinematography.
5) It's set during a major war (and was even released in the middle of the war) and didn't shy away from letting the Nazis know what we thought of them.

"Casablanca" was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

Complaints:
You really need to pay attention to even minor characters' names and practically every line (which was oftentimes difficult to hear or understand).  Sometimes the plot would seem to progress simply by a quick dialogue here or there.  This got me a little lost a couple times.

LET ME SUM UP...
Classic cinema with an interesting story and characters you really care about.  It's well acted, has several legendary movie quotes, and is set during World War II.  It took my wife and I a second viewing before we really began appreciating how good this film really is.

MY RATING: 8/10 (1 higher from my previous rating)

"Apocalypse Now" (1979) - RE-WATCH

Rank on the AFI List: #30

Synopsis (according to imdb.com):
During the on-going Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade Green Beret who has set himself up as a God among a local tribe.

LET ME EXPLAIN...
As I mentioned in my very first post on this blog, this movie freaked me out.  I literally couldn't stop trembling the rest of the night after I watched this in my American Film class.  And that's really all I remembered about it, so I was curious to see how I'd like watching it again, 10 years later.

Fortunately, I managed to not only keep from trembling, but I ended up realizing just how good this movie really is.  More than anything, it's very good storytelling.  My wife and I were engaged in the plot the entire time, and I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Of course, I was also NOT wanting to know what happens next because the main characters kept moving deeper and deeper into a hellish environment (I still hold fast to my opinion in my Platoon post that "Apocalypse Now" isn't so much a movie about the Vietnam War, but a horror story set during the Vietnam War).  Seriously, when I hear the term "hell on earth", I picture scenes from this movie.

On that happy note, one thing my wife and I both realized after this movie ended: Francis Ford Coppola is one of the best story-telling directors ever.  You just can't get much better than this movie and "The Godfather" when it comes to how to tell a story on film.  Also, major props to being able to develop a character throughout the movie who doesn't even appear on screen until the end.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
This film has several things going for it:
1) Brilliant storytelling, as mentioned above.
2) It's set during a major war in America's history.
3) It's star-studded: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford (granted, it was a minor role), and Francis Ford Coppola as director.
4) Terrific cinematography, particularly with Marlon Brando's character.  There's some awesome use of lighting with him.

"Apocalypse Now" was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning 2 (Best Cinematography, Best Sound).  I've never seen it, but I find it hard to believe that Kramer vs Kramer deserved Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay more than this film.  Oh well.

Complaints:
Well, aside from not being the type of story I'd particularly enjoy sitting through on a whim, it actually felt a bit slow at times in the final 45 minutes.  Still good, but it didn't seem paced as well as the rest of the movie.

LET ME SUM UP...
An extremely well-told story of Vietnam soldiers venturing deeper and deeper into "Hell".  Felt a tad slow at times toward the end, but all in all a very, very well-made film.

MY RATING: 8/10 (2 higher from my previous rating)