A movie club for us people

When the AFI 100 Films list was first compiled in 1998, Casablanca was at number two. It's almost a cliche as America's favorite romantic movie, but for whatever reason it lives on as a popular classic. (The Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA, where I used to go during college, has a tradition of showing it every year and there's even a (possibly urban) legend about the dialogue cutting out during a screening and people standing up in the audience to speak the lines.)

If you haven't seen it, now's your chance! Much is made of the central romantic plot but I would also invite you to enjoy the rich life surrounding Rick's Café Américain--the side characters are all delightful.

Please post here or contact me if you need to find the movie. Most libraries should have it. I once worked at a Blockbuster that didn't, but we don't talk about such things.

Citizen Kane (1940) was Orson Welles' film debut. He co-wrote, directed, and starred in the film which has now become a classic though at the time it was a box office failure and the beginning of the end of what could have been an illustrious film career and an unprecedented contract for a 25-year-old radio and Broadway personality.

The film is available through Netflix, though not streaming. Most libraries should have a copy. If anyone has difficulty finding it, please contact me or comment here and we'll figure something out.

Discussion will begin on Wednesday, February 1. In the meantime, feel free to use this post to discuss your impressions of the film before seeing it, Welles' career, your expectations, etc. Just don't tell anyone what "rosebud" means.