Casablanca
Released: January 23, 1943
Michael Curtiz, director
Max Steiner, composer
I’m embarrassed to say that, until the PSO presented it on February 15th, I had not seen the movie Casablanca. I understood well that it is a classic; among the finest movies created, but while I love movies, most of my collection is post-2000. I am a huge fan of film scores, however, and am actually in the process of developing a continuing education course on the history of film scores. So when I received an email from the PSO announcing that they would be presenting Casablanca at Heinz Hall with the orchestra playing the film score live, ordering tickets was a no-brainer.
Even at 8:00 PM on a Sunday evening with the temperature well below freezing, Heinz Hall was packed and I would venture to say, no one was disappointed. The obvious gap in technology between films from this era (1940’s) and what we have grown accustomed to theses days was immediately apparent. The film is black and white, the audio lacks the fidelity of today’s movies, camera work, set design and the general, overall quality of production, while on a par with other films of the era, cannot compare to the multi-million dollar budgeted films of today. Still, the movie is magical. Even I, a baby-boomer with no first hand recollection of what life was like during WWII, was transported back to those times. After the first 15 minutes or so, all the shortcomings mentioned above soon were rendered meaningless.
Naturally, I was most interested in how effective a live performance of the film score would support the movie. The PSO was in plain view, situated onstage underneath the projection screen. Conductor Emil de Cou was equally conspicuous, but it wasn’t long before both conductor and orchestra virtually disappeared. De Cou’s conducting was clear and precise, never drawing attention to himself. The orchestra’s volume was perfectly balanced with the film’s audio. Even when accompanying Sam playing the piano and singing “As Time Goes By”, their sound blended with the film’s audio nicely.
Almost the entire film score is based on the song “As Time Goes By” and “La Marseillaise”. Certainly, Max Steiner squeezed much mileage out of “As Time Goes By”, perhaps too much as it eventually got to be a bit tiring. But the music accompanying scenes inside the Blue Parrot is unique and enchanting. What may be the first ever “battle of the bands” that occurs between the French “La Marseillaise” and the German “Die Wacht am Rhein” is a highlight and the turning point of the movie.
All aspects of cinematography have developed over the years since the advent of sound with film or the “talkies” and this is certainly noticeable with film scoring. But I somehow feel much of the magic I felt while watching Casablanca had much to do with the fact that I was seeing the original film in the technology of the 1940’s, not a remade period version using modern-day cinema technology with Dolby Digital Sound.
It’s similar to why I still prefer to seek out and buy a first edition music theory textbook by Howard Hanson, rather than an eBook version for an eReader…there’s something special in the original. I’m even planning on going back to listening to vinyl records for some music. I just can’t imagine listening to Sinatra at the Sands any other way! In the same vein, there’s no better way to experience a movie like Casablanca than in a former movie palace (Heinz Hall was formerly Loew’s Penn Theatre) in the original film format with a wonderful orchestra playing the film score…it’s magic!