Casablanca: Script and Legend

by Howard Koch

Released in December 1942, Casablanca is the classic of all classic films, the enduring triumph of Hollywood's golden age. This volume contains the complete screenplay as well as a behind-the-scenes look at how the Oscar-winning movie was made, by one of its writers, Howard Koch. Charles Champlin, Roger Ebert, Umberto Eco, and others contribute incisive analyses of the movie's timeless appeal, and twenty-five beautifully reproduced stills capture the dramatically charged scenes of this true American classic.

Genres: Film, Fiction, Media Tie In, Romance, Classics, War, Art

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Howard E. Koch was an American playwright and screenwriter who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s.

Reviews

[Radwa]

ازعجني اوي مشهد السلام الجمهوري اللي كانوا بيتخانقوا عليه في الكازينو
ألمانيا عايزة تعرف نشيدها
وفرنسا عايزة تعزف نشيدها
وهما الاثنين على أرض مش بتاعتهم أصلا (المغرب)
حسيت المغرب هنا متمثلة في شخصية Humphrey Bogart
مش فارق معاه حاجة وقاعد يتفرج

[Kellen Quigley · Rating 5 out of 5]

On either side of what is arguably one of the greatest screenplays ever is a series of essays talking about the making of, the behind-the-scenes, reviews at the time and retrospectives and analyses of the film 50 years later. A look at the importance and incredible storytelling 'Casablanca' had in 1942 and has affected years later was fascinating to read, but still not as wonderful to read as the script itself.

[Chóe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuốn sách bao gồm một số bài giới thiệu, kịch bản phim và tổng hợp một số bài phân tích.
Hoá ra cả bộ phim ra đời một cách vội vã và dưới sự quản lý cẩu thả. Tuy nhiên, mọi thứ của bộ phim này (kể cả sự cẩu thả) đã định đây chắc chắn là một bộ phim kinh điển. Cuốn sách chỉ có một nhiệm vụ duy nhất là làm người đọc hiểu thêm về bộ phim này ở nhiều góc nhìn khác nhau.

[adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Rick’s Place” was used as a military code for the city of Casablanca in World War 2

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book consist of the script for one of the best movies ever made and a bunch of short essays by people talking about how it’s one of the best movies ever made. Very easy 5 stars.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: the best film of all time? The author was one of the writers. This thirtieth anniversary work contains the screenplay, analysis and photos.

[Jaclyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a university must-read/watch. My rating and likeness for this screenplay may be affected by it being the first screenplay I ever read and analyzed.

[Tiaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μy favourite movie...and one of the best love stories evah!!

[Sneh Pradhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Timeless classic as it is , I have always found war stories riveting and poignant and more so, those with the Nazi occupations as background ....

[Muhammad Kamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

We'll always have Casablanca.

[Phil Giunta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been in my collection for well over a decade. At the time of purchase, I had only flipped through it to read excerpts from the script.

Recently, I was inspired to pull it from my bookshelf and read the surrounding material—preface, foreword, introductions, essays, and reviews—by such notable names as Ralph J. Gleason (renown music critic and founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine), film scholar Richard Brown, Charles Champlin (retired arts editor and columnist from the LA Times), Roger Ebert (practically a household name as film critics go), TIME magazine film critic Richard Corliss, author and historian Aljean Harmetz, and Umberto Eco, professor of semiotics at University of Bologna.

Eco and Corliss provide the most in-depth analyses of Casablanca with Eco delving into the myriad symbolisms and subtexts of the film, while Corliss focuses on the characterizations, relationships, and dialogue.

All of that—in addition to the brilliant script started by Julius and Philip Epstein and finished as breakneck speed by the then untried Howard Koch—and the scattered still shots from the film, make this 50th anniversary edition a treasure for any Casablanca fan and/or film scholar.

[Sarah Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not everyone thinks reading a script is fun, but when that script is for "Casablanca" (arguably one of the best films of all time) and the book includes the backstory behind the script and the movie itself, then it's a MUST READ for movie fans and readers alike.

I followed along with the script while watching the movie, which gave me a real feel for the actors' ability to breath life into the written word with little in the way of direction.

Howard Koch gives us not only a beautiful script, but a very entertaining peak into the world of Classic Hollywood.

[Connor Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the greatest scripts of all time. The writing in this is utterly brilliant and something that every screenwriter should read. The nail-biting story behind it is fascinating and adds to the impressiveness of the wit and depth behind it. Although the last section of the book is basically Koch complaining about how modern movies are made and that we shouldn't have auteurs. His ramblings take away from the overall flow of the book and leave the end with bad taste.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still the best film ever for me. It's wonderful to read the script and see the words unspool so beautifully, and then to re-engage with the movie. I'm all for inarticulate realism, but the lines are so good in this movie that I want there to have been such a world, once, when the stakes were high, the people were thinking about saving the world or saving themselves, and their actions were pure and final.

[Ian Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great script with an interesting history, Casablanca is a classic film that has stood the test of time for over 80 years. This book includes the screenplay, but also analysis, criticism, and commentary about the script and the film itself.

Fans of the movie, Hollywood history, or film analysis will definitely enjoy this book.

A definite recommend.

[Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best love story of all time, disguised as a war movie. Absolutely perfect. I've seen this movie half a dozen times and reading the script isn't a bore. Highly recommend to anyone who loves classic cinema.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite movies of all time. Reading the script brought it to life in a new way. Didn't really care for the essays - they were repetitive and too superficial to hold my interest. Would have much preferred if movie trivia was included instead.

[E. Merrill Brouder · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...#

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good twists

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives background on how the script came to be, the script, pictures from the movie, and how it relates to today with observances from young people who have seen it

[Charles Lovelace, III · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the script of the movie was great. I thought the background was interesting, but I would have liked more information, particularly surrounding the actors and actresses.

[Stephen Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book-script combination!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many interesting essays about the movie, including one but the screen writer.

[MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paired with the movie is perfection.

[Byron Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a classic and maybe Today the story will not have the impact than it had in the 40s but still, it is captivating and worthy to read.

[José Manuel González Pacheco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recuperando joyas de la biblioteca de casa, releída esta sensacional edición del mejor guion cinematográfico de todos los tiempos.

[Bear]

i like that they acknowledge the sexual tension between renault and rick in the analysis

[Michael Lydon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minus one star only because of some questionable supplemental material; the screenplay is literally perfect.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning.

I suppose if I read the script again I could see faults, and I suppose in some ways I can see faults with it already. But to be honest the overall story, the ultimate sacrifice of Rick makes up for everything, the telling of the love seems so true and honest that to be honest (haha) it sweeps the story up and you can't see anything wrong with the script at all.

I would love to see the film now. I almost never cry or get emotional reading scripts or books (aside from Charlottes web, get's me everytime) and this script was no different, however in saying that I truly felt the heaviness of that last scene and felt strongly for Ilsa. It's a case of you want Rick and her to be together in the end but you can see why Rick gave her over to Lazlo, perhaps though he gave her to him because she had destroyed him so much when she left him originally and his feeling for women since them was such he didn't want her to have the upper hand or get what she wanted in the end, though somehow I don't believe that so much because of how he felt for her, how almost delusional he was when she turned up. "Here's looking at you kid...."

I can see why Hugh hefner watches this every year on his birthday.

[Nhi Nguyễn · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first few pages that I read, I knew that I would give this book a 5-star rating, and it turns out I was right!

This book has everything that I love and long to read in a media-tie-in/book about movies. Along with all the beautiful words written about the movie, including the deep, heartfelt analytic reviews from the top-notch movie critics about the story in "Casablanca" and its intriguing web of interesting characters, are the breathtaking pictures that remind me of a beautiful, glorious time in the history of world's movie-making.

What I love most about this book is the way the author wrote all the words, and how the brilliant translators that brought these words to life in Vietnamese, which not only highly appreciate the golden movie, but also put me in the mood for feeling it more deeply and emotionally.

Through reading this book, I could understand more about "Casablanca", about the unique situation in which was created, and how it became such a glorious, memorable movie that continues to be talked about these days. It clearly has some outstanding, unforgettable characteristics that made it such a hit, not only critically but also commercially and emotionally. So happy to read such a book that further enhances a golden movie!