MovieChat Forums > The Good German (2007) Discussion > In what ways is this movie like Casablan...

In what ways is this movie like Casablanca?

posted 3 years ago by brux (14774)
2 replies | jump to latest

There were two movies this reminded me of. One was a movie of the same era that is an older movie from the 50's or so [ just found it, "Berlin Express" ( 1948) ], and the other is Casablanca. This movie is practically a clone of Berlin Express, but if you find out about Berlin Express, it is so very much better than "The Good German" because it was filmed at the time these events were happening, by someone who was there and wrote a story to capture the feeling.

Obviously they were playing off Casablanca, almost comedically at the end with the propellor plane on the runway, but also in the plot of having a cryptic woman as the main character of the movie, despite it focusing on all the men and politicians and history. Yet, despite these vague similarities it is not set in a foreign land or during war and it doesn't have the same vibe or anywhere close to it ... and it also ends with no real point or conclusion, whereas Casablanca ends of resolved happy note.

Certainly Casablanca is the better movie by far, and more sensible movie. The Good German really made no point about any good German.

[–] Ed (527) 3 years ago

So, what was the other film? You never said.

I didn’t get a Casablanca vibe at all. It felt more like The Third Man to me.

I like that they tried to emulate 40’s films, but… too many cinematic wipes (this isn’t a serial or Star Wars), too much sex / nudity / swearing, Tobey was VERY miscast, Clooney was just Clooney. They overdid it with dramatic shadows, even 40’s film noir didn’t have this much. Camera movement was a bit too fluid, and sets looked too expensive. Most 40’s film noir were low budget. Film stock needs more grain.

Some big pluses : Cate Blanchett was incredible, like a Garbo or Dietrich. The music was pretty good too and felt like a good reproduction of 40’s or 50’s style scores. I’d recommend this movie as a good effort, just realize that this is ultimately a modern film dressed up to seem like a 40’s film.

[–] brux (14774) 3 years ago

Oh ... I am not sure I recall. It was an old movie, and the look and feel of it was exactly like this.
I thought Toby was great in that role ... he was a nasty piece of work and deserved what he got.
Clooney was a naive moron. That part of the movie was interesting.

Ah ... found it ... "Berlin Express" (1948) Robert Ryan, Merle Oberon ... great movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlfLqa54mww

Actually, Berlin Express to me is way better than "The Good German" which is if not a rip off a fraternal twin movie.

Here is a intro to this movie ...
Noir Alley: Berlin Express (1948) intro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFtvcZkkjAc

He talks about how the director actually went to Berlin after the war ... so it is a lot more true to life and informed by current events at the time. This intro is really informative.