A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

There is, of course, no such thing as a perfect movie. There’s always a little visual flub that got past a cinematographer or an editor, or there will be a bit of dialogue that doesn’t jive with reality. Such things are part and parcel of the art and business of filmmaking, after all. (C) 2012 Warner Home Video For instance, history-savvy "Casablanca" fans often wonder why the Nazis would honor letters of transit signed by Gen. Charles De Gaulle. De Gaulle, after all, was considered a traitor by the French collaborative government in Vichy. A more accurate script would have mentioned General  Weygand  as the issuer of the letters of transit. However, there are a handful of movies that are so good that they’re considered perfect even if they have flaws, and 1942’s Best Picture winner “Casablanca” is one of them. Written by Julius and Philip Epstein with Howard Koch, the screenplay is based on the stage play "Everybody Comes to Rick's" ...

Note: This a major revision of one of my first Epinions reviews. I wasn't too happy with either my original version or the rather low "turnout" hits-wise, so I decided to rewrite it almost completely.   Part One: Confessions of a Rank Sentimentalist  I love this book.  As a guy who has read hundreds of novels and non-fiction works, I can be classified as a certified (and, some might add,  certifiable ) bibliophile, and most people would say, "Hey, he reads and reviews lots of books...doesn't he love them all?"  Obviously, if I buy a book -- I rarely  borrow  books, and I haven't checked out any from the Miami Dade Public Library system in over 20 years -- I have to at least  like  it, so maybe I do love most of my books. I rarely say, point blank, that I  love  a book.  I can, however, honestly say that I love Michael Walsh's  As Time Goes By: A Novel of  Casablanca .  Not only am I a fan of the m...