Seriously? You need us to explain what Casablanca's about? We guess not everybody's seen it, somehow. You really should, though. It's considered a classic for a reason (ie because it totally is one). Humphrey Bogart is a spurned lover who sets himself up as the head of a cool club in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II. Everything's going pretty well until the woman who did the spurning, Ingrid Bergman, turns up. And she's brought along her new husband, a Czech freedom fighter on the run from the Nazis. Bogie has to choose between letting the dude get locked up so he can have Bergman all to himself, or helping the war effort by ensuring safe passage for this hero with his connections. It's a crazy good film, no doubt helped by the amazing cast and the palpable chemistry between Bogie and Bergman, despite the pair of them not getting on at all off-screen. Then there's the ubiquitous score, the lines of dialogue that have entered popular culture (even if some of them are incorrect), the tragically romantic ending...sigh. Still, it looks all old, doesn't it? Casablanca was not only about the Second World War but was produced during it, making it something of a curious period piece about the very period it was filmed. Wouldn't it be so much more entertaining if it was set in a nebulous future during the "Second American Civil War," starring Pamela Anderson? We guess somebody must've had that exact thought process to bring Barb Wire to the screen. Or at least to adapt it from its comic book source material. Barb Wire sees all the genders of Casablanca's cast switched but otherwise the plot unfolds in pretty much the exact same way, except with more hand grenades, sci-fi tech and silicon implants. And car chases. Nobody involved with the film admitted its debt to Casablanca but Roger Ebert pegged it from the off in his review, whilst making endless unflattering comparisons. But come on: dystopian sci-fi Casablanca starring Pamela Anderson is totally something you wanna watch now, right?
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
