I'm an incurable romantic, and Casablanca's one of the most romantic pictures I've ever seen - the combination of Bogart and Bergman is just magical.
One thing that I think works in 'Casablanca' and which I've lectured a lot about - in terms of what I've been trying to achieve as a designer - is the film's creation of its own form of reality.
It takes courage to stay young, to make your enthusiasms work for you. Don't let anyone drag you down.
With Kubrick and most film directors, they are in complete control, but one can influence them.
The Berlin of the '20s formed the foundation of my future education... the Berlin of the UFA studios, of Fritz Lang, Lubitsch and Erich Pommer. The Berlin of the architects Gropius, Mendelsohn and Mies van der Rohe. The Berlin of the painters Max Libermann, Grosz, Otto Dix, Klee and Kandinsky.
