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930 reviews in total

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63 out of 85 people found the following review useful:
As time goes by, it's still one of the all-time greats..., 17 May 2001
Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

While my personal Bogey favorite is still his Sam Spade in 'The Maltese Falcon', his cynical nightclub owner, Rick, in 'Casablanca', is also a standout. Rather than some "off the cuff" comments, I'll quote instead from my article on Claude Rains (from March 2000 issue of CLASSIC IMAGES) that pretty well sums up the film:

"It was 1943's 'Casablanca', bustling with melodramatic wartime intrigue, that really put him (Claude Rains) in the forefront as one of the screen's smoothest character actors, almost--but not quite--stealing the film from Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, as the uniformed Captain Louis Renault who investigates the goings-on at Rick's notorious cafe.

Nobody associated with the film guessed that it would become a screen classic, least of all its director, Michael Curtiz, the prolific WB director to whom it was just another assignment. It went on to win the Oscar for Best Film of 1943 with an award for Curtiz' taut direction.

Oddly enough, the film's memorable airport ending was written and conceived just shortly before filming wrapped up, with neither Bergman nor Bogart knowing whether or not she would leave him for husband Paul Henried. Wartime audiences loved the film. Sydney Greenstreet, Conrad Veidt, Victor Francen and Peter Lorre all gave sterling performances and Rains was again nominated for Best Supporting actor."

And by the way, I disagree with a former comment indicating the black and white photography of this film was primitive as compared to today's. Incredible nonsense!! As a matter of fact, the film's black and white cinematography was nominated for an Oscar!

Ingrid Bergman was at the peak of her radiant beauty in this one--and Bogey was firing on all six cylinders. Great chemistry!

As time goes by, we still have 'Casablanca'...

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126 out of 215 people found the following review useful:
Quite simply the greatest film in American history, 31 December 1999

Author: Shane Hayes (ShaneJayHayes) from Austin, TX

Casablanca is the consummate Hollywood film. It is superbly directed, acted, and filmed. Bogart is amazing, the characters are deep and engaging.

This is easily one of the greatest films of all time. The story is timeless and meaningful, full of heart and should endure for another fifty years with no problems. A true masterpiece and the benchmark by which all other films should be measured. If you haven't seen it, you are at a profound loss. If you have then you know the greatness of this film.

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Of all the gin joints, in all the world..., 18 November 2005
Author: mryerson from hollywood, california

Sunday, November the 20th is the anniversary of Marcel Dalio's death in 1983. It was the end of a serendipitous life. You know him. He was a citizen of the world. Born Israel Moshe Blauschild, in Paris, in 1900, he became a much sought-after character actor. His lovely animated face with its great expressive eyes became familiar across Europe. He appeared in Jean Renoir's idiosyncratic Rules of the Game, and Grand Illusion, arguably the greatest of all films. True to his Frenchman's heart, he married the very young, breathtaking beauty Madeleine LeBeau. He worked with von Stroheim and Pierre Chenal. He had it all.

But then the Germans crushed Poland, swept across Belgium and pressed on toward Paris. He waited until the last possible moment and finally, with the sound of artillery clearly audible, with Madeleine, fled in a borrowed car to Orleans and then, in a freight train, to Bordeaux and finally to Portugal. In Lisbon, they bribed a crooked immigration official and were surreptitiously given two visas for Chile. But on arriving in Mexico City, it was discovered the visas were rank forgeries. Facing deportation, Marcel and Madeleine found themselves making application for political asylum with virtually every country in the western hemisphere. Weeks passed until Canada finally issued them temporary visas and they left for Montreal.

Meanwhile, France had fallen and, in the process of subjugating the country, the Germans had found some publicity stills of Dalio. A series of posters were produced and were then displayed throughout the city with the caption 'a typical Jew' so that citizens could more easily report anyone suspected of unrepentant Jewishness. The madness continued. 'Entree des artistes', a popular film, was ordered re-edited so that Dalio's scenes could be deleted and re-shot with another, non-Jewish, actor.

After a short time, friends in the film industry arranged for them to arrive in Hollywood. Nearly broke, Marcel was immediately put to work in a string of largely forgettable films. Madeleine, a budding actress in her own right, was ironically cast in 'Hold Back the Dawn', a vehicle for Charles Boyer with a plot driven by the efforts of an émigré (Boyer) trying desperately to cross into the United States from Mexico. But the real irony was waiting at Warner Brothers.

In early 1942, Jack Warner was driving production of a film based on a one act play, 'Everybody Comes to Rick's' but had no screenplay. What he had was a mishmash of treatments loosely based on the play and two previous movies. But he had a projected release date and a commitment to his distributors to have a movie for that time slot and little else. Warner Brothers started to wing it.

Shooting started without a screenplay and little plot. Principal players were cast and a director hired but casting calls for supporting roles and bit players continued and sometime in the early spring Marcel Dalio and Madeleine LeBeau were cast as, respectively, a croupier and a romantic entanglement for the male lead. Veteran screen-writers were hired to produce a running screenplay, sometimes delivering pages of dialogue one day, for scenes to be shot the following day. No one knew exactly where the plot would go or how the story would turn out. No one was sure of the ending. And, of course, they produced a classic, perhaps the finest American movie.

They produced a screenplay of multiple genres, rich with characterizations, perfectly in tune with the unfolding events in Europe and loaded with talent from top to bottom. Oh, and they changed the title to 'Casablanca'.

It is so well known, that many lines of long-memorized dialogue have passed into the slang idiom. 'We'll always have Paris', 'I was misinformed', 'Here's looking at you, kid', ' I am shocked! Shocked! To find that there's gambling going on in here!', 'Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship', 'Oh he's just like any other man, only more so', 'I don't mind a parasite. I object to a cut-rate one', 'Round up the usual suspects', and, of course, the oft quoted, apocryphal, 'Play it again, Sam'.

Madeleine LeBeau plays Yvonne, the jilted lover of Humphrey Bogart, who is seen drowning her sorrows at the bar early in the film and who later, to get back at Rick and looking for solace takes up with a German officer finding only self-hatred. She is luminous.

And when Claude Rains delivers the signature line, 'I'm shocked! Shocked! To find that there's gambling going on in here!' the croupier, Emil, played by Marcel Dalio, approaches from the roulette table and says simply, 'Your winnings, sir.' It is a delicious moment ripe with scripted irony, one among many in this film, but one made all the more so, knowing where Dalio came from and what he and his wife had endured to arrive at that line.

I have often wondered exactly when they saw the final script or if they only realised the many parallels to their own lives when the film was released.

Alas, they separated and divorced the next year, both going on to long successful careers. Dalio never remarried.

Late in his career, when Mike Nichols was looking for a vaguely familiar face to deliver a long and worldly, near-monologue in Catch-22, he turned to Dalio. Faced with a hopelessly idealistic young American pilot, Dalio, as simply 'old man in whore house', in tight close-up, delivers a discourse on practical people faced with impractical circumstances, of the virtues of expedience in the face of amorality . Using his wonderful plastic features, now beginning to sag, in a voice full of melancholy, the old man reassures the young man that regardless of what 'grand themes' may be afoot in the world, in the end, little matters but survival.

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
I laughed! I cried!, 29 June 2003

Author: TEENQUEEN1171987 from United States

Most teenagers don't watch classics I know. But after they've seen this one, there's no turning back! This is the classic to end all classics (That and Gone With The Wind which rocked! but the ending was a bit unusual.) I had been an Ingrid Bergman fan after watching Gaslight with my drama class. It was great because I love a good mystery type thing.

Casablanca was a bit confusing at first, but I found out in the end that it has just the right blend of romance, drama, and comedy. Plus, my dad instilled in me a love for all things World War II related.

I would recommend this movie for children 15 and older, not because there's anything bad, but simply because I don't think younger children would understand it. You guys my age, this is a great Sit-down-and-watch-with-your-girl-on-a-rainy-afternoon type movie, and parents already love it, so everyone's happy.

I always say when I write these things that, even though I liked it, you might not. CHeck it out for yourself and form your own opinion.

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Casablanca gets better and better as time goes by!, 27 June 2004

Author: jotix100 from New York

Saw this classic in DVD format the other night. I must confess that it looks just as good as I remembered it. Michael Curtiz's film is a curious one. It enjoys presently perhaps more popularity than when it originally made its debut in 1942. As new generations discovered the picture, they made it a timeless film, and generations to come will also be charmed by it.

The story of Rick and Ilsa and their impossible love affair will be something to be treasured by film lovers forever. Casablanca in the 40s was a hot bed of intrigue; lots of people tried to get there, but perhaps leaving the place was harder because the red tape of that era and the fact that the Nazis had a way to spoil a party.

In a lot of ways, this is a dated film. By today standards it would be politically incorrect. But ultimately, we all fall under the spell that Michael Curtiz created and for almost two hours we are in Casablanca among the spies and would be travelers eavesdropping into their conversations and the different schemes going on.

Humphrey Bogart was an actor without the looks of some of the handsome male stars of that era, yet, he is mesmerizing as Rick Blaine. It would be hard to imagine another actor playing Rick other that Bogart. Ingrid Bergman was at the height of her career when she made the film. Her chemistry with her co star is one of the best things going, since they made it believable.

The rest of the cast is flawless. Paul Henreid, as Victor Lazlo, cuts quite a figure and it is hard to think Ilsa would prefer Rick to this suave and sophisticated man. Claude Rains is good as Capt. Renault. Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, S.K. Sakall, and above all Dooley Wilson, as Sam, made a magnificent contribution to the film in small roles.

Casablanca gets better and better, as time goes by.

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11 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Here's Looking At You Kids!!!, 24 January 2006

Author: dataconflossmoor from United States

Generation after generation will continue to love this splendid film, just as many previous generations have enjoyed this movie in the past!! (The principle reason for me bastardizing one of this movie's famous quotes) "Casablanca" has, undeniably, withstood the test of time!! This film evokes a romantic humanism into the thick of World War II!!! Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman are magnificent as the tormented love interest duo who do not seem to be able to piece everything together, they just know they love each other, and more importantly, something clicks!!! Originally, Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheriden were cast for the roles of Rick and Ilsa, as it turns out, you cannot imagine any two other people besides Humphry Bogart and Ingrid Bergman for the roles!! These two performers exude more of a continental flair!! The American fascination for this flick is thoroughly justified!! Winning the academy award for best picture in 1943, "Casablanca" was just one of the many movies in the late 1930's and early 1940's which epitomized an era for excellent movies!! Based on the book "Everybody Comes To Ricks", Hal B. Wallis produces this film with a flawless orchestration!! The place, Casablanca, becomes a citadel of despondence and despair for so many people, yet for Rick and Ilsa, (Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman) the situation is tailor made for a passionate redemption!! Max Steiner encompasses a necessary nostalgia with the music in this film. "As Time Goes By" (made in 1931) became enormously popular with this movie!! The whole scene is set up whereby Paris becomes a venue for unprecedented and wondrous romanticism!! "Casablanca" is, without question, one of the greatest movies ever made!! You must remember this, a movie is just a movie!! Unless!! It is the movie of all time; "Casablanca"!! I will see "Casablanca" over and over and over again and never be tired of it!! EVERYBODY SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE!! I guarantee you, you will not be disappointed!!! This film has 6 of the top 100 famous quotes in the history of all American film making!! Humphrey Bogart and Marlon Brando may lay claim to the most quotes from this list. Many colloquialisms from "Casablanca" have fallen within the realm of popular modern day jargon!! This website ranks "Casablanca" 11th best picture out of the top 250. AFI (American Film Institue) ranks "Casablanca" the second best American film ever made. I feel this is very impressive!! You will truly marvel at this film, in fact, if you do not think "Casablanca" is not one of the greatest films you have ever seen, I will be utterly amazed!!! AN ALL TIME MOVIE CLASSIC!!!!!!

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19 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
Tough To Beat This Movie, 8 February 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States

I am not getting into the "The greatest picture of all-time" debate. It's too subjective but if I forced to cast a vote, I would give this the most serious consideration. I mean, what aspect of this film isn't top-notch?

The dialog is superb, one of the best ever put on film. The acting is great, cinematography first-rate and the story offers an interesting mix of drama, action, romance, music...you name it. This film has everything but color, which might prohibit of a lot of younger folks from ever checking this classic out. That would be a shame because film- making doesn't get much better than "Casablanca."

All of this doesn't mean it's my favorite film of all-time. It isn't even in my top ten but I always find it very, very enjoyable and the latest 2-disc DVD transfer makes it even better to view.

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, of course, are the stars but I always found Claude Raines' character the best to watch. His witty dialog as the police chief always makes me smile. He has many clever lines and isn't a guy you can figure out. He and Bogart's character are similar, essentially coming across as people who only care about themselves but deep inside are good-hearted people.

The ending is much discussed and very famous and helps make the movie so revered. There has been so much written about this film that there I won't add more except to make one negative statement but that's about a line in the story and not a reflection on the quality of the film. I wasn't impressed that Bergman, despite being married, was willing to run off with Bogart, claiming she "doesn't know" what's right or wrong! Are you serious? Well, judging by the marriage records of Hollywood over the years, maybe they don't know adultery just might be wrong. Anyway, other than that, this is a great movie with many, many classic scenes. Bergman never looked prettier, albeit the aid of soft lens shots on her closeups, and Bogey was never more, well, Bogey, than in here. Add Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and other fine actors and wow, what a cast!

An added bonus is hearing "As Time Goes By" throughout the film, a haunting song. Actually, there are several songs played, mainly by pianist Dooley Wilson, and they're all fun to hear. As I said, one could go on and on about this movie. 'Nuff said.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
THE Greatest Movie Ever Made, 13 July 2006

Author: Brodieman808 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Arguably the greatest film ever made. It is a classic for a reason, this film tells a great story, tells a love story and is a political commentary at the same time, all while being supremely entertaining.

From start to finish this movie continues to pull you in, and makes remarkable references to world events at the time. You are introduced to Rick, played by the legendary Humphrey Bogart, an American who "sticks his neck out for nobody" but who was fought bravely in the past against the same type of enemy the other characters are up against. This is clearly a singular personification of the history and the stance America had in 1941 prior to Pearl Harbor. Early in the story we see the keys to salvation handed over to him by Ugarte, played by Jewish actor Peter Lorre, who himself fled from the Nazi's in 1933 to come to America. Ugarte who is killed summarily early on in the story is something of a representative of the heartless horrors that Jewish refugees were telling of what was happening to Jews in Nazi Europe at the time. Rick is now the safeguard of "letters of transit" which play an important role and overall become a character in their own.

Taking place in what can only be described as purgatory we are introduced to a host of characters that need help to get out and the ones that prey on those needing that help. In this place the Vichy French, under influence of the Nazi's rule the land, and their prefect, the corrupt but still somehow noble in a way, Captain Renault, who becomes a representative of all French who wish to be free of Nazi rule, mainly because he doesn't like being told what to do more than anything. It is into this we see the great conflict as Victor Laslo, a legendary Czech freedom fighter against Nazi rule is brought into the story. Victor becomes a representative of all of Europe that needs the help of America, and as the singular American in the story, speaking for all of us he seeks out Rick, who now holds the key to Victors, and his wife's freedom. With the introduction of Victor Laslo we meet his wife Ilsa Lund, played by Ingrid Bergman, who we learn has had a past with Rick, a past that has scarred them both, but their feelings still remain. Here we see the American past with Europe personified, we have a past with that continent and most of us love that past but we want our own future and now our past love needs our help, so Rick has to come to the rescue. This relationship is summed up in one line Ilsa says to Rick "you have to think for both of us, for all of us" where we see the desperation and the need for salvation.

The climax to the movie is a masterful one, where a race to get Victor and Ilsa on the last plane out of Casablanca is taking place, where Rick has weaved a web of decit that bravely ensures they will get out alive if all goes according to plan. Prior to their escape one of the most famous monologues takes place that almost brings tears to the eyes of all who see it. And after the dust has settled Rick, the American, and Captain Renault the Frenchmen who has realigned his allegiances and saved Rick from the Nazi's walk off into the foggy night in what is "the beginning of a beautiful friendship" where side by side the Americans will stand with the French against the Nazi's.

In the end we see it as a highly critical editorial commentary made by Warner Brothers of the stance America had before entering the war. It also stands as a noble and optimistic beacon for events to come.

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
I'd Like to Think You Killed a Man, It's the Romantic in Me, 16 August 2003

Author: David H. Schleicher from New Jersey, USA

It's that kind of cynicism that makes this old-time classic endearing to a modern day audience. "Casablanca" is a noirish melodrama set against the back-drop of WWII and Europeans fleeing to America by way of French Morocco. What's so refreshing about it, in spite of its classical love triangle theatrics, is that is never places romantic love on a pedestal. It realizes that in a world of uncertainty where neutrality is the biggest crime, there are more noble things than love.

This movie is sited by many critics and viewers alike as one of the top three greatest films ever made. It's easy to see why. It contains probably the greatest dialogue ever written for the screen. It stars two screen icons in their greatest roles and a superb supporting cast. It's directed by Curtiz with a complete lack of pretension. There's nothing overtly artistic about it, or any sign that anybody involved was trying too hard. Essentially this was a gathering of classy professionals who set out to accomplish one thing: make an entertaining film. In the process, they might have made the greatest. Unlike so many of the other classics of this period, you never have to view it "in context" to appreciate and enjoy it. Rock solid entertainment anchored by smart writing cleverly cast and competently directed translates well in any day and age. Play it again, Sam, and it gets even better As Time Goes By.

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7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Why I think Casablanca is better than Citizen Kane, 3 September 2007

Author: rickhavoc1 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I know everyone won't agree with me, but I think Casablanca is the better movie for the following reasons.

1. Better cast. Humphrey Bogart vs. Orson Welles? No contest. Ingrid Bergman vs. any of the actresses in CK? Again, no contest. The same goes for the rest.

2. Better, tighter plot and pacing. The plot and pacing of Casablanca is totally superior. You have to pay attention through the entire movie or you will miss crucial dialog or plot developments. Citizen Kane's plot moves at a snail's pace by comparison, and it's non-linear, which makes it more confusing. Plus, Casablanca tells a better story.

3. Better romance. Who even talks about the romance in Citizen Kane?

4. Greater truths explored. While the truths explored in Citizen Kane are important, (limits of wealth and power, the dangers of one man gaining too much power), Casablanca explores more and greater truths, such as freedom being worth any sacrifice, that no matter how many people tyrants kill there are always others who will step up to replace them, how America was seen as the last hope for freedom by those trying to escape from or being oppressed by Nazi tyranny, the critical importance of fidelity in marriage, (which CK barely touched on), and how totally cynical men like Rick and Captain Renault could become patriots, just to name a few.

5. Better musical score. Although both scores were nominated for Academy Awards, I really think the score for Casablanca was far more memorable.

6. Many more memorable lines. Do I really have to go into this? I don't think so. Besides, plenty of others have already posted comments here about the many memorable lines in Casablanca.

7. More Academy Awards. 3 for Casablanca vs. 1 for Citizen Kane.

8. Better final scene. I just think seeing Rick and Captain Renault walking off together with the line, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." beats the scene of "Rosebud" being burned up all hollow. Plus, it touches on another truth, the importance of friendship.

9. Casablanca, as well as some of Hollywood's other greatest movies, was made following what I call the "Indiana Jones Method". They made it up as they went. Although it can be tough on the actors, this often results in a better movie.

10. Casablanca is both timely and timeless at the same time. The same could be said of Citizen Kane, but I think a fictionalized account of the life of William R. Hearst, (which is what everyone, including Hearst himself, thinks or thought CK is) grows LESS relevant as time passes. The timeless themes of Casablanca, lost love, resisting tyranny, patriotism, and freedom being worth any sacrifice will NEVER lose their relevance. Which is why it's so much more than just a WWII propaganda piece.

Although I have to admit a slight bias because the main character of Casablanca and I happen to share the same first name, I think I've shown enough other reasons why I prefer it. I honestly believe that the only reason the AFI rates Citizen Kane #1 is because of the many ground breaking techniques Orson Welles used to make it. As for me, I just think that, since the primary purpose of any movie is to tell a story, and use the story to explore and expound on truths that never change, story should trump technique every time. Movies that forget this almost never do well, and are usually soon forgotten. Citizen Kane barely broke even, but it shouldn't be forgotten. I just don't think it's the better movie.

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