Wow! It's everything everyone has said!

Rating: Null/10 (5 January 2000)

I just watched it for the first time in my life. Wow! This is a work of art. I won't try to elaborate on what all the others in this forum have already eloquently said. I would just like to give one example of why I think this film was masterfully shot.
You know the scene--Rick is in his saloon, "she" has just left. He orders Sam to play it for him, too. And there's the shot--Sam at the piano is on the left, the arched window just above him with the night light coming through. Rick is in the center of the frame, bottle on screen left, a vase lamp in the background on screen right. Search lights wandering in and out. Everything is perfectly set, perfectly balanced, and the lighting is perfect. It is truly a work of art. I had to rewind the video and see it again.
Who needs special FX? (And I really enjoy the X-Files and Star Trek!) A great producer, director, and great actors from supporting roles on up equals a movie classic equivalent to Beethoven's 9th.