"Of all the whiskey bars in all of Northwest Africa she decides to visit my establishment"

Rating: 9/10 (15 October 2014)

Casablanca is the story of an American man in WWII era Morocco and his struggle in choosing between "love and virtue". Confronted by the woman he once loved and her new husband, a Czech resistance leader and important figure in the fight against the Nazis, the film focuses on Rick's internal conflict over deciding between his desires or the good of many others.
Casablanca is a testament to what you can accomplish with a spectacular cast and a beautiful, thoughtfully made set. The vast majority of the film takes place in Rick's Cafe Americain and focuses on a handful of characters, but even with it's relatively crowded story it never fails to feel well rounded and entirely better off than if were to use a wider array of characters and locations.
Humphrey Bogart stars as Rick Blaine, the owner of Rick's Cafe Americain. Bogart gives the film a career defining performance and makes his character the most compelling male lead I've ever seen in a love story. When dealing with the politics brought into the Cafe Americain he's cool, calm, and composed in his efforts to remain neutral in all matters, but when we see him alone after hours in his office he becomes very convincingly distraught over his love interest Ilsa. He is shown on multiple occasions alone in his office shrouded by the complete darkness of a Casablancan night, with only a thin ray of light shining through a window to illuminate his face. He drinks from a tall bottle of booze with a grim, haunted expression that gave me a real empathy for the toll his endeavors were taking on him. The rest of the cast performed well enough that there were no noticeable weak links, but there was really no way for them to escape the shadow cast by Bogart's performance.
My favorite thing about the film was Rick's Cafe Americain. The Cafe itself was just a series of sets constructed in Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank California, but it was so fitting and perfect for the film it left the same kind of impression that would be made by a well made fantasy location. Its stone walls were decorated in the shadows left by ornate lamps and intricate patterns made to shine light in from the outside. It was so packed full of extras during all of the scenes taking place there that it always created the atmosphere of a real bar. These things were vital to the film because so much of it was contained within these walls, and it was so great that I loved every moment of the scenes there.
Casablanca is a real classic. It's the sort of movie that feels like an experience and makes you glad you've seen it. It was all so excellent that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who loves movies. When you see some of these scenes for yourself you immediately understand how they've had such a lasting influence to this day.