Tough To Beat This Movie

Rating: 10/10 (8 February 2006)

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.